Swallow's Hill

A raw and moving novel, perfect for readers of the bestseller Where the Crawdads Sing.

Set in the turpentine camps hidden deep within the pine forests, this novel by the successful author Donna Everhart tells a gritty and passionate story of love, friendship, and the fight for survival. The troubled fates of the three main characters are brought together by misfortune, their own poor decisions, and a cruel twist of fate.

Georgia, USA, 1932. Work camps for harvesting and processing resin are springing up like mushrooms. Workers toil in harsh conditions for a pittance, isolated in the vast forests from the rest of the world and therefore completely dependent on often greedy and arrogant owners who provide accommodation and food at outrageous prices. For many, however, these places are their last and only chance.

Among them are the main characters of this story, who meet at a camp whose name, Swallow Hill, can be understood either literally or – perhaps more aptly – as the “hill of injustices that must be swallowed” for one to endure. Here, Del, Rae, and Cornelie gradually find and lose hope until they realise that to save their own lives, they must try to escape from this supposed sanctuary. But first, they must confront their pasts…