Wanda M. Morris

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ANYWHERE YOU RUN

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…

PRAISE

“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.” — Publishers Weekly starred review

“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.” — Booklist starred review

“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.” — Library Journal starred review

“The immensely talented Wanda M. Morris delivers an unflinching exploration of the pain and injustice of the Jim Crow South, a moving tale of sisterly devotion, and a riveting thriller all in one stellar novel. Morris writes with deep empathy and keen insight about the choices we make when we’re out of choices, and how when we dig deep we find a strength and resilience we didn’t know was there. Wise, riveting, and full of surprises, Anywhere You Run will keep you up past your bedtime and stay with you long after the book is closed.” — Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

“A stunning thriller and a stunning work of historical fiction. Anywhere You Run is riveting, touching and terrifying. Wanda M. Morris is a ferociously talented writer.” — Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of The Long Weekend

“Anywhere You Run had me hooked from the first page. Wanda Morris brings 1964 to vivid, richly-textured life and populates it with unforgettable characters. It’s a novel both tender and ferocious – an absolute stunner.” — Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of November Road

“Evocative, heartbreaking, and utterly life-changing. With the ground-breaking Anywhere You Run, Wanda Morris blooms into literary fiction, bringing readers a chillingly knowing and brilliantly upsetting novel of the 60s. With no holds barred and no emotion unplumbed, the talented Morris writes a tale of two sisters that’s unflinchingly raw and passionately authentic. We cannot turn away from the story, or from the immersive settings, or from Morris’s skilled depiction of tragedy, triumph, and the struggle to love and survive.”  — Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author  

“So powerful! Though she’s writing about the past, Wanda Morris tells a story that feels incredibly relevant today. With its menacing characters and emotionally wrenching situations, Anywhere You Run made me hold my breath for two wonderfully well-drawn heroines.” — Rachel Howzell Hall, bestselling author of These Toxic Things

“Anywhere You Run is a gripping crime novel centered around a cat-and-mouse chase featuring characters I came to love. It’s also a riveting, moving, and deeply American story about the strength of sisters and the power of redemption. I couldn’t put this one down.” — Jess Lourey, bestselling author of The Quarry Girls

“A propulsive and immersive journey among the treacherous landscape of America in the early 1960s told through the eyes of black women. With unflinching prose, Wanda M. Morris weaves a story of love, loss, and unimaginable strength.” — Catherine Adel West, author of The Two Lives of Sara and Saving Ruby King

“From the acclaimed author of All Her Little Secrets comes a novel packed with intrigue and suspense.” — Oprah Daily

“A southern setting where voting and abortion are both increasingly restricted feels…rather like today, if I’m honest. Wanda Morris, too, has noted the parallels, and there is a sense of political urgency that helps speed this thriller along.” — Molly Odintz CrimeReads

 

READING GROUP GUIDE

  1. Near the opening of the book, Violet states that she and her sister, Marigold, were more alike than they were different, as people like to think of them. How do you think 1960s societal standards for women made them different and/or alike?

 

  1. What do you think of Violet’s decision to get off the bus in Chillicothe instead of heading on to Washington, DC? Do you think she would have had the same coming of age experiences if she had moved to a large city?

 

  1. What do you think of Marigold’s decision to marry Roger Bonny?

 

  1. The story is told from the perspectives of Violet, Marigold, and Mercer, three different personalities, but do you think these three characters share something in common?

 

  1. Dewey went through such lengths to track down Violet. Do you think his determination was fueled by genuine love for Violet, leaving the racist south or some personal motivations such as getting away from his father’s overbearing nature and involvement in the murder of the civil rights workers?

 

  1. When Mercer negotiates with Dewey’s father and is recruited to kill Violet, he finally feels completely in over his head. Do you think Mercer was justified in killing Violet given the threat to his wife and his sick son?

 

  1. Jim Crow laws and the Mississippi Citizens Council oppressed Blacks in the south. Do you think those efforts had an impact on Mercer, a poor white man?

 

  1. Violet blames herself for her sister Rose’s death. Who do you think was to blame?

 

  1. What did you think of the other female characters in the book like Miss Willa, Pauline, Lilly and even Bettyjean Coogler?

 

  1. This book features dual perspectives of this country in the 1960s as Violet stays in the South and Marigold moves North. What did you think of the author’s decision to focus on both sisters and their geographical locations?

 

  1. We see Chillicothe, Georgia once again in this book. What did you think about seeing this other side of Chillicothe that has a much heavier focus on the black part of the town, the race relations of the 1960s, and the different people in town?

 

  1. Do you see any similarities between expectations for women in the 1960s and present day?

 

  1. Do you see any parallels between the Mississippi Summer Project’s effort to secure the right to vote for Blacks and recent controversial voting restrictions in states like Georgia and Texas?

 

  1. If you read All Her Little Secrets then you will recognize Vera Henderson, godmother to Ellice Littlejohn in this book. What did you think after seeing her as the 21-year-old Violet Richards in the Jim Crow South and not as an elderly woman?

 

  1. If there was another book featuring a character in Anywhere You Run, who would you want to be the main character?