Tinker

by Jennifer M. Lane

For readers of Outlander and Stephanie Dray, Tinker is a propulsive Whiskey Rebellion tale of defiance and rebellion, love, and divided loyalties on the early American frontier.

Pittsburgh, 1794. The people of western Pennsylvania suffer under a hefty tax on whiskey. When the local militia takes up arms against the hated tax collector, his estranged daughter finds herself caught in the crossfire.

Her safety threatened and her name in tatters, Caroline Neville begs her father to present the farmers' case to the President and ask for relief. When he refuses, Caroline adopts a nom de guerre, submitting articles to the Gazette under the pseudonym "Tom the Tinker." She calls for a peaceful gathering to coordinate a plea for the tax’s repeal, hoping to turn the tide before her family’s lives are lost.

Then she meets Tench, the reporter who prints her demands. He’s part of the militia opposing the tax, and he has no idea she’s Tom the Tinker or a Neville. The deeper they fall in love, the harder it is to tell him the truth. Meanwhile, Caroline’s efforts for peace take a turn toward rebellion. As she faces losing her family, her home, and Tench, she must race to put it all right before she’s charged with treason.

TINKER, adult alternate historical fiction set during the Whiskey Rebellion, is the latest release from Jennifer M. Lane, award-winning author of Of Metal and Earth, Downriver, and The Collected Stories of Ramsbolt.

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 2, 2026

About the author

A Maryland native and Pennsylvanian at heart, Jennifer M. Lane holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Barton College and a master's in liberal arts with a focus on museum studies from the University of Delaware, where she wrote her thesis on the material culture of roadside memorials. Her interest in writing historical fiction is rooted in her research of historic house museum residents and building interpretive plans. She is a member of the Authors Guild and the Historical Novel Society.

Lane's debut book, Of Metal and Earth, won the 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Award for First Novel and was a finalist in the 2018 IAN awards for General / Literary fiction.

She is also the author of Stick Figures from Rockport; the six-book series of The Collected Stories of Ramsbolt; Downriver and Upstream, the Poison River Duology; and the upcoming Tinker, an alternate historical romance.

Reviews

[Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennifer M. Lane’s Tinker is a sharp and intimate historical novel set during the Whiskey Rebellion, told through Caroline Neville's eyes, a woman caught between family loyalty, political unrest, and her own hunger to be heard. Caroline is the daughter of John Neville, whose role in collecting the whiskey tax has made the family name dangerous in western Pennsylvania. From the opening image of her father burned in effigy beneath a “Liberty and No Excise” ribbon, the book makes it clear that Caroline’s world is already on fire, even before she starts writing under the name Tom the Tinker.

What makes the novel work so well is Caroline’s voice. She’s funny, stubborn, observant, and often painfully aware of the ways men underestimate her. Her first battle over a bottle of ink with Tench Coyle is playful, but it also sets up the larger conflict of the book: ink matters because words matter. When Tench later says, “The written word stands as nothing more than a testament to its creation,” it feels like the book is telling us what it’s about.

The romance between Caroline and Tench gives the story warmth without pulling it away from the political stakes. Their connection grows through books, banter, shared ideals, and secrets that can’t stay hidden forever. Tench isn’t just a love interest, and Caroline isn’t simply choosing between love and family. She’s trying to decide what kind of person she’ll be when every side claims righteousness, and when silence might be safer than honesty.

I appreciated the way Lane makes the Whiskey Rebellion feel personal rather than like a history lesson. The tax, the writs, the smashed stills, the burned homes, and the fear spreading through the countryside all come through in lived-in details. Caroline’s position is especially compelling because she sees the farmers' suffering, but she also understands the people within the Neville household. Her line, “I just wanted people to have some hope and stop feeling powerless,” captures the heart of her choices.

Tinker is a thoughtful and lively novel about voice, consequence, and the messy places where private lives meet public history. It has the sweep of historical fiction, but its best moments are often small ones: a horse betraying Caroline by liking Tench, Nonnie’s blunt wisdom, a family argument that finally cracks something open. The result is a historical fiction novel that feels grounded, romantic, tense, and deeply interested in how ordinary people try to do the right thing when the whole world around them is choosing sides.

[Nikkiya Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5 ⭐Entertaining Historical Fiction

I am not a history buff, but I love when an author such as Jennifer M. Lane does their research and the reader can just enjoy the story and not wonder if it is historically accurate. Lane is brilliant at taking real people and situations from the past and turning them into an un-put-downable read. I like that Lane includes a chapter at the end explaining where the inspiration for her stories comes from adding validity to the tale. I would recommend this book to 13+ readers due to some heavy subjects such as unfair taxing, rebellion, and the violence that is a result. The only thing keeping me from giving a higher rating is there is a little bit too much repetition when it comes to explaining or repeating events and feelings that the reader should already be aware of, so it took me out of the story when I felt like I was reading something I already knew. The pacing of the plot and character development were great and I was invested until the conclusion.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Grace (alatteofliterature)]

Little known niche interest of mine: the 1794 whiskey rebellion! So when I saw this historical fiction story about that time period, I knew I had to read it.

Thank you to Pen & Key Publishing for the ARC through NetGalley in exchange fro an honest review.

Review to come.