“When I turned 18, the first thing my mother told me is to go register to vote,” says Wanda M. Morris, whose latest mystery “Anywhere You Run,” tells the story of two sisters who are caught up in the tumultuous 1960s when Civil Rights workers were trying to help Blacks in the deep south exercise a right they’d been given over a century ago—being able to vote.
Marigold, the serious sister who dreams of being an attorney, is working for the Mississippi Summer Project, a 1964 voter registration drive attempting to increase the number of registered Black voters in her hometown of Jackson, when she discovers she’s pregnant. The father? A New York lawyer working for the project who skedaddles back home as soon as she tells him of her condition.

Her younger sister, Violet—the traffic-stopping beauty with lots of beaus—has always done exactly what she wants. Her father taught her how to use a shotgun and so she does, killing the man who brutally raped her. Always resourceful, she gets Dewey Leonard, the son of a rich white man, to run off with her. But Violet never plans on marrying him and once they’re out of Jackson, she steals his wallet and buys a ticket to visit her cousin in Chillicothe, Georgia. There she takes a new name and gets a job while determining what to do next.

Dewey isn’t about to let Violet go, not only because he’s obsessed with her but also because in his wallet is a photo of he and his father and several other White men standing over the grave of the three Civil Rights workers they’ve just murdered. He hires Mercer, a man who worked for his father to find her. His father ups the ante and promises Mercer more money to murder her. And so, the hunt is on.

Morris takes us to the time of Jim Crow, where Blacks in southern states lived in fear and were denied the rights that most of us take for granted. This is the world Morris’s parents were raised in.
“They’re both from Alabama,” says Morris. “And so I heard stories. My parents told me about how they had to drink out of separate water fountains, go in the backdoor of restaurants, and how they couldn’t be caught in certain towns after dark. Those stories always rang in my head.”

Marigold, in her desperation, has married a long time admirer, hoping to pass off the baby she’s expecting as his. Together they move to Cleveland but the relationship turns sour quickly. Her new husband has big dreams of owning a nightclub and expects Marigold to support him while he wiles away his time. After he beats her, she decides to join Violet in Chillicothe. What she doesn’t realize is that she’s leading Mercer, the man Dewey hired, directly to her sister.

“I wanted to put the reader right there, jab smack in the middle of what it felt like to just try and live your life, to try and work, to try and raise a family and having to live with all this vulnerability and hatred,” says Morris.
To create the ambience of the time, Morris dove deep into the era, reading stacks of vintage magazines and newspapers, listening to music of that era, and spending lots of time in the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History in Atlanta, Georgia where she lives.

The book works on so many levels—as a mystery and thriller and also as an introduction to what it was like living in a world of racial injustice. Saying a book is page-turner is often a cliché. But in the case of “Anywhere You Run,” it’s totally true

Wow, great book! So many emotions were felt throughout that I wasn't expecting. This is definitely an author I will read more from.

Thank you to Netgalley, Wanda Morris, and William Morrow for an advance copy of Anywhere You Run in exchange for an honest review. First off, why did I wait so dang long to read this book- it was truly fantastic. I dont want to ruin much but watching Violet and Marigold run away from their home for different reasons really stuck with me. Because I am a white women, I deal with so much privilege. Reading this was another reminder to me of how easy I have it (and how other white women in the past have had it) and reminded me that I need to continue to fight for the rights for everyone and check my privilege. Even though we watched Violet and Marigold start on different tracks, we get to see how these tracks weaved together as the days went on. This was truly an eye opening and fantastic book full of suspense. Its also important to remember that even though this was fiction, things like this happened all to often .Please add this to your TBR (as this book has been out since last year) and pick up a copy today.

Wanda M Morris is an amazing author and I love every book I’ve read by her. I hope she keeps writing and sharing her gift with the world

When I saw this is good. It is real good. I loved the slow build and the conclusion does not disappoint. You have got to run to pick up this book. Wanda M. Morris did her thing with this book.

A book that will make your heart pound. Set in the south during the time black people were trying to vote. When Violet kills a white man she is forced to run from her town to avoid being caught. However some people in the town are not ready to let her go.

I fell in love with the characters. They were real and brought that time in history to life.

This was a great book to read. It was written so well that it pulls you in and you don't want to put it down. The story follows two sisters from Jackson Mississippi who end up on the run for different reasons. Told in alternating viewpoints. Would read again!

Violet Richards is in trouble. It’s 1964 and being Black in Mississippi is tough to say the least. Violet only has her sister Marigold by her side, but they are polar opposites. Marigold is the smart one, the one who wanted to go to college and become a lawyer, but their parents only choice for her was a teacher. Violet is the feisty one, the one who pulls no punches and will stand up for herself and others. Violet wants a different life full of adventure. When Violet is sexually attacked by a local white man she can’t just sit back and become a victim. Violet kills him and goes on the run because a Black woman killing a Black man in the south will not go over well. Leaving Marigold behind Violet starts her path to a new life, the only problem Violet makes decisions and thinks later. Marigold is now on her own and in her own trouble. The smooth talking lawyer she met working for the Mississippi Summer Project has disappeared and she’s pregnant. As both sisters find themselves on paths they never planned, they will work to discover themselves and each other.

