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Book review: ‘Run, Rose, Run’ by Dolly Parton and James Patterson

• March 1, 2022

After the songs she’s written, films she’s acted in and composed for, funding a vaccine, and putting millions of books into the smallest of hands, you may be wondering if there’s anything Dolly Parton can’t do? In short, the answer is no as her latest adventure sees her pen her first novel with best-selling author and philanthropist James Patterson.

‘Run, Rose, Run’ follows the story of AnnieLee Keyes, an aspiring country singer as she arrives in Nashville with big dreams. There she meets retired country star Ruthanna Ryder who takes her under her wing and dashing guitarist Ethan Blake who believes in her from the moment he meets her. However, AnnieLee is on the run but what is she running from?

‘Run, Rose, Run’ captivated me from the Prologue, you find yourself holding your breath as you get closer to untangling the web of secrets that each character holds. The three main characters have a lot of depth to them, they’re well developed from the start. AnnieLee Keyes in particular is an easy character to connect with, you feel like you know her like a friend yet at the same time the sense of mystery that surrounds her and her past is written so well. It grips you, you don’t want to put it down until you find out what secrets she’s hiding. Her fieriness and determination to succeed inspire and you find yourself willing her on with each turn of the page. Meanwhile, that grit she shows also sparkles in Ruthanna Ryder’s character. You can see she is like the Dolly Parton or the Reba McEntire of the country world and there is an instant admiration and likability to her.

The intricate details within the story help to build the suspense and as things start to look up for a character you can feel something coming just around the corner, so you can never quite relax. However, there is humour in the dialogue, light hearted relief that punctuates the drama and darkness that surrounds the plot. Whilst Patterson undoubtedly brings that suspense and mystery, Parton sets the scene well, the landscape is so beautifully painted. Her knowledge of the music industry really brings the characters and story to life as she references real musicians, events and controversies like ‘Tomato-gate’ and publishing rights; allowing those outside of the industry to properly understand and empathise with the fight artists and writers have on their hands to own their own words.

Despite the detail in the build up, the climax seems to go at ten times the speed and to me wraps up a little too quickly (or perhaps I was a little too eager to get to the bottom of the mystery!) Once the antagonist is revealed, minor details throughout the novel begin to click into place and the lyrics on the accompanying album take on a whole new meaning. The audio book is definitely worth a listen too with Parton and Kelsea Ballerini bringing the drama to their voices as they act out the dialogue. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Parton and Patterson team up again in the future and the media interpretations of Run, Rose, Run expanding in the form of a film or musical version.

To summarise, it’s one of those books that plays on your mind all day if you have to put it down, wondering what will happen to the characters you’ve come to know and love and once you’ve finished reading, a pang of sadness washes over you that the story, the journey you’ve been on with these characters has drawn to a close.

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Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

RUN, ROSE, RUN

by Dolly Parton & James Patterson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 7, 2022

The fairy-tale characters and details of the country-music scene are so much fun you won't mind the silly plot.

A singer/songwriter at the beginning of her career is befriended by a retired country-music luminary, but will the young woman's past destroy her before her star can ascend?

"Underneath that sweet, doll-faced exterior, there was something fierce and furious about AnnieLee Keyes. Some dark pain powered those pipes; Ruthanna was sure of it." Like Bill Clinton before her, Parton has hooked up with Patterson to channel the details of her profession into a thriller framework—and in this case, to provide an album of songs purportedly written by the three main characters to be released at the same time. When we meet AnnieLee, she is on the run, hitchhiking to Nashville to escape some mysterious nightmare situation. Standing in the rain, she starts singing to herself: " Is it easy / No it ain't / Can I fix it? / No I cain't ." This will become "Woman Up (and Take It Like a Man)," one of the songs she debuts in a roadside dive called the Cat's Paw, begging a place on the stage and playing a borrowed guitar before slinking off to sleep in a public park. But she has already been noticed by Ethan Blake, a handsome Afghanistan veteran–turned–Nashville session player and secret songwriter—" Demons, demons, we've both had enough of our own / Demons, demons, we don't have to fight them alone ." He will take word of this tiny, skittish prodigy to his boss, the beloved Ruthanna Ryder, who has stepped back from a mega-career after personal tragedy—and who happens to own the Cat's Paw. Ruthanna, who recalls the great Parton in coiffure, jewelry, generosity, and business know-how, sees her former self in AnnieLee—" Big dreams and faded jeans / Fit together like a team "—and immediately goes to work to help her climb the slippery ladder of stardom. But between AnnieLee's durn pride and the vicious, violent marauders who are on her tail, it won't be easy. Good thing Patterson was there to give Ethan those military superhero moves. Showdown in Vegas, y'all!

Pub Date: March 7, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-7595-5434-4

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022

SUSPENSE | THRILLER | SUSPENSE | CRIME & LEGAL THRILLER | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE

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More by James Patterson

BOOK REVIEW

by James Patterson & Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney

by James Patterson & Mark Seal

by James Patterson & Mike Lupica

More About This Book

SEEN & HEARD

by Max Brooks ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2020

A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z (2006).

