whitneydaniell

by: Wanda M. Morris
published: October 25, 2022
genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
384 Pages, E-Book
Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis

Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris is a powerful historical thriller set in the Jim Crow South, told through the voices of two sisters, Violet and Marigold Richards. After Violet commits a crime she can’t walk away from, she flees Mississippi under cover of night with a white man—Dewey Leonard—whose mere presence at her side could get them both killed. Their path north is complicated by race, grief, and secrets. Meanwhile, Marigold, left behind in Jackson with only a note, finds herself facing her own crisis: she’s pregnant, abandoned, and about to marry a man who isn’t the father of her child. She escapes to Ohio hoping for peace, but instead finds herself trapped in a nightmare of her own making.

As the story unfolds, both sisters are tested by the weight of survival, love, and freedom in a deeply segregated and violent America. Their journeys, though separate, intertwine in unexpected ways as they each search for safety, self-determination, and each other. With nuanced commentary on race, class, gender, and power, Morris crafts a suspenseful, layered story grounded in historical truths that still resonate today.

Character Summary

Twenty-one-year-old Violet Richards has got to get out of Jackson, Mississippi before sunrise—and her only way out is Dewey Leonard, the white son of a local store owner she’s been seeing intimately. In Jim Crow Mississippi, their relationship is dangerous, even deadly. But Violet doesn’t have the luxury of caution—she’s just committed a serious crime and needs to disappear. So under cover of darkness, she and Dewey head north toward Boston. Still, Violet knows she can’t make the whole trip with him. Somewhere between the grief and violence she leaves behind in Jackson and the uncertain freedom that might await her in Boston, she makes a snap decision in Birmingham: she boards a Greyhound headed anywhere but there.

Marigold Richards, one year older than Violet, has problems of her own. After their oldest sister Rose died, Marigold took up the mantle of “the responsible one”—but that role is wearing thin. After Violet’s abrupt exit and a short goodbye note, Marigold knows the police are looking for her sister, and she wants no part of that so-called investigation. She has to get out of Jackson too—but there’s a complication: she’s pregnant, and the baby’s father skipped town. With nothing left but heartache and death in Mississippi, she agrees to marry her boyfriend of two years and move to Ohio, letting him assume the baby is his. But when Ohio turns out to be its own kind of hell, Marigold is on the run again—this time, back toward her sister.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t plan to read this in one sitting—but once the story started unfolding, I couldn’t stop. I needed to know what happened next.

The dynamic between Mercer Buggs and Dewey Leonard was particularly compelling. Dewey, a white man from the South in love with a Black woman, is deeply conflicted—not just by his feelings, but by the fact that his father leads the Mississippi Citizens Council, a group devoted to upholding segregation and white supremacy. Then there’s Mercer, a poor white man who, despite being treated almost as badly as Black citizens, clings to his skin color as the one thing that gives him power. Their relationship is tense and layered. Mercer thinks he’s in control, but it becomes clear the Leonard family still pulls the strings. Even with his whiteness, Mercer learns that poverty and status still place him at the bottom—and the people he thought he’d outgrown never truly let go.

I also appreciated the duality between the sisters, Marigold and Violet. Marigold marries a man who, on paper, looks like a “good catch” but the moment they arrive in Cleveland, his anger, disappointment, and instability show themselves. Roger Bonny had nothing real to offer, and honestly? I have nothing good to say about him—or his sister-in-law, Lurlene.

Lurlene, girl, who asked you to say anything?!

Back to the sisters—while Marigold is scraping her way through the mess of a marriage and finding her strength, Violet is living life on her own terms. Despite everything she’s been through—and everything people have said about her—she’s building a life in Chillicothe, Georgia. She’s surrounded by a supportive community, and she finds love again. When she finally stops looking over her shoulder, she’ll realize that everything she’s ever wanted is right in front of her.

This was such a powerful story.

There is an author’s note about the language used in the book—since it takes place in the Jim Crow South, some of the terms reflect the hateful rhetoric of that time. It’s uncomfortable but necessary to ground the story in the truth of that era.