We open Run, Rose, Run with AnnieLee jumping off a hotel balcony. Heart-stopping opening, if I may say so myself. So we were off to a promising start. But then we rewind eleven months, and instead of a high-speed Patterson chase, we settle into the rhinestone-and-grit streets of Nashville. From the jump, I knew AnnieLee was running from something; I just didn’t know who or what. But believing in these characters was another story.
Ruthanna, a country legend, taking a total stranger into her home without a blink? Um, no. Ethan putting his entire music career on hold to play chauffeur for AnnieLee? Double no. And AnnieLee, desperate to be a Nashville star, yet somehow keeping her entire hometown in the dark? That’s not ambition; that’s a masterclass in cognitive dissonance.
This book never went full-throttle Patterson like I expected. Instead, it wandered through honky-tonk bars and recording studios, often focusing more on the music scene than the actual suspense of who was chasing AnnieLee and why. Dolly’s fingerprints were all over this one. The Nashville setting seemed authentic, the music industry details rang true, and the trauma/survival themes worked. But the thriller elements...well, let’s just say they were background vocals at best.
As a novel, it’s a solid 4 out of 5: Nice story, memorable characters, and a multimedia bonus (the companion album was released with it). As a thriller, though, don’t expect Patterson’s usual page-burner. This is Dolly’s show, with Patterson strumming backup.