A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.

Pub Date: June 16, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine

Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020

GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | SCIENCE FICTION

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by Max Brooks

BOOK TO SCREEN

by Douglas Preston ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 23, 2024

Fast-moving fun and a highly creative plot.

Bloody murder spoils folks’ fun while megafauna return from extinction.

What a glorious way to spend a honeymoon: Mark and Olivia Gunnerson go backpacking through the vast Erebus Resort in the mountains of Colorado, where scientists have “de-extincted” species like the woolly mammoth and other Pleistocene megafauna. Just watch the peaceful beasts at their watering holes. Behold the giant armadillos, and the indricothere that make mammoths look like dwarfs. The scientists have removed genes for aggression in these re-creations, so humans will be safe unless they’re accidentally stepped on. And yet, someone doesn’t want the newlyweds camping there, made evident by their disappearance without a trace, save only a copious amount of blood outside their tent. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent in Charge Frankie Cash takes the case. What happened to Mark and Olivia, and why? The park has no predators, so humans must be responsible. But where are the bodies? A doctor suggests that due to the amount of blood found, the victims may have— gasp! —been decapitated. The matter gathers national attention, and things only get worse as more people die. The late groom’s aggrieved billionaire father demands immediate answers, and of course he interferes with the investigation: “You’ll see me now, you son of a bitch, and tell me what the fuck you’re doing to find my son!” And speaking of F-bombs, surely it is possible to write a thriller with fewer—maybe use one or two to establish a character and then move on to more creative language? Anyway, the investigators are doing a lot. The action seldom lets up, and readers will feel the mounting tension and excitement. The setting itself is a scientific wonder, and it must tie into the murders somehow. Meanwhile, Hollywood is filming an action movie in the park, and the pièce de résistance will be the spectacular explosion of a train. But wouldn’t you know, Preston has other plans. Imagine Jurassic Park with the timeline brought forward to the Pleistocene, and you have the Erebus Resort. Science, imagination, storytelling, and action are all here.

Pub Date: April 23, 2024

ISBN: 9780765317704

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Forge

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024

SCIENCE FICTION | MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | THRILLER | POLICE PROCEDURALS | TECHNICAL & MEDICAL THRILLER | GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE

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edited by Margaret Atwood & Douglas Preston

by Douglas Preston

by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

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Book review: Run Rose Run

BY James Walton

1st Mar 2022 Book Reviews

A big-hearted tale of music and perseverance from a living country legend is our top literary pick this month

In 2018 the ever-prolific James Patterson got together with Bill Clinton to write the best-selling The President Is Missing : a novel that combined Clinton’s insider knowledge with Patterson’s own taste for old-fashioned, slightly corny thrills. Now he does something very similar with the international treasure that is Dolly Parton.

Not altogether surprisingly, the main setting is Nashville , where a young singer-songwriter called AnnieLee Keyes arrives with nothing but talent and a crazy dream. She even has to borrow a guitar when she persuades the manager of a randomly chosen bar to let her sing a few of her songs at an open-mic night, which naturally ends in triumph. 

Not only that, but as luck (and the book’s needs) would have it, the bar is owned by Ruthanna Ryder, “one of country music’s grandest queens”, who soon takes AnnieLee under her kindly, regal wing. Within a couple of months, a star is duly born.

From there, though, things go rather less smoothly—not least because AnnieLee is nursing a sorrow so secret that it takes us most of the novel to discover it. 

"From there, though, things go rather less smoothly—not least because AnnieLee is nursing a sorrow so secret that it takes us most of the novel to discover it"

Obviously, I won’t spoil the big reveal. But I can say that Run Rose Run deploys every trick in the thriller manual to get there—including a baddie who laughs “maniacally” and a moment when, in a scene of especial peril in a darkened house, a sinister noise turns out to herald the entrance of a cat .

Along the way, we get plenty of genuinely interesting information about the country-music world (Dolly, incidentally, is releasing an album of songs from the book). We also get lots of impeccably down-home similes such as “skinnier than a guitar string” and “sweating like a sinner in church”. 

The result is a novel that, not unlike Dolly herself, mixes commercial calculation with an irresistibly big heart. Sterner readers might notice that not everything in it is entirely plausible. Yet surely even they will be swept along by the sheer, frankly bonkers fun of the whole thing. Which only goes to show the truth of a tip that AnnieLee is given early on—that “shamelessness sure as hell don’t hurt”.

Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson, available on Amazon £10.

Reader’s Digest Recommended Read:  A Class of Their Own: Adventures in Tutoring the Super-Rich by Matt Knott 

In autumn 2008, Matt Knott was at a loose end. After graduating from Cambridge, he was back living with his teacher-parents in Dorset . His plan to write “a heartwarming comedy set in the fictional town of Piddle Newton” wasn’t going well. And the global economy had just collapsed. 