Thank you Scene of the Crime and William Morrow Books for this ARC.

I still have to read the author's first book, but I'm so glad I finally got a chance to read this one. I could not put this book down and I read it in a couple of hours. I'm still having a hard time articulating my feelings about this book, even though I finished it a few weeks ago. These characters have yet to left my presence, and I'm not for sure they ever will. This is one of those arcs that I've had for a while, and because I've been in so many slumps, I'm just getting to it. I want to kick myself for waiting so long to get to it. It took me on such an emotional ride, and just when I though i had figured out the directions it was going, it changed me and took me on another loop. This author will surely stay in my rotation, and I'm so excited and can't wait for her next book.

Two sisters are on the run, their past seems to follows them wherever they go. I really enjoyed the dual POV between the two sisters and how their struggles start to intertwine. It got a bit slow for me halfway through. There didn’t seem to be as much going on but the ending was fantastic!

Overall I give this book 3/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow & Company for the digital ARC of “Anywhere You Run” by Wanda M Morris.

From the prologue to the last page, I was so vested in this story that I read it in one sitting.

Anywhere You Run is set in the 60s, and we meet folks that live in Jackson, Mississippi. Three men are brutally murdered, which sets off a chain of events that will forever impact the lives of not only the residents of Miss. but two women, Violet and Marigold. Violet deals with a man who commits a violent crime, and Marigold has a life-changing pregnancy in more ways than one, and they both decide to leave Mississippi. What they endure is what makes this the most compelling read and why I highly recommend it.

Ms. Morris is an excellent writer who ensures you have empathy for most of the characters she brings to life on these pages and a strong dislike for those who need it. This book was so good I plan to reread it. The writing is tight, has well-developed characters, and the timeline is on point. She deals with race, murder, and many issues, yet none are overdone to fill the pages.

I look forward to many more books from her. This book is a book club must-read!

Reviewed by: Linda C.

Anywhere these two sisters run - their past and the people pursuing them will find them. Set in the 1960’s, two black sisters run for different reasons from their home town filled with deep rooted prejudice, despite the new laws. One sister is running from the law and the other from shame. The two characters storylines were back together skillfully towards the end of the book. I enjoyed watching the two sisters grow and gain confidence to follow their heart. The portrayal of segregation seemed very accurate and you could feel their struggle against all that was stacked up against them and the unfairness in how they and so many others were treated. The characters were well developed in the storyline keeps you reading.

I absolutely loved this book. It moves quickly, it grabs your heart. This is a story of two sisters who must do whatever it takes to survive in the perilous circumstances that threaten their safety, peace, and futures as Black women in the Jim Crow south. They make difficult choices to get out of their hometown following murders that they may be implicated in, and show their strength, love for each other, and how they persevere as they set up new lives for themselves. This is a nail biter of a story with the two main characters of Violet and Marigold both complex and easy to love. Well developed, suspenseful, Wanda Morris did an excellent job with this novel.

With Anywhere You Run, Wanda Morris demonstrates she's as adept at writing captivating historical crime thrillers as she is at writing contemporary crime thrillers (All Her Little Secrets). Morris excels at raising the stakes for her characters, making one wonder how they'll escape the corners she's backed them into, and delivering on the twists. At this point, I'll read anything Morris writes.

This is a very sad book that takes place during Jim Crow America. We begin in the Deep South of Mississippi where segregation exists, crosses are burned and there is no accountability for wrongdoing towards Black propel. Sister Violet and Marigold have different reasons for trying to get out of Mississippi, and the characters around them are both uplifting and terrible. The narration also focuses on one awful white man who feels Black folks are disposable and are keeping him down. So the author touches on a lot of social issues while weaving a thriller with nail biting moments. For those that like Take My Hand and House of Eve.

This is another thrilling book by Wanda Morris. I enjoyed her last book, but found myself loving this one even more!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris.
Wanda M. Morris creates a story that shows the racial inequalities present in the south during the 1960s. Morris creates three dimensional characters that draw the reader into the story. Fast-paced and filled with suspense, this story is easy to read and hard to put down.

Wanda M. Morris has wrote another story that keeps you interested all the way through. This story follows sisters, Violet and Marigold. Violet flees Jacksonville after committing a crime and her Marigold flees after finding herself pregnant by a man who leaves her.
I’m looking forward to what the author offers up next.

This is one powerful book! The audiobook is by far the BEST format to read this one. The narrators provide the nuances of speech that make the book a much more authentic experience. It's not an easy read as it delves into the cruelty of the Jim Crow south and all of the unfairness of segregation. The two sisters each have different paths that push them to make difficult choices. Neither knows how strong they truly are. As the story progresses their situations evolve into something neither could have dreamed of; both for the good and the bad. A polarizing, page turner of a story.

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

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.