Thank you Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for an ARC of Run, Rose, Run in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought “what an interesting collaboration” when I first saw this available. I loved it!! A story about a young lady just trying to sing in Nashville. With a little bit of James Patterson’s twists and mystery. It all came together in a perfect, hard to put down, story.

Dolly Parton drew me to this book and I enjoyed it more than most Patterson titles. A slightly different take for Patterson and a delight for fans of Dolly Parton.

Another James Patterson celebrity collaboration, but who cares about him — the co-author is DOLLY PARTON!!!! The story is about a young woman, AnnieLee, trying to break into the Nashville music scene. She’s fairly destitute and has pawned her favorite guitar, Maybelle, to try her luck in the lower level live music venues around town. AnnieLee is full of confidence and naïvete, but it’s obvious she’s on some kind of path that will eventually intersect with Ruthanna Ryder, a possible future mentor and the retired Dolly of the narrative. We can also assume ahead of time that both have secrets — AnnieLee about how she arrived at Ruthanna’s doorstep and Ruthanna about why she retired suddenly but still writing and recording songs no one ever hears.

There is a definite “A Star is Born” vibe and one wonders how Dolly is going to fully develop her fictional alter ego, Ruthanna (as well as the younger Dolly alter ego, AnnieLee). A third important character is Ethan, one of Ruthanna’s studio musicians, who noticed AnnieLee in a dive bar, was immediately enchanted and recognized her voice as a gift to the world. And, of course, there’s the evil promoter who caused Ruthanna immense sorrow and might be the one trying create a horrible time for AnnieLee. Or maybe that’s someone from a hidden past? This is a James Patterson book, so mystery is expected.

Super bonus that no other book can offer: there’s a complete set of lyrics in the back of the book to the songs featured in the novel AND upon publication in March 2022, Dolly is releasing a coinciding album! Here’s hoping the songs will be included in a special future audiobook release, but, no matter, I’ll be watching for Dolly’s new music to download. What a terrific pairing! 5 stars — you usually can’t go wrong with any Patterson book, and the Parton partnership just made this incredible.

My super thanks to Little, Brown & Company and Net Galley for this special treat!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Ruthanna, the country music queen, and a couple of cats have verdant eyes, as does a lively waitress in Arkansas.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO As in the title, lots of references to roses, real and wallpaper variety, and the author knows that a certain type of damask roses rebloom in autumn.

Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson; Dolly Parton A quick and easy read that is a little bit of song, a bit of mystery, a little bit of love, a little bit of joy and a big country music background. Dolly's writing shines throughout the story.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

If you enjoy Dolly Parton you will enjoy this story of Annielee Keyes or really Rose . Rose struggling from an abusive situation to making it in Nashville is a read you don’t want to put down . You can almost hear the songs she songs she sings and the way Ethan supports her. The famous music legend also is so dear. Thanks to NetGalley and Brown, little for the preview book. So enjoyed it!

Well, I love Dolly so I knew I had to read this! This is the sorry of AnnieLee Keyes and her journey to stardom in Nashville. It’s got lot do music, mystery and romance. I enjoyed reading this and didn’t want to put it down!

*Thank you very much to Little Brown publishing, James Patterson & Dolly Parton, and Netgalley for providing me with a E-ARC of "Run,Rose,Run" in exchange for an honest review*

So I did like this. I really like Dolly's writing (both song and not). I think it did help that I'm a fan a country music, as there are some references that you may not get right away because if your not a fan of country music.

A Patterson book with Dolly Parton as coauthor…light mystery, okay plot. Thanks Netgalley and publisher.

I don’t read Patterson but thought Dolly Parton, I’ll give it a try.
A quick simple book, yes some mystery but not a very good one. Broke youngish song writer, shows up in Nashville to make it big and meets some interesting people and places. Finally has to face her past and get beyond it.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to preread this.

I really enjoyed this book and will do a full review on the blog closer to release date. There was so much good behind the scenes information.l about the music industry. The thriller element was less present than expected, but it did not diminish the quality of the book. My one complain is that I thought the two central characters names were too similar - both names that combine two other names and both using variations on Ann, Anna, Annie. I would have chosen something else, but it’s a minor point

A fast paced, thriller set in the musical city of Nashville is the perfect pairing for James Patterson and Dolly Parton. A suspenseful tale perfectly woven will have you on the edge of your seat turning pages al night long. A great read!

Run, Rose, Run is a good, easy mystery featuring a runaway with a story she hides and a country singing career she yearns for. Moments of tension and moments of love and light make Run, Rose, Run an engaging book.

Driven, driven to be smarter
Driven to work harder
Driven to be better every day
Driven, yes you gotta be
Nothing you cannot achieve
Take the wheel and just believe
that you can change your life

-Song Lyrics Copyright @ 2021
Song-A-Billy Music

AnnieLee Keyes had "nothing and nobody; she was broke and alone...All right...I don't have nothing. I have music...Closing her eyes, she could imagine herself onstage somewhere, singing for a rapt audience...". But now, AnnieLee was standing in the rain, thumbing a ride to get the hell out of Texas. Destination: Nashville. "Home was a pawnshop sleeping bag [after pawning her beloved guitar, Maybelle] on a bare patch of ground under a tree in Cumberland Park...A metallic jangle of keys and the scrape of a boot along a sidewalk...She ran."

AnnieLee arrived at the Cat's Paw Saloon, a dive bar, asking for a chance onstage. "I'm one 'in' a million-not one 'of' a million...She sang for joy and she sang as if her life depended on it. Because, she knew it did." She was fearless and shameless!

Ethan Blake played a set onstage before her. "Perhaps he wasn't sufficiently hungry for fame and fortune." A luthier, of sorts, he had built his own guitar. He was a songwriter, always writing, but not big on playing his own songs.

Ruthanna Ryder was "one of country music's grandest queens...She had no desire to pour her heart out into a melody...bring tears to a thousand eyes." She retired. She wrote for herself. "Ruthanna was old-school...She liked all her musicians playing together rather than overdubbing for days.". Ethan Blake was one of her session players. Ethan to Ruthanna: "I saw an amazing new singer... the blunt power of AnnieLee's lyrics and the soaring ache of her voice...beautiful, talented...mean as tobacco spit."

"Run, Rose, Run", a first novel by Dolly Parton and co-written by James Patterson showcases three protagonists, each with hidden secrets defining their lives. Perhaps the truth will out. Will it spell disaster? For this reader, the tome highlights the generosity of an established Nashville singer as mentor to a newbie on the music scene. The mystery, the secrets, were not the ones expected! Upon publication, an album of twelve original songs will be simultaneously released. These songs, written in character by Annielee, Ethan and Ruthanna, can only enhance the novel with a lovely musical listening experience. Highly recommended!

Thank you Little, Brown and Company and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kind of a fun book. Little love , little mystery, whole lot of country music. I was pleasantly surprised by James Patterson and Dolly Parton together.