So when he heard you could earn £30 an hour tutoring rich people’s children in London, he joined an agency there run by a woman called Philippa. Before long, he’d entered a strange new world where “PJs” were private jets rather than pyjamas—and where, luckily for his purposes, a Cambridge-educated tutor for your child was a status symbol to rival a Gucci handbag.

Knott’s initial duties were as a “study buddy”, which, in theory, involved supervising homework and, in practice, fighting off his tutees’ pleas to do it for them. But there were perks too, such as accompanying families to St Moritz and Tuscany—where popping out to dinner meant taking a helicopter to a restaurant in Rome .

Here, Knott looks back on his experiences with a convincing range of emotions. There’s certainly indignation at the unexamined social privilege he encountered. Yet there’s also sympathy for the children under such pressure to get into a good (ie, expensive) school, even when they’re palpably not up to it. Meanwhile Knott, who describes himself as “very, very gay”, keeps us fully up to date with his largely unsuccessful love life—sometimes in fairly explicit detail. Whatever he’s writing about, though, he’s generally extremely funny, in a book that fizzes with great one-liners.

Matt Knott, photo credit: Max Colson

In this extract, he’s about to meet a mother and son from somewhere near the bottom of the new social scale he’s coming to know—with the aim of helping out on GCSE coursework about Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night:

"Once you were assigned a job, you were provided with the client’s full name and address. I had developed a habit of googling not only postcodes but the clients themselves. It rarely turned up more than a LinkedIn profile or some Getty Images from a fundraiser for endangered bears, but when I looked up Carolyn, I discovered that she was the author of a personal blog where she described herself as a ‘self-professed yummy mummy’.

This was a fascinating way to identify. Was it only here, on her blog, that she professed to yummy mummy status, or did she go around telling people? Maybe Carolyn’s word was not to be trusted. An anonymous reader had taken issue with the fact that she claimed to be a lifelong Kensington resident. ‘I’m sorry,’ they had written, ‘but that’s a bit misleading. Didn’t she move to *North* Kensington?’ 

"I had developed a habit of googling not only postcodes but the clients themselves"

What was wrong with North Kensington? This reader was making it sound like Carolyn had glossed over her investments in North Korea . When I arrived at her address, it was a smart four-storey townhouse that had to be worth several million. Carolyn was very trim and dressed in Ugg boots and a fur gilet. In fact, it’s what I would have worn if I was going as a yummy mummy to a fancy dress party.  ‘It’s all a bit of a mystery, Matt,’ Carolyn said as if we were old friends. ‘Historically Horace was always in the top third of his year.’ 

I presumed she meant the lower end of the top third, since here was a woman who would not have hesitated to place her son in the top quarter or fifth, nor even to whip out a pie chart highlighting his flair for algebra, had the data allowed. This job was beyond the usual remit of a study buddy, but I had written my own GCSE coursework on the play in question and had convinced Philippa to let me branch out. ‘Horace is waiting for you in his room,’ said Carolyn. 

I made my way up to the top floor, passing a room with an exercise bike that I imagined Carolyn punishing herself on each morning. Horace was chubby and chirpy, with a weird familiarity which made me wonder if he had got me confused with another tutor. But no—it was that upper class confidence again. Beyond that, Horace didn’t present much evidence of his heady days in the lower end of the top third. He was keen to get this over with, but appeared to think it was something that would happen without any input from him.

‘What did you think of the text?’, I asked. 

‘I haven’t read it,’ Horace said cheerily. ‘But I’ve seen the film.’  ‘Oh, OK. What did you think of that?’ 

Horace stared at me as if this question couldn’t possibly have been anticipated. 

‘To be honest, I wasn’t really watching.’

A Class of Their Own: Adventures in Tutoring the Super-Rich by Matt Knott, available on Amazon £9.99.

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Book Review

Run, rose, run.

• James Patterson; Dolly Parton
• Young Adult Fiction

Readability Age Range

• Little, Brown and Company
• New York Times bestseller

Year Published

AnnieLee Keyes has the face of a doll and a voice that’ll knock your socks off. And everyone—including country legend Ruthanna Ryder—can hear that this young dive bar singer is destined for a bright future. But it’s the darkness of an ugly past—back when she was only known as Rose—that keeps AnnieLee on the run.

Plot Summary

Under the buzzing neon sign of the Cat’s Paw Saloon, AnnieLee Keyes smooths down her hair, yanks the door open and steps inside. She stands there a moment to soak it all in.

But it’s more than atmosphere she’s absorbing. It’s the music of the place. AnnieLee has always heard music in the things of life around her. It’s a kind of second nature for her: The cadence of a dripping faucet or the thump of tires on the highway keeps her mind and her toes ever tapping. On her guitar a G leads to E minor and then D just as naturally as her thoughts spill out in lyrical lines in her head.

And it’s a good thing that her brain has always worked that way. ‘Cause, frankly, it’s the only thing that’s kept her going.

