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The Whiskey Tide
At the height of Prohibition three sisters in a genteel Massachusetts family turn rumrunners to save their family. Desperate to provide for their newly widowed mother and little brother, they use the family’s pleasure schooner to smuggle whiskey from Canada.
Kate, the bookworm, hatches the plan, sacrificing her last year at Wellesley to make every grueling and dangerous trip. Rosalie risks her engagement to a clergyman to help on the home front, and tends Kate’s gunshot wound from rum-pirates. Aggie, a dazzling flapper hungry for adventure, uses the undertaking to become involved with a man she doesn’t realize is a vicious killer.
Kate’s courage in the face of storms, crooks on both sides of the law, and the treacherous tides of the Bay of Fundy change her view of the world. It also changes the lives of those around her. The Portuguese-Irish fisherman she hires to captain Pa’s Folly earns money enough to provide previously unimagined options for his poor but close-knit family, but bears the secret burden of falling in love with Kate. A wealthy old woman dying of loneliness in her clifftop mansion finds reasons to live. Even Kate’s cousin, shattered in body and spirit by his service in The Great War, is caught in the ripples.
THE WHISKEY TIDE is a sweeping saga of family ties that bind and chafe and sometimes fray, and of new horizons glimpsed in the dark of the moon.
Kate, the bookworm, hatches the plan, sacrificing her last year at Wellesley to make every grueling and dangerous trip. Rosalie risks her engagement to a clergyman to help on the home front, and tends Kate’s gunshot wound from rum-pirates. Aggie, a dazzling flapper hungry for adventure, uses the undertaking to become involved with a man she doesn’t realize is a vicious killer.
Kate’s courage in the face of storms, crooks on both sides of the law, and the treacherous tides of the Bay of Fundy change her view of the world. It also changes the lives of those around her. The Portuguese-Irish fisherman she hires to captain Pa’s Folly earns money enough to provide previously unimagined options for his poor but close-knit family, but bears the secret burden of falling in love with Kate. A wealthy old woman dying of loneliness in her clifftop mansion finds reasons to live. Even Kate’s cousin, shattered in body and spirit by his service in The Great War, is caught in the ripples.
THE WHISKEY TIDE is a sweeping saga of family ties that bind and chafe and sometimes fray, and of new horizons glimpsed in the dark of the moon.
357 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 16, 2013
93 people are currently reading
640 people want to read
About the author
M. Ruth Myers
30 books189 followersM. Ruth Myers is a Shamus Award winning mystery writer. Her Maggie Sullivan mystery series features a private eye in Dayton, Ohio in the years 1938-1946.
Other novels by the author, who has also written as Mary Ruth Myers, have been translated, optioned for television and condensed in Good Housekeeping. They also have been used in college classes in Japan. She has taught at writers’ conferences across the country including the Antioch, Cape Cod and Mark Twain conferences.
Myers was born in Warrensburg, MO. When she was nine the family moved to Wyoming where she graduated from Cheyenne Central High School. After earning a Bachelor of Journalism degree at the University of Missouri J-School she worked as a reporter and feature writer on daily papers in Michigan and Ohio.
She and her husband are long-time Ohio residents with one grown daughter.
When not writing or reading, Myers cooks and plays Irish traditional music on an Anglo concertina. She confesses to more enthusiasm than skill.
Other novels by the author, who has also written as Mary Ruth Myers, have been translated, optioned for television and condensed in Good Housekeeping. They also have been used in college classes in Japan. She has taught at writers’ conferences across the country including the Antioch, Cape Cod and Mark Twain conferences.
Myers was born in Warrensburg, MO. When she was nine the family moved to Wyoming where she graduated from Cheyenne Central High School. After earning a Bachelor of Journalism degree at the University of Missouri J-School she worked as a reporter and feature writer on daily papers in Michigan and Ohio.
She and her husband are long-time Ohio residents with one grown daughter.
When not writing or reading, Myers cooks and plays Irish traditional music on an Anglo concertina. She confesses to more enthusiasm than skill.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
March 22, 2013
The year is 1919. The place, Salem, Massachusetts. Kate Hinshaw is entering her senior year at Wellesley, College and was invited to do research in Scotland following her graduation. Her older sister, Rosalie, is engaged to a Harvard Divinity School senior. Her younger sister, Aggie, is a partying flapper who resents Kate because she felt Kate was better than she was. And her youngest brother, Woody, confined to a wheelchair spends all his time at home, overprotected by their mother, Genevieve. Oliver, her father, a lawyer, is a socialist, defending the underprivileged and union members. “Justice shouldn’t depend on your pocketbook” was his motto. While the family had been financially secure, Woody’s medical bills and a $15,000 loan to her mother’s brother, Phinneas, still unpaid, had put them into a precarious situation.
