Anywhere You Run: A Novel

Morris’ newest book reprises the killing days of the 60s in the lives and choices made by two sisters who want nothing more than to be equal. Impossible as long as they stay in the South, yet they are betrayed by their own well-intentioned but bad initial choices to run toward a more hopeful future. Death follows them and erases the evils and good surrounding them but the sisters survive and continue to move forward in hope. Moving.

Wow! At this very moment, I finished reading Anywhere You Run. I started reading yesterday and devoured it. I loved every character and every setting. Masterful. Wanda Morris, thank you for writing a historical novel with such political significance for today, reminding us about all of the rights we fought for and need to protect.

“Anywhere You Run”~ Wanda Morris had me intertwined within the lives of these young women living in the south during the Jim Crow era. So vividly written the South itself became a character in this novel. All of my senses were ignited to the point I was experiencing this journey with them back in year 1964. As Mrs. Morris stated-“An era that has passed but, if we are not careful, threatens to return.” I strongly recommend reading and purchasing this book. I also intend on giving copies as gifts! It will be added to the bookshelf in hardcover!

Really enjoyed this. Good storyline and interesting characters. One storyline felt a little open ended and I would have liked to know what happened to Randy/ Mary Lou. Ah well. A worthwhile read for sure!

It’s 1964 and Lyndon Johnson has just signed the Civil Rights Act into law. But life in Jackson, Mississippi hasn’t changed. When three men, two of whom are white, are murdered for helping Mississippians register to vote, it seems that Jackson is business as usually despite the new law.It is within this world that Violet Richards has recently been assaulted by a white man named Huxley Broadus. But after the police refuse to investigate, Violet takes the law into her own hands leaving Huxley dead. Knowing that there’s no way to avoid Jim Crow justice in Jackson, she decides to run with the help of her white boyfriend. After arriving in Chillicothe, Georgia, however, Violet realizes that the small town may not be as safe as she had hoped. Because someone is hunting her.Unknown to Violet, her sister Marigold is dealing with her own problems. With dreams of going to college and becoming a lawyer, she instead finds herself unmarried and pregnant with the police at her door looking for her sister. With few options, Marigold believes her only choice is to run as well. But has she made the right choice? Or has she inadvertently made one that will leave her in just as much danger but also far from home?Filled with lessons about the origins of race relations and voting rights in America, Anywhere You Run unfortunately fell a little flat to me as a psychological thriller. Unlike Wanda M. Morris’s debut novel All Her Little Secrets, which also explores being a black woman in America and has a riveting legal thriller plot, this one was missing the overriding suspense. Perhaps because this one takes place in the past, it feels more like historical fiction mixed with an extremely slow burn mystery and less like a thriller, despite the chase that takes place toward the end of the novel.For some positives, however (as there definitely were some excellent aspects hence my rating), I think the value of this book is in illuminating the world that a young, black woman in the 1964 Jim Crow South had to survive. With descriptive writing that makes you feel the tension Violet and Marigold are experiencing, the characters are vivid with deep, well-studied backgrounds. The multiple points of view gives us insight into not just the protagonists but the antagonist as well, which humanizes him somewhat. While I still can not put myself in either woman’s shoes, I feel honored to learn more about what they may have experienced had this story been real.Ultimately, I found myself being swept up by the book despite finding it a hard slog in the beginning. About halfway through, however, it picked up and gave me some excitement. It just lacked the major twist associated with a thriller, in my opinion. Morris did create a world I felt I could step right into, which in itself is an amazing achievement. Perhaps it should have been slated as a different genre? Then I might not have felt mildly disappointed after finishing this read. Rating of 4 stars.Trigger warning: rape, racist language, spousal abuse, abortion, miscarriage

Wanda Morris’s sophomore effort is even better than her first for me. It was gripping from the first word and hard to put down. Morris has leaned into her narrative style and used it to tell another female led murder mystery that is also TV ready material. This time she winds the clock back showcasing her range and bringing fresh stories to a time others are trying to suppress.Morris uses this civil rights era setting to deliver a page by page adjudication of the violence and injustice of Jim Crow America. The senselessness of it all and the longing for justice that never comes. The story covers extrajudicial killings, internal strifes, inequities, and so much more. She uses all of these themes to show how they strangle hopes and dreams and drive up the body count in the process.Morris’s characters each struggle to define and hold onto identity. In the midst of their interwoven and personal struggles we see how so much of who we are is defined by others. Morris also shows how the identity we seek and those hoisted upon us, are woven together by memories and perceptions. A great and quick read that has me looking forward to what Wanda Morris has in store for us next.