Each sour disappointment, each misery, every thumb-out ride has led her to this place and this day. She’s penniless and hungry—even her beloved guitar was pawned along the way—but she’s finally standing in Nashville. She’s finally following her dream.

The air of the Cat’s Paw around her smells of beer and French fries. The bar is softly lit by Christmas lights draped in multicolored strands. A man stands on a dimly lit stage singing Willie Nelson in a low, mournful voice.

It’s all so typical. All part and parcel of a dive bar. All pretty perfect. Because this is where AnnieLee will start.

She’ll talk to the bartender with the handlebar mustache. She’ll bat her blue eyes and smile her doll-like, pretty smile. She’ll do whatever it takes to borrow a guitar and sing on that grimy stage for the half-dozen, half-drunk people at the nearby tables.

And she’ll shine.

That’s what this version of her does. AnnieLee—who she calls herself nowadays is a wannabe country star. The Rose part of her still quivers inside. That former her still wants to keep running, keep ducking. But AnnieLee wants all that beautiful music inside her to come spilling out. AnnieLee will let it loose and see what happens.

What AnnieLee doesn’t know, however, is that there’s someone else standing in the shadowed back of the bar waiting his turn to pluck out a set. She can’t possibly fathom that this handsome guy—a veteran–turned–Nashville session player named Ethan—will soon fall in love with her music. He’ll gush about it, and her, to Ruthanna Ryder, the now-retired queen of country. And things will happen.

AnnieLee doesn’t know any of that, though. All she knows, while standing in that beer and French fries-perfumed entryway, is the butterflies colliding in her empty stomach and the music swirling in her heart. Past, present and future are all connected and frozen in this very moment and this very place.

And then AnnieLee Keyes takes a step.

Christian Beliefs

There are several loose mentions of faith here. AnnieLee notes, for instance, that “the Gospel according to Matthew” was her mother’s favorite book. Ethan also says that he at one point studied the great country singers “more than a preacher studies the Bible.”

Other Belief Systems

It’s repeatedly stated, however, that nearly everyone in Nashville worships country music—and the money that comes with the business.

Authority Roles

AnnieLee states that her father left her family when she was only 7. Her mom remarried, but later died of cancer. So AnnieLee (a.k.a. Rose) and her two stepsisters were left with her abusive stepfather, who wanted to “beat the sin outta them.” As a teen, AnnieLee took up with another abusive man to escape her stepfather.

On the other hand, Ruthanna and Ethan become the first stable and loving people in AnnieLee’s life. Because of her past, it’s nearly impossible for her to tell them about her own traumatic history, and she runs away at the drop of a hat, but AnnieLee slowly begins to trust these consistently giving people.

We see a number of Nashville professionals eager to take advantage of a young girl if they can, and a few upright individuals as well. Because of her lack of money, AnnieLee has to stay hidden from the police, and she sleeps illegally in a park for a while.

Profanity & Violence

There are a couple s-words in the dialogue along with a variety of other crudities, including uses of “h—,” “a–” and “d–n.” Crude references are made to breasts on several occasions.

AnnieLee cuts her performance teeth in a number of local bars. And though she usually sticks to club soda, she does have a drink of something harder on occasion (ie: champagne). Others, however, are not shy about drinking, beer, wine and various blends of hard booze.

We’re told of how abusive AnnieLee’s stepfather and older boyfriend were—manhandling and physically beating AnnieLee and her young sisters. AnnieLee is also attacked on several occasions by unknown assailants in Nashville. In one case she’s taken by surprise while in the shower. The two attackers punch her in the chest and stomach, pound her to the floor, bite her on the back and knock her unconscious with a boot-kick to the head (it’s implied that they may have raped her while unconscious.)

She’s also thrown to the ground and held down by men in a dark alley who move to torture her with a cigarette lighter before they are scared off by her rescuer. She comes out of these attacks  bruised and bloodied. AnnieLee has to jump from a third story balcony to escape yet another attacker (this one with a gun) after driving her stiletto heeled shoe into his eye socket.

We hear about a young girl who became wrapped up in the country music scene and was so disillusioned and depressed over how she was treated that she committed suicide. In a similar tale, Ethan talks of a friend who failed at the business and “nearly drank himself to death.” Ethan also tells the story of a loved one who was strangled to death when he wasn’t there to protect her.

Sexual Content

[ Spoiler Warning ] Though AnnieLee and Ethan are mutually attracted, their relationship takes a long time to develop because of sexual complications in their past that both are reluctant to work through. Ethan, for instance, was married and cheated on.

AnnieLee’s past was much more excruciating. She was not only abused sexually as a teen but then sold into human bondage. She spent several years held captive and forced into paid sex.

Eventually, AnnieLee and Ethan are able to work through their trauma. The two become engaged.

Discussion Topics

Get free discussion question for books at focusonthefamily.com/magazine/thriving-family-book-discussion-questions .

