Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Black Rose Writing, and author Louella Bryant for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

The Temperance Movement is a wonderful example of the law of unintended consequences. Thinking that ridding the country of the excesses of alcohol would solve many of the country’s social problems, the era of Prohibition in the United States gave rise to organized crime. That is a fact. Instead of solving society’s ills, it gave rise to a whole bunch of new ones.

Willie Carter Sharpe was one of those who flourished during Prohibition. She came from a poor Virginia family that farmed the land and got by. That wasn’t enough for her, though. She had bigger dreams and ended up being a pilot for moonshine runners. This meant she would go out ahead of the trucks with the moonshine and make sure the road was clear, or lead police off the route. Most of the time, though, the police knew where the trucks were going and set up roadblocks. In that case, Willie’s job was to pay the police off and clear the way for the shipments. She was a natural behind the wheel, with great instincts and abilities.

The corruption existed throughout law enforcement. Many of the farmers where Willie lived supplemented their income by making moonshine. Some, like Willie’s father, just kept it for his own personal stash. Others sold it far and wide. Willie would drive as far west as Louisville and as far north as Washington, DC. The politicians who were charged with enforcing the laws often skirted them themselves.

The author states Willie was the stuff of legends when she was growing up in this area. It was fascinating that at a time when women had few rights, she stood out. Her first marriage to the son of a bootlegger was loveless, but it showed her the lifestyle. She liked having wealth. After the divorce, there’s some dispute as to whether or not she was married to Charlie Sharpe, another bootlegger. It was during this time that she was sent to prison for three years. When she returned, Charlie had found someone else.

Between 1921 and 1932, Willie was arrested 13 times. However, when looking at how much moonshine she helped move, that isn’t all that much. The final arrest, though, was what put the nail in the coffin. The only way for her to get out of going to jail for a long time was to testify for the government.

The story is narrated in the first person by both Willie and her younger brother, Jimmy. It’s not a long read, coming in at just 202 pages. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Willie is outside the norm for the times in many ways. She’s a sympathetic character in many ways, but also exasperating at times. I kept having the feeling of watching someone making decisions that I just knew weren’t going to work out well, and wanting to yell at her.

I liked how the cars of the day are described, especially the modifications made to them for use in running moonshine. The author did a great job with the setting and immersing me in the time period. Willie – Rum Running Queen is a good book about a time that can teach us many lessons. The ending isn’t exactly tragic, but it’s a bit on the sad side. Jimmy never stops loving and caring about his sister, which is quite a bond.