Joe Santayna’s family had been fishermen for several generations and he was a fisherman as well, even though he had attended Boston College for one year. He lived with his extended family (grandmother, father, aunts, uncles cousins – 7 children, five adults) in the same five-room home his paternal grandparents had when he first came there at age 7. He was also close to his mother’s two aunts.
Joe was on his way to hire Oliver to represent his brother Michael when he saw Oliver shot to death. And everything changed.
The bank was threatening to foreclose on their house because there was a $15,000 loan on it and they lacked to resources to repay it. Genevieve relied on Uncle Finny for financial advice. He refused to admit he had borrowed any money and urged her to sell the house.
Kate is determined to save their home but needs a lot of money on a regular basis starting immediately. Prohibition has been the law of the land for two years, but drinking continues through illegal speakeasies and smuggling is a major source of income for those willing and able to bring in alcohol from Canada. Oliver’s favorite item was a boat, Pa’s Folly, so Kate hires Joe and a small crew begins a new career.
A lot of the plot describes the problems they encounter on their trips to and from Canada, particularly those that are weather related. Another part is figuring out why Uncle Finny is so anxious for Genevieve to sell their house and boat. Next is the developing relationship between Kate and Oliver.
There are some important and some amusing subplots, as well. Aggie is a victim of domestic violence. An elderly, secluded neighbor provides important information as well as some interesting encounters.
Myers’ words are sometimes extra clever. M. Ruth Myers describes the beginning of a trip to Salem Willow, an amusement park, to see the Flying Horses Carousel: “The nervousness that had filled her as they came through the gates dropped behind her with each step like peanut shells discarded by her fellow revelers.” She describes Joe’s perspective of being drunk by saying (in more words than this synopsis), he had no idea how much he had drunk but everything and everybody seemed to look better. In response to the way people treat her family after their income drops and one of them is arrested after being set up with illicit merchandise, she offers some outlandish comments and observes, “Fibbing ends silly chatter much faster than telling the truth.”
Kate experiences sexism, beginning with some people’s reaction to wearing trousers and to their thoughts on her working on the boat. As her character develops as a result of her observations of other people, she raises concern about issues that are still with us. Speaking of injustice, she says “People willing to work who can’t find jobs. Working people who can scarcely afford to feed their families. Unsafe working conditions. People with everything taking advantage of those who have nothing and doing favors for their own kind rather than what is right.”
I figured out early in the book what the end would be: Uncle Finny, Kate and Joe. But the story kept me interested (there could have been a little bit less about the sea voyages), the characters had variety and were true to themselves, I enjoyed the humor and adventure, and was satisfied with the ending.
Joe Santayna’s family had been fishermen for several generations and he was a fisherman as well, even though he had attended Boston College for one year. He lived with his extended family (grandmother, father, aunts, uncles cousins – 7 children, five adults) in the same five-room home his paternal grandparents had when he first came there at age 7. He was also close to his mother’s two aunts.
Joe was on his way to hire Oliver to represent his brother Michael when he saw Oliver shot to death. And everything changed.
The bank was threatening to foreclose on their house because there was a $15,000 loan on it and they lacked to resources to repay it. Genevieve relied on Uncle Finny for financial advice. He refused to admit he had borrowed any money and urged her to sell the house.
Kate is determined to save their home but needs a lot of money on a regular basis starting immediately. Prohibition has been the law of the land for two years, but drinking continues through illegal speakeasies and smuggling is a major source of income for those willing and able to bring in alcohol from Canada. Oliver’s favorite item was a boat, Pa’s Folly, so Kate hires Joe and a small crew begins a new career.
A lot of the plot describes the problems they encounter on their trips to and from Canada, particularly those that are weather related. Another part is figuring out why Uncle Finny is so anxious for Genevieve to sell their house and boat. Next is the developing relationship between Kate and Oliver.
There are some important and some amusing subplots, as well. Aggie is a victim of domestic violence. An elderly, secluded neighbor provides important information as well as some interesting encounters.