Additional Comments

Authors James Patterson and Dolly Parton have created a well-written and immersive tale. It’s a heaven-and-hell story of an abused young woman reaching for stardom. More importantly, though, is the love, acceptance and sense of redemption she eventually finds. It’s not a spiritual deliverance, and spiritual redemption is never discussed, but the secular parallels are easy to identify.

That said, the protagonist of this story comes from a place of dark physical and sexual abuse that’s been thrust upon her. And though the book doesn’t examine that mistreatment as closely as it could, it’s still a story of pain and emotional scarring.

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

Review by Bob Hoose

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Review: Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton & James Patterson

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

From America’s most beloved superstar and its greatest storyteller—a thriller about a young singer/songwriter on the rise and on the run, and determined to do whatever it takes to survive.

Every song tells a story. She’s a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her. She’s also on the run.  Find a future, lose a past.

Nashville is where she’s come to claim her destiny. It’s also where the darkness she’s fled might find her. And destroy her.

Run, Rose, Run  is a novel glittering with danger and desire—a story that only America’s #1 most beloved entertainer and its #1 bestselling author could have created.

Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton & James Patterson is a captivating novel with an element of suspense.

Twenty-five-year-old AnnieLee Keyes is determined to make it to Nashville. She is running from something (or is it someone?) and she will do whatever it takes to leave Texas in the rearview mirror. Arriving in the country music capitol with little money but a huge talent and a lot of grit, AnnieLee is soon singing in any bar that will allow her on their stage.

As luck would have it, AnnieLee catches the eye of Ethan Blake who knows talent when he sees it. He is a talented musician but he does not crave the spotlight. However, Lucas knows the retired Queen of Country, Ruthannna Ryder who takes some persuading to listen to AnnieLee sing. Ruthanna sees a young version of herself in the aspiring singer but will AnnieLee accept career help when it is offered to her?

AnnieLee has plenty of pride so she accepts a bare minimum of Ruthanna’s help. She keeps her own counsel and holds her secrets close. In addition to her natural singing ability, AnnieLee is also an excellent songwriter. She and Ethan spend a lot of time together honing her songs and traveling to gigs. AnnieLee is attracted to him but will she risk her heart on her fellow musician?

Run, Rose, Run is a charming rags to riches novel with a hint of intrigue. AnnieLee is a strong young woman who is running from her past but it catches up to her in spectacular fashion. Ethan is down to earth and struggling with his own personal demons. Ruthanna is no stranger to heartache and although initially reluctant, she is soon fully invested in AnnieLee’s fast-rising career. With a stunning plot twist, Dolly Parton & James Patterson bring this heartwarming novel to a thrilling conclusion.

Filed under Contemporary , Dolly Parton , James Patterson , Little Brown and Company , Rated B+ , Review , Run Rose Run , Suspense

2 Responses to Review: Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton & James Patterson

Wonderful review. I’ve been wondering about this book. Thanks

I really enjoyed it. And I bought Dolly Parton’s CD where she sings the songs from the book!

I appreciate your kind words.

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Copyright © 2011-2023 Book Reviews & More by Kathy. All Rights Reserved.

Run, Rose, Run is just as charming as everything else connected to musician/actress/philanthropist Dolly Parton. Though it’s mostly a character study about three different personalities making their way through the Nashville scene than a thriller, the suspense element adds a nice bit of variety to the proceedings. It’s a fun, quick read in spite of its length – a page-turner with brief chapters.

AnnieLee Keyes wants to make it big as a country music singer.  She has natural talent and big dreams, and when she meets the handsome Ethan Blake at a small club and sings her way into the spotlight, it seems that good things are ahead of her.  The bars get better even though she’s sleeping in a park every night. Even though she’s haunted by nightmares involving the mysterious Rose.

Ruthanna Ryder is a rich and famous country star who’s exhausted by the old grind and the glitter of life in Nashville.  She’s in the middle of retiring, but that doesn’t mean she wants to stop writing songs. After Ethan – who happens to be one of her session players – convinces her to come to the small Tennessee club where AnnieLee is playing, their lives change forever.  She takes an interest in AnnieLee, and the superstar and the homeless up-and-comer become friends.

As AnnieLee’s rocket-ride to fame intensifies, she and Ethan get closer while Ruthanna provides AnnieLee with the building blocks toward becoming famous while finding herself inspired to create more music.  But all three of our protagonists are hiding major secrets, and in AnnieLee’s case, those secrets come in the form of a threat that might snuff out her life before she attains the fame she’s been seeking.

Run, Rose, Run is a fun little ride through one girl’s journey to the top.  It’s a classic Cinderella rise, which means some nuance and subtlety (and a sense of reality) is lost in the process.  The book’s not afraid to point out the goo beneath the glitter of the Nashville scene, but it should have thrown a few more obstacles in AnnieLee’s way.  And yet that didn’t stop me from enjoying every second of this spirited trip.

