The Red Ribbon

Title: The Red Ribbon

Series: True Colors #8 (each stand alone)

Author: Pepper Basham

Publisher: Barbour

Genre: Crime Fiction, Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance,

Source: Library

My Review:

While The Red Ribbon by Pepper Basham is part of the multi-author series True Colors, it is a standalone novel.

The True Colors series focuses on historical stories of American crime. The Red Ribbon takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The Red Ribbon is based on the Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912.

Pepper brings the story alive with the mountain dialect, her attention to detail, and the crushing reality of poverty. From the opening scene, we see what it is like to grow up in Carroll County, where folks don't have two nickels to rub together. Desperate men do desperate things. 

Ava is bound and determined to right the wrongs in her little world without thinking through the consequences of her actions. Her best friend, Jeremiah, always ends up saving her from herself. I enjoyed both characters and seeing their friendship develop into something more. 

I felt like The Red Ribbon had a slow start. However, the more I read, the more invested I became in the story. It is always fascinating to read about a part of history you don't know much about (or have not heard of). I appreciated the author's note at the end of the story, telling what parts of the story were fact and which parts were fiction.

I recommend The Red Ribbon to those who enjoy learning about historical facts through fiction, especially true crime.

★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads): 

An Appalachian Feud Blows Up in 1912

Step into True Colors -- a new series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime

In Carroll County, a corn shucking is the social event of the season, until a mischievous kiss leads to one of the biggest tragedies in Virginia history. Ava Burcham isn’t your typical Blue Ridge Mountain girl. She has a bad habit of courtin’ trouble, and her curiosity has opened a rift in the middle of a feud between politicians and would-be outlaws, the Allen family. Ava’s tenacious desire to find a story worth reporting may land her and her best friend, Jeremiah Sutphin, into more trouble than either of them planned.

​The end result? The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912.