Myers’ words are sometimes extra clever. M. Ruth Myers describes the beginning of a trip to Salem Willow, an amusement park, to see the Flying Horses Carousel: “The nervousness that had filled her as they came through the gates dropped behind her with each step like peanut shells discarded by her fellow revelers.” She describes Joe’s perspective of being drunk by saying (in more words than this synopsis), he had no idea how much he had drunk but everything and everybody seemed to look better. In response to the way people treat her family after their income drops and one of them is arrested after being set up with illicit merchandise, she offers some outlandish comments and observes, “Fibbing ends silly chatter much faster than telling the truth.”
Kate experiences sexism, beginning with some people’s reaction to wearing trousers and to their thoughts on her working on the boat. As her character develops as a result of her observations of other people, she raises concern about issues that are still with us. Speaking of injustice, she says “People willing to work who can’t find jobs. Working people who can scarcely afford to feed their families. Unsafe working conditions. People with everything taking advantage of those who have nothing and doing favors for their own kind rather than what is right.”
I figured out early in the book what the end would be: Uncle Finny, Kate and Joe. But the story kept me interested (there could have been a little bit less about the sea voyages), the characters had variety and were true to themselves, I enjoyed the humor and adventure, and was satisfied with the ending.
February 22, 2020
Oh, I really liked this book! And I really, really liked the leading man! Lol.
I actually had a slow start here, not sure why. It was 60 or 70 pages in when something clicked and I started to get into it. Then I didn’t want to put it down, but my schoolwork got in the way and I could only read a little each night. Darn job!
The characters in this novel are all very well developed, whether main or supporting figures. I loved Kate and her sisters, as well as the aforementioned Joe-what a great guy! It was easy to dislike Uncle Finny and be disgusted by Felix. Mrs. Cole was an absolute hoot.
There were plenty of plot twists to keep the story moving. It is a well-told tale about a subject that I found very interesting. I feel like this will be a good book club discussion!
I actually had a slow start here, not sure why. It was 60 or 70 pages in when something clicked and I started to get into it. Then I didn’t want to put it down, but my schoolwork got in the way and I could only read a little each night. Darn job!
The characters in this novel are all very well developed, whether main or supporting figures. I loved Kate and her sisters, as well as the aforementioned Joe-what a great guy! It was easy to dislike Uncle Finny and be disgusted by Felix. Mrs. Cole was an absolute hoot.
There were plenty of plot twists to keep the story moving. It is a well-told tale about a subject that I found very interesting. I feel like this will be a good book club discussion!
November 27, 2014
When her father (and sole bread winner) suddenly dies, Kate Hinshaw takes responsibility for keeping the family fiscally afloat. She turns to the profitable yet risky business of smuggling booze in from Canada. Kate hires WWI vet Joe Santayna to aid in the endeavor. Sister Aggie tries to help out only to end up becoming involved with the dangerous part of the underworld that could spell trouble for everyone in the family. Including the dog. I'm still upset about that part.
To be honest I got this as a freebie from Amazon so my expectations weren't very high. As someone else once said, sometimes those free ebooks are worth what you paid for them. So imagine my delightful surprise to discover this gem of a story. I liked all the characters who were all multi-dimensional. Well, except for the villain. We never do find out what motivated that person's wicked ways. But everyone else was growing and changing, discovering a hidden strength they didn't realize was in them. I also appreciated how carefully crafted the romance was between Kate and Joe. They depended on each other, supported each other, and enjoyed talking! How often do you find that in today's literature?
I'm still upset about the dog, though.
To be honest I got this as a freebie from Amazon so my expectations weren't very high. As someone else once said, sometimes those free ebooks are worth what you paid for them. So imagine my delightful surprise to discover this gem of a story. I liked all the characters who were all multi-dimensional. Well, except for the villain. We never do find out what motivated that person's wicked ways. But everyone else was growing and changing, discovering a hidden strength they didn't realize was in them. I also appreciated how carefully crafted the romance was between Kate and Joe. They depended on each other, supported each other, and enjoyed talking! How often do you find that in today's literature?
I'm still upset about the dog, though.
January 20, 2014
This was another of my DSOA picks back in mid 2013.
After the last two quite disappointing books, this was refreshing change.
It was well written, and relatively error free. The plot was enjoyable with a twist or turn here and there, with good quality writing displayed.
