When I came across Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson, I was delighted. A thriller mixed with good ole’ southern charm? Count me in! I like Dolly Parton and had high hopes going into a book she co-wrote with popular author Patterson. I am pleased to say, while not an entirely perfect read, I was not disappointed.
Run, Rose, Run hits the ground running, with our main heroine, AnnieLee Keyes, throwing herself off a balcony in Vegas. What ensues is her story leading up to that point and resolving shortly thereafter (once we work our way back there again). It had a touch of romance, the obvious element of mystery, and a very large helping of country music and southern charm.
I have few negatives to share about this book, so I’ll start with my positives. The writing was basic but not in a bad way (to me). I enjoyed just being able to read the story; it made the novel an easy late-night / tired-mom-brain read for me. It seemed to fit the simplicity of the main character’s life and personality as well. The characters were all likable – maybe somewhat cliche or lacking fleshed-out depth at times, but no one came across to me as annoying or hard to root for. While I’m not a hardcore country music fan, I enjoyed the nods to that scattered throughout the book as well as the descriptions of Nashville, TN. I live only a few hours away from Nashville and have visited several times, so I found it fun to be able to mentally picture the city the story took place in.
My biggest complaints (apart from the one I will detail below) are, as I mentioned, minor. First off, the names: we have AnnieLee and Ruthanna as two of our main heroines, for example. And it just felt like the authors were trying a little too hard with their double-name country vibe on that one. There was also a lot of repetition of the same lyrics that AnnieLee wrote throughout the book, but it was usually the same verse or two used again and again. The characters felt a little lacking in depth for the tragedies that had befallen all of them. Maybe fewer characters should have horrific life things happen to balance it out? One of them especially just seems dropped in there with no connection to the rest of the book. I’m not sure. It just seemed like our main crew all experienced deep, unspeakable tragedy yet didn’t seem to really carry the weight of that with them (more on this below).
Which brings me to my main beef with the book: the conclusion. I was really digging the story until about 87% of the way through. We find out some truly heinous things have happened to AnnieLee in her past as part of the wrapping up of the thriller element, yet the resolution on them is so hurried it’s hard to both absorb that part of the story or even really feel for AnnieLee. I mean, tragic, terrible, awful things. The story essentially ends like this: AnnieLee reveals her past, receives a comforting hug from another character, and we fast forward to a happily-ever-after epilogue nine months later.
Don’t get me wrong: I love a happy ending. I prefer a happy ending. However, I felt like this ending was so rushed after dropping such a heavy bomb that it was hard to get into the epilogue and the feels it was supposed to give you. I really wish that the authors had either chosen to unpack this part of AnnieLee’s life earlier in the book to give it more time to resolve or had lightened the load a little bit to make the concluding chapter and epilogue make more sense. It just didn’t jive in my head. And that disappointed me after a read I had enjoyed so much.
That said, I still recommend Run, Rose, Run. It’s interesting, wholesome, and uniquely enlightening as you know someone who definitely knows her stuff has fleshed out the country music side of the story. I enjoyed the glimpse into that world paired with an element of mystery and of course, a little romance. It wasn’t the most amazing book I’ve ever read, but a quick, easy, and enjoyable one. I hope it will be for you too!
Meredith
Copyright Dolly Parton, James Patterson, and Little Brown & Co. Image from Amazon.com.
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