I loved Ruthanna, her big personality and wisecracking sense of humor.  AnnieLee is more vulnerable but has grit and determination. The relationship between the two women is fabulous and worth the price of the book; I enjoyed every makeover, songwriting session and pep talk.  It’s a much more interesting relationship than the one between Ethan and AnnieLee, but their burgeoning romance is also quite sweet (when he makes her a guitar after she had to pawn her own, one cannot avoid being touched by the moment).

The mysteries themselves are properly suspenseful and well-seeded, but again not the true focal point of the book.  You will be shocked, root for our heroes, and hope for them to find safety.

Run, Rose, Run was a pretty good time.  Fans of Parton and women’s fiction with thriller and mystery elements will be better served by the tome versus those looking for more Patterson’s usual offerings.

Note: This book contains references to sexual assault.

Buy it at: Amazon , Audible or your local independent retailer

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Sensuality:  Kisses

Publication Date:  03/2022

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• About the Book

From America’s most beloved superstar and its greatest storyteller --- a thriller about a young singer-songwriter on the rise and on the run, and determined to do whatever it takes to survive.

A new singer arrives in Nashville. She calls herself AnnieLee Keyes, and she has more beauty, talent and ambition than most --- and a dangerous past that she's running from. Her performance of original songs at open-mic night at the Cat’s Paw Saloon downtown transfixes Ethan Blake, back-up musician for country star Ruthanna Ryder.   Ruthanna may have retired --- for deeply personal reasons --- but that doesn’t mean she has stopped writing music. Every day, she records songs she’ll never release. When Ruthanna hears AnnieLee sing, the legend decides to help the ingenue.     But a boost from a mega-star like Ruthanna may spotlight the talented newcomer’s secret. Now AnnieLee may not live long enough to realize her dreams of stardom --- or for the world to learn her true identity.

Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson

• Publication Date: April 11, 2023
• Genres: Fiction , Suspense , Thriller
• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• ISBN-10: 1538723964
• ISBN-13: 9781538723968

Run, Rose, Run

67 pages • 2 hours read

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Prologue-Chapter 24

Chapters 25-48

Chapters 49-74

Chapter 75-Songbook

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Summary and Study Guide

The 2022 novel Run, Rose, Run is the product of a collaboration between award-winning thriller writer James Patterson and country music superstar Dolly Parton. The New York Times bestseller, which features details from Parton’s long career in country music, follows a promising country music star who is on the run from her past. In conjunction with the book, Parton released an album with the same title, and New York Times writer Alexandra Alter reported how Little Brown publishing house boasted about the project’s “commercial prospects” (Alter, Alexandra. “ Dolly Parton and James Patterson Are Working 9 to 5 on a New Novel .” The New York Times , August 11, 2021). Reviews were generally positive; while some reviewers found the plot unbelievably sensational, they unanimously enjoyed the details about the country music scene. Zoe Hodges at Maverick wrote that she found the plot captivating and appreciated how Patterson’s gift for suspense and Parton’s penchant for storytelling combine to compellingly portray the characters and the story (Hodges, Zoe. “ Book review: ‘Run, Rose, Run’ by Dolly Parton and James Patterson .” Maverick , March 1, 2022). As of this guide’s writing, Reese Witherspoon is set to adapt the novel into a screenplay.

This guide uses the Penguin Books Kindle Edition.

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Content Warning: The guide references passages from Run, Rose, Run that describe sexual assault, abuse, and exploitation.

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Aspiring country singer AnnieLee Keyes is 25 and has been composing music ever since she can remember. She hitchhikes away from a past she can’t bear to face and heads to Nashville, Tennessee, where she sleeps in the park, busks on the street, and begs for gigs at honky-tonks. At the Cat’s Paw saloon, ex-military musician Ethan Blake sees her and insists that his jaded superstar boss, Ruthanna Ryder , take notice. Ruthanna, whom AnnieLee idolizes, hasn’t sung publicly since her daughter Sophia’s tragic death from an overdose.

With Ruthanna and Ethan’s help, AnnieLee soon gets a solid manager and even signs with prestigious record label ACD. Outmaneuvering the corporate music industry’s attempts to turn her into a bland, commercial star, she keeps her faded-jeans-and-secondhand-boots appeal. She rents a cottage and earns acclaim through appearances such as opening for popular country star Kip Hart . When men from AnnieLee’s past pursue her, trying to attack her at every turn, Ethan does his best to protect her. Feelings develop between the two, but they don’t act on their attraction, as they’re both too tied up with the events of their pasts.

AnnieLee is such a hit that she scores a 12-city tour. Ethan drives her van, helps her fend off seemingly anonymous aggressors, and even sings with her after a threatening message—with a picture of a knife lying across her old bed—leaves her nearly unable to sing. After their duet, AnnieLee invites Ethan into her hotel room for a drink. There, Ethan confesses that he was accused of strangling his beloved ex-wife and served six months in jail until he was acquitted at trial. He notes how those around him never looked at him the same way again. He expects openness in return from AnnieLee, but she considers her secret so bad that Ethan would never look at her the same way again. She does, however, tell him that she’s from Caster County, Arkansas, and that her stepfather, Clayton, beat her and her younger half-sisters.