Having said that, I do feel the author took the safe option, and could have pushed herself further with both the characterisation and plot changes. Quite a bit of the time it felt as if she had taken a "safe" option, rather than really pushing her writing boundaries.
It had the the good bones of a good 4 star read, but could have been so much more. Obviously, I am bracing myself for the negative feedback that happens on Amazon reviews; which can be frustrating, as I just try to be constructive in my reviewing ... however, there is always an element of any society that does not accept honesty!
That having been said, I would read more by this author.
Full Blog Post #412 in January 2014.
After the last two quite disappointing books, this was refreshing change.
It was well written, and relatively error free. The plot was enjoyable with a twist or turn here and there, with good quality writing displayed.
Having said that, I do feel the author took the safe option, and could have pushed herself further with both the characterisation and plot changes. Quite a bit of the time it felt as if she had taken a "safe" option, rather than really pushing her writing boundaries.
It had the the good bones of a good 4 star read, but could have been so much more. Obviously, I am bracing myself for the negative feedback that happens on Amazon reviews; which can be frustrating, as I just try to be constructive in my reviewing ... however, there is always an element of any society that does not accept honesty!
That having been said, I would read more by this author.
Full Blog Post #412 in January 2014.
April 13, 2019
An OK book but lacking
Seemed to have some dead spots where I got distracted and almost quit reading. Characters were not as much fun as her crime novels set in the 1940's. Instead of wanting it to go on, I was glad to see "The End".
Seemed to have some dead spots where I got distracted and almost quit reading. Characters were not as much fun as her crime novels set in the 1940's. Instead of wanting it to go on, I was glad to see "The End".
August 5, 2022
Its prohibition and depression era USA. Three high class sisters learn that their somewhat gullible and foolish dad has gotten the family deep into debt but kept no records of people he loaned money to. Now the father has died, and a shyster family member (who owes them 15 grand but claims the loan never happened) is trying to leverage them into selling the family home. So the sisters decide to start running whiskey out of Canada to the USA using the family schooner.
This premise is interesting enough and the characters are likeable, with a capable author. For me, though, the story was a bit too formulaic of a standard romance/family novel and the dangers were never very compelling. Every woman is strong and brave and capable, every rich person is condescending and dismissive of the poor, every poor person is noble and good and industrious etc.
Mixed into this are some sadly ignorant politics of the time, although not very strongly or forced; overall just not my favorite kind of book. But if you like period piece family romance novels, with a little bit of spice thrown in with gangsters and rum running, this will be your thing.
This premise is interesting enough and the characters are likeable, with a capable author. For me, though, the story was a bit too formulaic of a standard romance/family novel and the dangers were never very compelling. Every woman is strong and brave and capable, every rich person is condescending and dismissive of the poor, every poor person is noble and good and industrious etc.
Mixed into this are some sadly ignorant politics of the time, although not very strongly or forced; overall just not my favorite kind of book. But if you like period piece family romance novels, with a little bit of spice thrown in with gangsters and rum running, this will be your thing.
February 27, 2019
Having read all of the author’s Maggie Sullivan mysteries, I finally got around to her stand-alone historical fiction, The Whiskey Tide. I think I may like this one the best of them all. I truly fun read, I couldn’t put it down. There is a fairly large cast of characters but the main story revolves around Kate, a young socialite that never felt comfortable in high society, and fisherman Joe who is torn between a desire for more out of life and his working class family’s expectations. But this isn’t just a love story. It’s one of adventure, friendship, and family.
This is a “feel good” tale. The good guys really are good, and the bad guys really are bad. It all ties up neatly with everyone you are rooting for finding happiness. If that’s not you’re thing, you e been warned.
This is a “feel good” tale. The good guys really are good, and the bad guys really are bad. It all ties up neatly with everyone you are rooting for finding happiness. If that’s not you’re thing, you e been warned.
June 10, 2019
I’ve owned this book for a few years but hadn’t gotten around to reading it until now, and I’m glad I did. It’s an engaging story, written well with interesting women and gangster characters from 1920s prohibition America, and the story holds together well enough. I noticed a few minor issues with continuity, but I won’t discuss them here because to do so would be to insert spoilers into my comments, and many readers may not even notice them. All things considered, this was an enjoyable read by a capable writer, and I learned a few things about sailing the eastern seaboard of Canada. I will be looking into other books by Mary Ruth Myers/M. Ruth Myers.
