I found this novel a little tough to get into and the subject matter itself is hard, set during Mississippi during the 1960s with all the racism that implies. But once I got about a quarter of the way in I was invested in the two sisters and wanted to find out what happened to them. This novel was suspenseful and dealt with a lot of tough issues and I was invested in finding out what happened to the two sisters.

Tells the stories of 2 very different black sisters, Violet and Marigold Richards. It starts in the summer of 1964, when 3 young civil white activists from up north are murdered in Neshoba County.

Rebellious, fearless Violet is brutally raped one night by a white man. When she kills him, she has to run. She cons her white beau into believing they are eloping, steals his wallet and hops on a bus, stopping in rural Georgia, where she becomes Vera.

Pregnancy (and her sister's action) force Marigold into a quick marriage to handsome, unreliable Roger Bonny. They settle in Ohio.

Both sisters have troubles, but neither realize there's someone dangerous on their trail.

This is a remarkable story of the trials of Southern black women in the 60s and a strong affirmation of the enduring bond of sisterhood.

Anywhere you Run was the story of a strong woman in the Deep South running for her life during civil rights movements. Crazy to think this is historical fiction that took place not that long ago. Violets story is a fast paced suspenseful story. Wanda Morris writes and creates amazing and strongwoman characters.

Set in Georgia and Mississippi in the mid-1960's, two sisters are both running to escape their pasts. This novel kept me engaged and continuously thinking of the struggles these women faced during a very tumultuous time in American history. Wanda Morris develops characters who keep you engaged and rooting for their success. Sisters Wanda and Violet are running from their own decisions. They are haunted by both their recent past and things that happened in their childhood.

Morris takes you back to the 1960's and helps you understand the challenges that faced single black women surviving in the South. She develops characters whose success you root for facing challenges that pull you emotionally into the story.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it. I liked the fast pace, similar to All Her Little Secrets, the author’s debut novel. I look forward to more of her work.

Wanda Morris's second novel does not disappoint. In this novel she takes the reader back in time to 1964 Jim Crow Mississippi. Due to circumstances two sisters follow two different paths. When they come back together they will have to depend on each other even more than they ever did as girls.

The writing is genuine. Once again the characters are women who are survivors of the circumstances of their upbringing. I became invested in the lives of the characters as they both went through different trials and tribulations while trying to be independent and strong. Bring on the next book.

What a great book! Set in 1964 in the deep south, 3 freedom fighters are brutally murdered, trying to help blacks in MS register to vote. Then, Violet, the youngest of her mother's bouquet (Rose, Marigold, and Violet) is raped by a white man, and she murders him. She begs another white man, Dewey, to help her run to safety. However, Violet doesn't want to be with Dewey, and jilts him and runs.
Her sister, Marigold, dreams of becoming a lawyer, and gets pregnant by a lawyer in the office. When she tells him of the pregnancy, he bolts. Now, unwed and pregnant, she must make a plan. So, she agrees to marry Roger. But, when Roger beats her, she runs from him.
These 2 sisters are now on the run, hiding in GA. But, although they try to make a new life, danger is not far behind. They are still being pursued.
I really enjoyed the way Morris told the story, and I loved the fierce independence of Violet/Vera. I also liked how she was flawed, and felt guilty (not warranted) for the death of loved ones. Great book!

Taking place in Jim Crow days...1964 a few men are violently murdered for trying to help blacks get the right to vote. During this time a 22 year old Violet is facing her own trouble, while her older sister strives to attend law school, but also is in some trouble of her own. Both on the run with a man following them...but why?

Deliciously dark and gloriously twisted. Compelling and a creative plot with characters you co.e to either root for or hate. Highly inventive and one not to be missed.

