3.5 Stars ⭐Set in the Depression-era South, The Saints of Swallow Hill by Donna Everhart offers a glimpse into the turpentine industry and the lives of those working in the labor camps nestled within the pine forests. The story centers around Rae Lynn Cobb and Delwood ‘Del’ Reese, both of whom find themselves employed at the Swallow Hill work camp in Georgia. Del possesses a practical understanding of the trade, having grown up with parents who worked in a similar camp. Before arriving at Swallo...

A gritty Southern noir, set in 1932 North Carolina. The Depression's grip is tight, and jobs are scarce. Turpentining seems to be the one industry barely staying afloat. Rae Cobb, newly widowed, seeks work at Swallow Hill Camp, turning to turpentining – the only skill she possesses. To get hired, she must disguise herself as a man. What a relentlessly harsh existence! Grueling labor, rampant abuse, and blatant discrimination plague the camp. Yet, amidst the darkness, a few decent men, like Del,...

In a Nutshell: A well-written historical fiction focusing on life in a turpentine camp in the years after the Great Depression. I would have enjoyed more layered characters, but the historical elements are good enough to make this an interesting experience. Story: Delwood Reese (Del) is a cocky womanizer who gets caught by his own bad deeds and needs to escape from his current employer before it’s too late. He finds a job as a tree worker in a turpentine camp in Swallow Hill, Georgia, hoping to...

Donna Everhart is one of my favorite authors, especially among North Carolina writers. She took a slightly different direction with The Saints of Swallow Hill, and I absolutely loved it.In case you were wondering why on earth my name is “Tar Heel” reader, The Saints of Swallow Hill has the earliest explanation I've seen for why the term “Tar Heel” is tied to North Carolina and my beloved alma mater.Deep in the pine forests of North Carolina, turpentiners are working hard to retrieve the sap. Rae...

Yowzers!Back during the Depression, kids used to chant while jumping rope: "I shine my shoes with turpentine. Turpentine makes them shine. One, two, three......" I never knew what it really took to harvest turpentine back then, or the human cost.Donna Everhart delivers a jaw-dropping novel about the best and worst of people during the Great Depression. If you could plow a field for a dime, you did it. Whatever it took to feed yourself and your family, you did it. Thousands of endless pine trees ...

Donna Everhart's The Saints of Swallow Hill is exactly the kind of historical fiction I crave. Set in the South during the Great Depression, this story boasts richly drawn characters, a vibrant setting, and seamlessly integrated research. If you're looking for compelling historical fiction, look no further than The Saints of Swallow Hill. Delwood Reese has a weakness for married women. After his boss catches him with his wife and nearly kills him, Del decides it's time for a fresh start. He slo...

This is my first book by Donna Everhart, but it definitely won’t be my last. "The Saints of Swallow Hill" was an atmospheric and enlightening historical fiction novel about the American Southeast during the Depression era. I'll admit, I never knew the reason North Carolina was called the Tar Heel State before reading this!This is a dark story, a stark reminder of just how evil some people can be. It confronts the casual racism and misogyny prevalent at the time. The turpentine camps depicted wer...

Life at the Swallow Hill turpentine camp in North Carolina during the Great Depression was far from easy. The men who harvested turpentine from the pine trees were desperately poor, forced to rent dilapidated shacks for their families. Instead of a real wage, they were paid with tokens or 'scrip,' and the commissary's inflated prices meant they were constantly hungry and in debt, unable to escape. Yet, other jobs were scarce, and there was the small consolation of working outdoors amidst beautif...

4.5 stars.If nothing else, I walked away knowing something new – why North Carolina is called the Tar Heel State, and a good bit about the history of the turpentine industry in the South during the Depression. But I definitely got more than just a history lesson. Just like in Donna Everhart's other novels I’ve read, I was completely transported to another time and place, with characters I genuinely cared about.The vile actions of some truly awful people bring Rae Lynn Cobb and Del Reese to the S...

I read another author's review of their book where they gave themselves a five-star rating, saying something like, "Of course I give my own work five stars because if I didn't believe in it, who else would?" Amen to that. I hope you'll indulge me a little here because what I really want to do is "talk" to all of *you*, the readers and reviewers who have been so kind in taking the time to share your thoughts on this story. I also wanted to take a moment to express how excited I am for **everyo...