December 26, 2018
A fantastic novel
This full length novel really held my interest. There’s a little bit of everything in it: history, adventure, action, intrigue, betrayal, rich and poor, war vets, romance and more. The characters were very believable and it was easy getting to know them. Even when the plot was clear, it was a great deal of fun reading to see how they got where they were going.
This full length novel really held my interest. There’s a little bit of everything in it: history, adventure, action, intrigue, betrayal, rich and poor, war vets, romance and more. The characters were very believable and it was easy getting to know them. Even when the plot was clear, it was a great deal of fun reading to see how they got where they were going.
February 17, 2020
It took a few chapters for me to really get interested in this book. But once I did I didn't want to put it down. Joe and Kate, two people who really didn't fit the mold. Joe, intelligent, kind, ambitious (oh yes sexy). Kate, intelligent, kind, ambitious and loyal to her family. They find their way to each in a very risky endeavor, rum running. A very enjoyable read.
December 31, 2020
Set in the 1920s during prohibition, three sisters living in Maine find themselves in financial trouble. Kate, a bookworm, but also the daughter who had loved sailing with her now deceased father, decides to save the family by bringing in the banned alcohol from Canada using her father’s boat to move the cargo. One trip grows into several and then there were the pirates…
April 27, 2020
Myers is a good writer and I enjoy her Maggie Sullivan series, so I thought I’d give this a try. It’s the kind of book I used to enjoy about 30 years ago, but at this point in my life it seemed predictable.
October 6, 2024
Adventure
My your usual romance. Exciting semi-historical. I started reading this book with Gordon but son was gripped in seafaring adventures on stormy currents along the NE to Canada.
Then I couldn't put it down.
My your usual romance. Exciting semi-historical. I started reading this book with Gordon but son was gripped in seafaring adventures on stormy currents along the NE to Canada.
Then I couldn't put it down.
August 4, 2017
Good book
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
March 5, 2018
Ok......
January 29, 2019
Fun book. Great characters.
January 28, 2020
Great book
Loved it from start to finish. Well written. Read it in two days. Could not put it down. Highly recommend.
Loved it from start to finish. Well written. Read it in two days. Could not put it down. Highly recommend.
April 18, 2020
Loved this book from one of my favorite authors.
December 7, 2021
Not one of her Maggie Sullivan’s which I enjoy but it was good. Old fashioned but good
April 20, 2022
Great read
Well written with great characters. I Truly enjoyed this tale of rum running and betrayal in the days after the WWI.
Well written with great characters. I Truly enjoyed this tale of rum running and betrayal in the days after the WWI.
March 27, 2020
What a great story!
a fine story about rum-running in the 1020's with lots of surprises, intrigue, love, revenge, and lots of well-developed characters.
a fine story about rum-running in the 1020's with lots of surprises, intrigue, love, revenge, and lots of well-developed characters.
May 11, 2013
I have loved all the books by Myers I have read so far, but The Whiskey Tide just might be my favorite. This historical romantic suspense novel set in the early 1920s was completely satisfying on all levels. Myers provides a beautifully layered view of the period, the way that WWI affected the men who served and lived to return, the continuing divisions in American society based on class, ethnicity, and gender, and the way Prohibition provided opportunities for both economic advancement and corruption.
But all this wonderful historical information is skillfully and almost invisibly woven into the story of three sisters and their efforts to save their family from economic ruin. There is Kate, the middle sister and main protagonist, who represents the college-educated girl of the period who is forced out of her ivory tower to embrace all that life can offer a woman who challenges conventions, Rosalie, the older sister, who demonstrates that even a woman who embraces the traditional role of wife and mother can make a difference, and Agnes, the youngest sister, a flapper who learns the dangers of living a life of selfish hedonism and comes to understand she deserves better for herself.
The story itself is one of intense romance and heart-thumping suspense, as Kate risks life and reputation to become a rum-runner in order to save her family home. Her companion in this enterprise is Joe Santanya, a man torn between his deep love and affection for his family, both his Irish Aunties and his extended family of Italian fishermen, and his desire for a different future for himself. In their smuggling trips between Salem and Canada, Kate and Joe face deadly weather, gun-toting gangsters, a conniving uncle, and an attraction that may be the greatest danger of all. All of this is beautifully written and particularly enjoyed the scenes on ship-board, feeling I was really was there, battling the elements with them. The last quarter of the book left me literally sitting on the edge of my seat, delivering a wonderful and satisfying pay-off. I highly recommend this book.