They arrive in Las Vegas, where AnnieLee is set to perform with Ruthanna, who has finally agreed to sing in public again. However, a man from AnnieLee’s past apprehends her in her hotel room, and she’s so terrified of him that she jumps off the balcony. Miraculously, she’s unharmed. However, when the police seek to question her, she flees from the hospital and hitchhikes back to Caster County, Arkansas, vowing to kill the man from her past once and for all. Unfortunately, she stumbles at the last hurdle, and a man named Wade tries to attack her and takes her unconscious body to the house of her ex-lover Gus Hobbs .

Meanwhile, Ethan borrows a truck and goes to Arkansas in search of AnnieLee. A waitress reveals that AnnieLee’s real name is Rose McCord and that she disappeared with a boyfriend a few years ago. She directs Ethan to Clayton’s house. With the assistance of AnnieLee’s teenage half-sister, Ethan learns of her ex-boyfriend Gus Hobbs and goes to his house to find her. There, he beats Hobbs unconscious and rescues AnnieLee, whom Hobbs has handcuffed and gagged.

At the police station, AnnieLee tells her story to a female officer and Ethan. She ran off with Hobbs at age 20 to escape her stepfather’s beatings. Hobbs was initially charming but eventually became controlling and, to punish AnnieLee for disobedience, sold her to a trafficker named D , who set her up in a house with three other women. The narrative implies that D hired them out for sex work. While D was passed out drunk, AnnieLee escaped and headed to Nashville.

Nine months later, D is on the way to jail, while AnnieLee, who now uses her real name, Rose, is performing with Ruthanna and engaged to Ethan. Ruthanna is delighted for AnnieLee—and excited about her new relationship with their manager, Jack Holm .

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Book review: Parton and Patterson tell a Nashville story in 'Run, Rose, Run'

March 26, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. | Updated March 24, 2022 at 8:35 p.m.

by Peggy Burch / Chapter16.org

"RUN, ROSE, RUN" by Dolly Parton and James Patterson (Little, Brown and Co., 439 pages, $30).

It's a book. It's an album. It's a Spotify "bookcast." And its movie potential is obvious (Reese Witherspoon has acquired the film rights). "Run, Rose, Run," a collaboration by Dolly Parton and James Patterson, juggernauts in their respective lanes of music and publishing, promises to be a multimedia steamroller itself.

Print journalists avoid superlatives - best, most, greatest - because someone, somewhere will always find an exception. The publishers of "Run, Rose, Run" appear to have no qualms on that point. The dust jacket of the new novel describes it as a "thriller from America's most-beloved superstar and its greatest storyteller." Patterson's claim to the title of "world's best-selling author" can be quantified by his record-breaking book sales. As for Parton, a first-time nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , few would bother to argue about her status as "beloved." When Tennessee's living legend was listed among Time's most influential people of 2021, Miley Cyrus wrote: "Have you ever met anyone who doesn't love Dolly Parton? I never have."

Patterson has written or co-written more than 300 books, including two political thrillers with former President Bill Clinton. He told The New York Times he flew to Nashville in February 2020 (a month before people stopped hopping on planes and taking in-person meetings) to propose a book project about a troubled and talented young singer in Music City to Parton, and she immediately began sending him both notes and song lyrics.

After a two-page prologue in which a desperate character named AnnieLee Keyes takes a literal leap from a Las Vegas balcony, "Run, Rose, Run" begins 11 months earlier, as the frightened young singer/songwriter escapes a mysterious menace in Texas by hitchhiking, then hijacking a ride to Nashville. Hoping her talent and relentless ambition will defy the odds and open a door to a deal on Music Row, she camps out by the Cumberland River and begs stage time at dive bars, starting by chance with a place owned by a newly retired country music superstar.

Significantly, that star is a woman, a character named Ruthanna Ryder. (Parton voices Ruthanna on the audio version of "Run, Rose, Run," and no one will have a hard time imagining her in the movie role, if/when there is one.) A young studio musician smitten by AnnieLee's voice and fiery temperament convinces Ruthanna to hear the new talent.

AnnieLee is told her beauty will provide entrée into the business, but that idea annoys her. Ruthanna has been there, suffered that. She tells the new girl in town about "Tomato-gate," the real-life controversy that followed a Nashville radio consultant's 2015 remark that male performers were the "lettuce" in a salad, women merely the "tomatoes."

Who better than Parton to provide an insider view of the compromises women had to accept to make it in her industry? Long a power broker herself, Parton embraced the advantages created by what she has called her "hour-and-a-half glass figure" while making her own rules. As she told an interviewer in 2014: "When I think somebody's acting more like a pimp than a manager, and I'm more of a prostitute than an artist, I always tell them where to put it." Parton's gift for elegantly stitching femininity and feminism together is neatly summed up in a moment in the 1980 comedy "9 to 5," when an office boss is trying to trap her character under his desk. She tells him sweetly: "I've been chased by swifter men than you, and I ain't been caught yet."

