I’m ashamed to say In These Hills is my first Tamera Alexander book, but the good news is she’s got an extensive publishing history for me to now go and enjoy.

The stort centers around suffragette Josephine who escapes violence and goes to ground in the Tennessee hills. Out of money and options she takes a job in the worst possible place for her convictions – the Jack Daniel distillery. After he helps her on her journey, Josephine strikes up a friendship with Dodge Coburn who runs the distillery’s ranch. But Dodge has no idea the secrets she’s keeping and Jospehine has no inclination to tell him.

Gosh there are a lot of moving pieces in this story. Dodge is raising his niece and dreaming of his own property far away. Josephine is stuck in a small town and unable to campaign for women’s rights. As truths come to light, the pressure mounts. This is a treatise in slowly ramping up the pressure on characters and watching them turn to God. You could also consider this a masterclass in how messy beginnings lead to beautiful endings.

Excellent Attention to Detail

The thing I’ve learned about Tamera Alexander is she is meticulous about detailed research. This really shows between the description of the area, the phrases and behaviors displayed by the charaters, and the attitudes of different people. I also loved all the historical tidbits about the Jack Daniel Distillery and ‘Uncle Jack’ himself.

As I said at the outset, this was my first Tamera Alexander novel but it won’t be my last. Highly recommended for lovers of historical romance.

I received a copy of In These Hills from the publisher via NetGalley, the views are all my own.