But all this wonderful historical information is skillfully and almost invisibly woven into the story of three sisters and their efforts to save their family from economic ruin. There is Kate, the middle sister and main protagonist, who represents the college-educated girl of the period who is forced out of her ivory tower to embrace all that life can offer a woman who challenges conventions, Rosalie, the older sister, who demonstrates that even a woman who embraces the traditional role of wife and mother can make a difference, and Agnes, the youngest sister, a flapper who learns the dangers of living a life of selfish hedonism and comes to understand she deserves better for herself.
The story itself is one of intense romance and heart-thumping suspense, as Kate risks life and reputation to become a rum-runner in order to save her family home. Her companion in this enterprise is Joe Santanya, a man torn between his deep love and affection for his family, both his Irish Aunties and his extended family of Italian fishermen, and his desire for a different future for himself. In their smuggling trips between Salem and Canada, Kate and Joe face deadly weather, gun-toting gangsters, a conniving uncle, and an attraction that may be the greatest danger of all. All of this is beautifully written and particularly enjoyed the scenes on ship-board, feeling I was really was there, battling the elements with them. The last quarter of the book left me literally sitting on the edge of my seat, delivering a wonderful and satisfying pay-off. I highly recommend this book.
August 9, 2014
Fabulous read! Gun-toting gangsters, flappers, bootleggers...
Kate is one of four children - her little brother Woody is confined to a wheelchair, her older sister Rosalie, the perfect homemaker, is engaged to a minister, and her younger sister Aggie is a flapper. Kate is between semesters at Wellesly, studying biology.
Following the death of Kate's father, the family is left deep in debt. With the help of a young boy, an injured veteran, and the son of a fisherman, Kate takes on the improbable job of running bootleg whiskey from Canada to save her family home. With gangster Felix Garvey, the Coast Guard, a nosy neighbor, a scheming relative, and a charming distraction for a partner, will an improbable job become an impossible job?
Myers paints a vivid picture of both sides of society in the 1920s - and, the romance between classes is very nicely written. Myers also introduces a host of characters between the two main families in the story, and does a wonderful job of making them all a well-rounded part of the story without trampling the main story line.
A must-read for lovers of historical fiction.
Kate is one of four children - her little brother Woody is confined to a wheelchair, her older sister Rosalie, the perfect homemaker, is engaged to a minister, and her younger sister Aggie is a flapper. Kate is between semesters at Wellesly, studying biology.
Following the death of Kate's father, the family is left deep in debt. With the help of a young boy, an injured veteran, and the son of a fisherman, Kate takes on the improbable job of running bootleg whiskey from Canada to save her family home. With gangster Felix Garvey, the Coast Guard, a nosy neighbor, a scheming relative, and a charming distraction for a partner, will an improbable job become an impossible job?
Myers paints a vivid picture of both sides of society in the 1920s - and, the romance between classes is very nicely written. Myers also introduces a host of characters between the two main families in the story, and does a wonderful job of making them all a well-rounded part of the story without trampling the main story line.
A must-read for lovers of historical fiction.
September 19, 2013
This is a work of historical fiction--I guess you could subcategorize it as a romantic suspense novel--that I enjoyed more and more as I read along, and I credit the author's knowledge of details about the time and place of her setting and her ability to create distinctive and engaging characters for this. Sure, a lot of those characters are variants of classic archetypes one might find in several works in this genre (the talented but lower class hero; the upper class heroine with modern, nonconformist ideas; the suffering kid brother in a wheelchair; the incredibly evil uncle about to foreclose; the flashy dressed gangster; the frail but brave little old lady) but I came to care about all of them, the author made them "real" for me.
It's a story about bootleg liquor runs from Canada, lucrative but highly illegal, on the stormy seas of the Atlantic in the 1920s. Set in Salem, Massachusetts, it's also a rumination on the power and role of both class and gender in that earlier America.
I would read more books by this author.
It's a story about bootleg liquor runs from Canada, lucrative but highly illegal, on the stormy seas of the Atlantic in the 1920s. Set in Salem, Massachusetts, it's also a rumination on the power and role of both class and gender in that earlier America.
I would read more books by this author.
December 27, 2013
I'm not really sure how to write this review. The book started totally different from what I thought the book was going to be about. But it was just a few pages into it when it turned around. I'm so glad I stuck with it.
