Anywhere you run : a novel

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Title:

Anywhere you run : a novel

Author:

Morris, Wanda M. (Wanda Michelle), 1959- author.

ISBN:

9780063271821

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

385 pages ; 24 cm.

Subject Term:

African American women -- Fiction.

Sisters -- Fiction.

Family secrets -- Fiction.

Racism -- United States -- Fiction.

African Americans -- Social conditions -- 1964-1975 -- Fiction.

Nineteen sixties -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Southern States -- History -- Fiction.

Genre:

Suspense fiction.

Historical fiction.

Summary:

"It's the summer of 1964, and three innocent men are brutally murdered for trying to help black Mississippians secure the right to vote. Against this backdrop, twenty-one-year-old Violet Richards finds herself in more trouble than she's ever been in her life. Suffering a brutal attack of her own, she kills the man responsible. But with the color of Violet's skin, there is no way she can escape Jim Crow justice in Jackson, Mississippi. Before anyone can find the body or finger her as the killer, she decides to run. With the help of her white beau, Violet escapes. But desperation and fear lead her to hid out in the small rural town of Chillicothe, Georgia, unaware that danger may be closer than she thinks. Back in Jackson, Marigold, Violet's older sister, has dreams of attending law school. Working for the Mississippi Summer Project, she has been trying to use her smarts to further the cause of the black vote. But Marigold is in a different kind of trouble: she's pregnant and unmarried. After news of her sister's involvement in a murder brings the police to her door, Marigold sees no choice but to flee Jackson too. She heads north, seeking the promise of a better life and no more segregation. But has she made a terrible choice that will threaten her life and that of her unborn child? Two sisters on the run--one from the law, the other from social shame. What they don't realizes that there's a man hot on their trails. This man has his own brand of dark secrets and a disturbing motive for finding the sisters that is unknown to everyone but him. --

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Lake Elmo Library	FICTION MOR	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Oakdale Library	FICTION MOR	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	FICTION MOR	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	FICTION MOR	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wildwood Library (Mahtomedi)	FICTION MOR	Searching... Unknown

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As Seen on The TODAY Show!

Called One of the Best Crime Novels of the Year by New York Times * NPR * New York Post * Washington Post * Buzzfeed * South Florida Sun-Sentinel * Library Journal * CrimeReads

From the award-winning author of All Her Little Secrets comes yet another gripping, suspenseful novel where, after the murder of a white man in Jim Crow Mississippi, two Black sisters run away to different parts of the country . . . but can they escape the secrets they left behind?

It's the summer of 1964 and three innocent men are brutally murdered for trying to help Black Mississippians secure the right to vote. Against this backdrop, twenty-one year old Violet Richards finds herself in more trouble than she's ever been in her life. Suffering a brutal attack of her own, she kills the man responsible. But with the color of Violet's skin, there is no way she can escape Jim Crow justice in Jackson, Mississippi. Before anyone can find the body or finger her as the killer, she decides to run. With the help of her white beau, Violet escapes. But desperation and fear leads her to hide out in the small rural town of Chillicothe, Georgia, unaware that danger may be closer than she thinks.

Back in Jackson, Marigold, Violet's older sister, has dreams of attending law school. Working for the Mississippi Summer Project, she has been trying to use her smarts to further the cause of the Black vote. But Marigold is in a different kind of trouble: she's pregnant and unmarried. After news of the murder brings the police to her door, Marigold sees no choice but to flee Jackson too. She heads North seeking the promise of a better life and no more segregation. But has she made a terrible choice that threatens her life and that of her unborn child?

Two sisters on the run--one from the law, the other from social shame. What they don't realize is that there's a man hot on their trail. This man has his own brand of dark secrets and a disturbing motive for finding the sisters that is unknown to everyone but him . . .

