Hang the Moon
Jeanette Walls
Historical Fiction
368 pages
Published March 2024
This book drew me in for multiple reasons. I enjoyed the writing of Jeanette Walls when I discovered her in 2006, with the release of her memoir, The Glass Castle. She followed that publication with two novels, The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, both of which I enjoyed. When I heard she had a new novel coming out, I also learned she would present a program near me for a promotion sponsored through Scuppernong Books in Greensboro NC. I rounded up some fellow family and we went to hear her speak. The event was free but I was one of the many easy pushovers in the 100+ audience and purchased the book. While getting it autographed we discovered a connection with her husband, whose family once lived in the tiny Lone Mountain, Tennessee where our family has deep roots.
Hang the Moon is the story of Sallie Kincaid. She is the privileged daughter of Duke Kincaid, a powerful man who rules the little town where they live. He appears to be above the law and remains free despite rumors that he killed Sallie’s mother during a fight. Sallie loves him beyond all reason and is pleased to be compared to him with her own fearlessness. When Sallie falls out of favor with her stepmother at age eight she is turned out of the family home and sent to live in poverty with her mother’s sister in the hills.
Nine years later, circumstances change in the family and she is brought home to help mold her young brother. Determined to gain favor with the Duke and her assorted family, she learns secrets and accepts the scandals hiding in the Big House. She works harder than anyone to learn the family businesses and prove herself invaluable. When she is called upon to take control of the family business as a young independent woman, she quickly gains respect and fame as a fearless bootlegger.
Sallie will capture your attention on the first page and keep you reading to the last one.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.
Liz
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