I started reading the novel Anywhere You Run (2022) because I was soon to interview the author, Wanda Morris, for WPL’s Thriller Author Panel. I wanted to be prepared, of course, but by the end of the book I was far more than that. I was moved by what I had read, deeply satisfied that my time had been well spent, and, well, thrilled that I was about to be in conversation with a terrific writer. Anywhere You Run is a rich and meaningful read, flush with intriguing and engaging characters, vivid historical settings, and the necessary twists and turns of plot that yield a great thriller.
In addition, Anywhere You Run illuminates an era and a place—the Jim Crow South—and situations of real historical consequence that resonate as timely today. The 1964 murder of three civil rights activists trying to help Black Mississippians secure the right vote sets the stage for the novel, which primarily alternates between the perspectives of two sisters, Violet and Marigold. After suffering a brutal attack, twenty-one year old Violet kills the man responsible. Because of the color of her skin, Violet now lives in terror of the kind of brutal retribution she may be served; people like her are lynched for far less. Meanwhile, Marigold, who dreams of attending law school, finds herself in another kind of trouble, one that brings with it its own harsh judgement; Marigold is also under police watch, due to the suspicion's about Violet.
For their own reasons, both sisters must flee their home town. Their paths lead very different directions, but their experiences along the way reveal much about the systematic racism and sexism of society at that time. And what neither Violet nor Marigold realize is that they are being followed by a man with his own disturbing secrets and motives, who seems intent on doing them great harm. I won't reveal where all this leads—you must read Anywhere You Run by Wanda Morris for yourself!