Loved violet and Marigold. I was rooting for both of them. Violet kills her rapist and is on the run. Soon after Marigold also leaves because she is pregnant with another man’s child. She leaves with a man but ends up taking his money and traveling on her own. Both are running and now have someone following after them. Fast paced and well written.
Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Anywhere You Run was really good! I was fully invested in this story and these characters from the very beginning. I’ve seen this categorized as a thriller but I wouldn’t call it that. It’s a historical fiction novel focused on Black sisters in the Jim Crow south in 1964. One is on the run, wanted for murder in their hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. And the other finds herself pregnant and trying to figure out her life. The injustices in these girls lives are tragic. Everything is so hard for them and it’s hard to read sometimes how awful humans can be to other humans. But these women are strong and resilient and throughout it all they have hope for the future.

The story moves along nicely and I found myself looking forward to sitting down with it to see how it ended. I’ll definitely be reading her first novel, All Her Little Secrets, which published last year and is being developed into a series for Showtime. Thank you @williammorrowbooks for this advance copy!

Two sisters, Rose and Violet, find themselves on their own after the deaths of their older sister and parents. They feel adrift and struggle to find some parental guidance. By the summer of 1964, both are on the run -- one from the law and the other from social shame. Can they escape their past and live their lives on their terms?

Where to start with everything I loved about this historical fiction crime thriller? There's so much to love! From the first sentences, I was transported back to the South in the 1960s. Wanda Morris sets the scene so well. In addition to some truly remarkable characters and some true villains, the story unfolds with a lot of suspense. All had interesting stories to tell. Add parallels to current-day voting and abortion rights issues, and we have a winner! I really enjoyed Morris' debut, All Her Little Secrets, and gave it 5 stars. Anywhere You Run has earned 5+ stars from me! I can't wait to see what comes next from this must-read author.

Three stars. This book did have a grip on me and rarely lagged. I didn't care for the way some of the fat characters were described. It wasn't a loud irk for me but it was an irk.
She did a good job of unraveling the secrets and maintaining my interest even when I thought the secrets were done. It felt both high stakes and low stakes at the same time.
I love the different POVs in this book. All in all, a good time I would recommend it.

Loved this story of sisters Violet (aka Vera) and Marigold whom are running from things in their past. It all leads to them finding themselves but much heartache happens before.

Unfortunately, I could not finish this title. Plodding, drama-filled, and not mysterious. Definitely not a thriller.

Anywhere you Run is the story of two sisters Violet and Marigold, both who end up on the run for very different reasons.

I had read Morris's previous book and knew I'd read anything else she wrote. I didn't even read the premise of this. I was surprised it was all set in the Jim Crow Era. However, the characters of Violet and Marigold were both headstrong and determined, in their own way, both seeking a better life, and both wanting safety and security and a place to call home in a time that was dangerous to be a black person, and a black woman.

Highly recommend this to fans of historical fiction, mystery, and suspense. I look forward to future books by Wanda Morris.

In the summer of 1964, three innocent men are murdered in Jackson, Mississippi, right after helping black citizens obtain the right to vote. Meanwhile, Violet suffers a brutal attack and kills the white man responsible. Knowing she could never escape the Jim Crow justice in Mississippi, she flees. Violet’s older sister has always dreamed of going to law school, but now finds herself unmarried and pregnant. She too flees to seek a safer life for herself and her unborn child. Neither of them realizes a man is on their trail.

It still astounds me that this kind of injustice existed and that this kind of hatred could still be found. My heart went out to the sisters in this story. It kept me on the edge of my seat as their futures lay uncertainly before them. Wanda Morris did an incredible job at crafting this story in a way that was not only exciting, but portrayed just how unfair the so-called justice system was to people of color. This is an important one to read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Wanda Morris and William Morrow for the ARC! This book is our not.

This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

Violet and Marigold are sisters who live in Jackson, Mississippi. Their parents and another sister are deceased. Three men are found murdered for trying to help Black folks register to vote. Violet and Dewey, a white man, are in love and run away together after Violet suffers a brutal attack. While on the run, Violet still doesn’t feel safe in the company of Dewey, so she leaves him and disappears. Dewey returns home and hires someone to find Violet.
Meanwhile, Marigold is working for attorneys in the Mississippi Summer Project, trying to further the cause of the Black right to vote. When the police show up at her front door asking about Violet, Marigold realizes she must leave town too. And now both sisters are on the run but for very different reasons.
This story is told in alternating viewpoints between Violet and Marigold, along with some other characters. Very engrossing storytelling – I felt invested in these sisters’ stories.