I'm fairly certain I picked this book up on a whim from one of the kindle sale emails I get. In fact, it has been laying there for awhile waiting for me to get to it. The nook was well written with great characters. And then there was the storyline. It was filled with intrigue, romance, feminism, family turmoils and quirky neighbors. I fell in love with the two main characters, Kate and Joe. I wanted their lives to be perfect. Of course, their lives were anything but perfect. But I think their adventures made me love them even more. And adventures they did have. Rum running became their job. But Kate's sisters were just as involved and charming.
I really recommend this book if you are looking for something to entertain you and help you escape from the doldrums.
I'm fairly certain I picked this book up on a whim from one of the kindle sale emails I get. In fact, it has been laying there for awhile waiting for me to get to it. The nook was well written with great characters. And then there was the storyline. It was filled with intrigue, romance, feminism, family turmoils and quirky neighbors. I fell in love with the two main characters, Kate and Joe. I wanted their lives to be perfect. Of course, their lives were anything but perfect. But I think their adventures made me love them even more. And adventures they did have. Rum running became their job. But Kate's sisters were just as involved and charming.
I really recommend this book if you are looking for something to entertain you and help you escape from the doldrums.
August 22, 2013
This is another book I picked up for my Kindle at a bargain price. It was an intriguing story of a family left destitute by their father and treated badly by their uncle who turn to rum running during prohibition to come up with the money to save the family home. Although it sounds like a trite story line, the quirks and personalities of the different characters make this a very interesting and enjoyable read. You can't help but cheer the girls on in their endeavors even though they are breaking the law, you just want to see them overcome the odds and succeed where only men have ventured. There are brushes with danger, interesting exchanges with the eccentric older neighbor, and, of course, a love interest that involves class diversity.
Definitely a good read and a little off the norm.
Definitely a good read and a little off the norm.
November 18, 2013
I *loved* this book. I started reading yesterday, and couldn't put it down! "The Whiskey Tide" is a prohibition story of unlikely rum-runners and family deceit, with a little love story thrown in for advancing the narrative. The characters are somewhat archetypes: the smart rich girl falls for the handsome, wise, working-class boy. But - oh! There is something about this book that doesn't feel hackneyed or trite - it just feels real, very real. While a romance is at the heart of the story, this isn't a romance (good thing, too, because I can't stand romances!) The locations were written so well that I have distinct images of all of them. The story was exciting and believable, and so well set in date. All around, this was really just a terrific book and I can't recommend it highly enough!
April 4, 2013
The Whiskey Tide swept me away. I sailed back to the 1920s and the daredevil antics of rum-runners who traveled by night through international waters to bring Canadian booze to the alcohol-starved U.S. Heroine Kate Hinshaw navigates these tides with intelligence and single-minded purpose; most of all, she sets a true course toward duty and love.
Ultimately, this story is about family: its oddities, its endearments, its commitments, its bonds. Against the backdrop of Prohibition, relationships form, love evolves, and hatred unfolds.
The Whiskey Tide flows with multi-layered portraits of complex relationships ... goodness and villainy.
It is a story for today.
Ultimately, this story is about family: its oddities, its endearments, its commitments, its bonds. Against the backdrop of Prohibition, relationships form, love evolves, and hatred unfolds.
The Whiskey Tide flows with multi-layered portraits of complex relationships ... goodness and villainy.
It is a story for today.
April 21, 2016
I loved this story. Kate and her sisters are from a well to do family. Her younger sister Aggie is a flapper. The story is during prohibition. Their dad is a lawyer who helps people unable to pay. A younger brother is in a wheelchair and his medical expenses are a concern. Joe lives with his family in a house with 12 other relatives. He is a fisherman with his uncles. Kate's dad Oliver has a sneaky brother Uncle Phinneas. The story is so well woven together I highly recommend it. Its one of those that you can't wait to find out what happens next and when you are done the book you are sad and miss the characters.
July 21, 2013
I loved this book. The author absolutely transported me in time and place. I grew up sailing, so I loved the scenes of Kate aboard Pa's Folly, the feel of freedom combined with the harsh weather conditions. I never questioned the characters' motivations because they always felt natural: from the sisters' interactions to Joe's entrance and the developing relationship with crazy old Mrs. Cole. I worried incessantly about what Felix Garvey would do in a fit of anger, and I cheered when Aggie fell in love. Yes, parts were predictable because there are very few plots that haven't been explored in any way, but the fun was getting there.
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