"Anywhere You Run had me hooked from the first page... It's a novel both tender and ferocious--an absolute stunner." --Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of November Road

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The notorious 1964 murder of three civil rights activists in Mississippi provides the backdrop for Morris's stunning sophomore novel (after 2021's All Her Little Secrets), which revolves around two Black sisters' relationship while exploring racism, family, and small-town sensibilities. The quiet life of Violet Richards and her older sister, Marigold, ends when Violet kills the white man who raped her. Knowing that as a Black woman in the Jim Crow South she won't be treated fairly, Violet sneaks out of Jackson, Miss., with her wealthy white boyfriend before abandoning him in Alabama to catch a Greyhound bus that takes her to Chillicothe, Ga. Meanwhile, Marigold, who dreams of becoming a lawyer, works for the Mississippi Summer Project to help Blacks register to vote. She ends up in Ohio after quickly marrying her dim-witted boyfriend, having become pregnant by another man. The suspense ramps up as powerful forces target each sister because she unwittingly possesses damaging evidence. Meticulous research about the era informs the gripping plot, which alternates between each sister's point of view. Finely sculpted characters and crisp dialogue help make this a standout. Morris is a writer to watch. Agent: Lori Galvin, Aevitas Creative Management. (Oct.)

Kirkus Review

Two sisters find danger when they try to run from their secrets in the civil rights--era South. Violet Richards is in trouble. As a young Black woman in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1964, she knows she's courting danger by dating a White man, a rich man's son she doesn't really love. Then another White man rapes her. The police don't care. When the rapist threatens her again, she kills him and goes on the run, unknowingly taking something of her boyfriend's that turns out to be a powder keg. Violet's younger sister, Marigold, also has a boyfriend she doesn't love, and a secret lover as well. The lover abandons her when she tells him she's pregnant, just about the time police come to the family home looking for Violet. Marigold sees little reason to stay in Jackson--the oldest Richards sister, Rose, died years before in an accident, and both of their parents have died recently. So Marigold gives in to her boyfriend's marriage proposal and plan to move to Cleveland. Neither sister's escape goes as expected, especially after Violet's abandoned beau hires a man named Mercer Buggs to find her. Buggs is an inept detective, but he manages to put both Violet and Marigold in mortal danger. As their stories converge in the small town of Chillicothe, Georgia, Morris builds the tension, alternating the narrative among Violet, Marigold, and Buggs. She deftly ties the sisters' situation to a real-life tragedy of the civil rights movement--the murders of Freedom Summer volunteers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner--and to the inherent violence of the racism behind it. Despite a somewhat rushed ending, this thriller offers complex characters and a well-crafted portrait of time and place. Tense plotting and an authentic historical setting enhance a thriller about racial violence. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Morris follows the highly acclaimed All Her Little Secrets (2021) with a stunning novel about two Black sisters on the run, one victimized by an egregious crime and both guilty of simply wanting better lives for themselves. It is the summer of 1964 in Jackson, Mississippi, and the backlash to federal legislation meant to help Black people has often made their lives worse. Violet Richards has killed the white man who raped her and run away with her wealthy boyfriend, who is also white. She manages to steal his wallet and get on a bus to DC. Panicked after a Black man is beaten and pulled off the bus by police, Violet leaves the vehicle, too, and settles in Chillicothe, Georgia, under a new name. Meanwhile, Violet's older sister, Marigold Richards, is abandoned in Jackson by the man who made her pregnant and leaves for Cleveland, but she is pursued by a dangerous man willing to do anything for the money he needs to save his own family. These parallel stories of hiding and pursuit, which lead to an amazing conclusion, are told in the different but equally compelling voices of Violet and Marigold, each filled with its own fear and pain. This riveting and moving novel, with echoes of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, is highly recommended for fans of suspense and women's fiction.

Library Journal Review

Morris's (All Her Little Secrets) second novel is a historical thriller set in Jim Crow Mississippi. Sisters violet and Marigold are the only surviving members of the Richards family. Twenty-two-year-old Violet has always been unconventional, doing what she wants when she wants; she knows she was a disappointment to her parents. Her older sister Marigold has long been the "good girl"--good grades in school, no sex before marriage, adhering to their mama's admonishment to "become invisible" around white people. Marigold now works for the Mississippi Summer Project, dedicated to ensuring that Black people are allowed to vote after passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. When Violet kills a white man in self-defense, she flees Jackson, leaving Marigold behind. What she doesn't realize is that Marigold is pregnant, and the father left her to fend for herself. As Jackson police investigate the murder of the man who assaulted Violet, Marigold realizes she must leave Mississippi too. But moving north creates another set of problems. Beautifully rendered prose written in the vernacular of a small Mississippi town will immerse readers in the lives of two sisters trying to survive. VERDICT In this viscerally frightening novel of the Jim Crow era, Morris writes a stunning, heartbreaking portrayal of being Black in the 1960s U.S. South.--K.L. Romo

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

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