A great mix of history and suspense in Wanda Morris’s second novel. Like her first book, Morris creates likable and imperfect main characters in Marigold and Violet and the setting of the South in 1964 is accurately portrayed. Both historical fiction and mystery/suspense lovers will enjoy this. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted e-copy of this novel.

When Wanda M. Morris released her debut novel–a contemporary thriller set in and around a Georgia law office called All Her Little Secrets—she quickly became a critical darling, a fan favorite, and a multi-award-nominated and multi-award-winning juggernaut. Anticipation was high for this talented author’s next novel. Understandably, many readers expected another contemporary thriller with legal themes, but Wanda M. Morris refused to take the expected or easy route and this week is releasing Anywhere You Run, a historical novel set in the Jim Crow South featuring two strong and unforgettable female lead characters literally running for their lives. Rest assured, Anywhere You Run is every bit as good as that stunning debut novel, and in many ways Wanda M. Morris has exceeded some very-high expectations.

Set in 1964, Anywhere You Run begins with two sisters—Violet and Marigold Richards—who reside in Jackson, Mississippi. Life there isn’t easy, but it is familiar. But when Violet is brutally assaulted and the man responsible ends up dead, she knows she must flee, leaving both her home, and more importantly, her sister. Leaving in the middle of the night with the man she loves, a white man, the two plan to head North, where the color of Violet’s skin, and their forbidden mixed-race love, will supposedly be less of a detriment. However, when Violet unexpectedly finds herself in Chillicothe, Georgia—familiar to readers as an important location in All Her Little Secrets—she decides to change her name and stay there awhile. Violet meets some local residents who embrace her, along with a few who just see her as another potential maid around town, but the small community begins to feel like a home of sorts.

Meanwhile, back in Mississippi, Violet’s older sister Marigold is hoping to make a difference in the world. With aspirations of going to law school, she currently works for the Mississippi Summer Project – an advocacy group working towards civil rights for all citizens. Marigold has just discovered she is pregnant, and when the hopes that the father will step up to his obligations are dashed, she finds herself floundering. Now with her sister accused of murder—not to mention gone—Marigold decides it is time that she left as well, heading to Washington, DC, where she hopes that Violet will someday join her.

The strength of Anywhere You Run rests squarely on the shoulders of these two sisters. Wanda M. Morris has crafted two distinct and fleshed-out characters with whom readers will immediately bond. Despite the historical time period of the novel, readers will know women like Violet and Marigold in their present day lives. Women to be admired and respected for so many reasons, not the least of which is their overall moral fiber and inner strength. Both sisters serve as narrators for their own portions of the story and readers will commiserate in their ache to be reunited.

Anywhere You Run is also a thriller, so readers need a villain. Well, to be clear, there are many villains in this story—one of them being society itself—but to help with the forward momentum of the novel, Wanda M. Morris creates Mercer Buggs, a man hired to track down Violet and bring her back to Mississippi to face some sort of reckoning, though Mercer is unclear what that really means. He just needs the money to take care of his family and will do whatever it costs to make that happen. Mercer gets point-of-view chapters of his own, and while his struggles are real, readers will continue turning the pages quickly in hopes that Violet is able to evade this danger hot on her heels.

No review of Anywhere You Run would be complete without a mention of the historical accuracy which Wanda M. Morris imbues throughout the novel. This is an author who knows her stuff when it comes to the Jim Crow laws and their effect on community. Wanda M. Morris refuses to sugarcoat reality to ease the delicate sensibilities of some readers and the book is stronger because of it. Each of the locations in the novel is authentically depicted and Morris instinctively knows just when to include some telling period detail(s) that help to keep readers rooted in the past. Now that fans know she can write both contemporary and historical thrillers, the excitement to see what Wanda M. Morris creates next is higher than ever. Somehow, I think she will once again meet and exceed any and all expectations.