The novel's AnnieLee also has stalkers, who are neither comical nor benign but brutal and relentless, and one of the book's mysteries is her refusal to reveal why a small, young woman like herself - she resents being called short, as may the 5-foot-tall Parton - is their target.

The violence is more subdued than in Patterson's standard thrillers, and the romance is G-rated. Parton's insider knowledge about the country music biz is part of the fun of this ride, and AnnieLee also has a light side. "I'm one in a million - not one of a million," she assures the bartender at her initial gig. When she gets her first professional blowout, the hair dryer whines "a D and a B flat simultaneously."

Like Parton, the fictional young singer has a tendency to turn her thoughts into lyrics. They are streamed through the prose, and a songbook - with words to the 12 songs from the album attached to this project - serves as a 30-page addendum to the novel. Parton has written "over 3,000 songs," her bio says, but the novel credits these tunes to Ruthanna Ryder and other characters in the book.

To read an uncut version of this review - and more local book coverage - visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.

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Wednesday, April 6, 2022

[review] - run, rose, run by james patterson & dolly parton.

Recently, I read the newest James Patterson novel - Run, Rose, Run . The New York Times Bestselling Author teamed up with the Country music legend Dolly Parton, who recorded a companion album, Rose's Story . (Note - Sorry, folks, the album isn't included with the book. You have to purchase it separately. Or you can do what I did, listen to the album on Dolly's YouTube Channel . ) 

From my understanding, James Patterson contacted Dolly Parton about collaborating on a project. Patterson went to Vanderbilt University in Nashville and has always loved the city. He flew to Nashville, met up with Dolly, and they came up with the idea for Run, Rose, Run .

The novel centers on AnnieLee Keyes, an aspiring singer/songwriter who hitchhikes to Nashville in the attempt to start anew and possibly hit it big in the Country music business. Shortly after playing a few gigs at a bar, guitarist Ethan hears AnnieLee's singing talent and tells his mentor and retired Country music legend, Ruthanna, all about her. 

Ruthanna more or less swoops AnnieLee off the streets and brings the girl to live in her home. She sees a little bit of herself in AnnieLee and wants to guide her in making the right decision with her music career. 

In practically a blink of an eye, AnnieLee records her debut song, followed by an album. With the press hounding her every move because AnnieLee is the newest trending artist, she doesn't have time to breathe. Then the past that AnnieLee thought she had outrun comes crawling back to haunt her. 

Final Thoughts

Run, Rose, Run reminds me quite a bit of the television series Nashville , and I wonder if either James Patterson or Dolly Parton has seen the series. My guess would be 'yes' because there are many similarities between the two. Then again, maybe not. The plot of a young woman wanting to become a singer has been used multiple times in books. The authors stay at a feel-good level of storytelling, but unfortunately, it leads to predictability. It feels like a Sunday night made-for-television movie from the 1990s, and ironically the novel is being adapted into a feature film with Dolly Parton set to play Ruthanna.  

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Book Review: Run Rose Run

Run Rose Run , a novel by Dolly Parton and James Patterson, is a fun read written by two pros doing what they do best. Dolly Parton, singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist, coupled with James Patterson, the world’s bestselling author, have combined their impressive talents to produce an engaging, modern-day suspense thriller.

AnnieLee Keyes arrives in Nashville, broke and on the run with nothing going for her except a million-dollar voice and her determination to make a name for herself. She shows up at a bar and talks the bartender into letting her take a turn singing for the crowd. AnnieLee impresses the crowd, including Ethan Blake who is sitting at the bar and who plays studio guitar for the bar owner and famous retired country legend Ruthanna Ryder. Ethan convinces Ruthanna that she should hear AnnieLee sing.

Ruthanna Ryder, now retired from public life but still a famous name, takes AnnieLee under her wing. AnnieLee, feisty and independent, appreciates the help, but hesitates to fully embrace all that Ruthanna offers. AnnieLee and Ethan become close, but although Ethan shares his painful past with her, she holds back, giving him very little of her background, including her real name. Although AnnieLee is on the rise as a country music star, there’s always a hint of terror, of fear it will all come crashing down.

When AnnieLee’s past catches up to her, she runs away, leaving a promising career and people who care about her. Ethan goes in pursuit, not knowing what it is AnnieLee fears but determined to protect her.

I enjoyed Run Rose Run and particularly appreciated the combined talents of Dolly Parton and James Patterson. I’m a long-time fan of Dolly Parton, not only for her country music, but for her many philanthropic contributions. I found it interesting learning the ins and outs of writing, singing and recording country music. I’ve read, reviewed and enjoyed other books by James Patterson and I rate this one as favorably as the others. For an entertaining and satisfying read, I recommend Run Rose Run .

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ENTERTAINMENT

Review: Run, Rose, Run

by Bradley Short , Reporter March 29, 2022

“Run, Rose, Run” is a recently released novel by bestselling author James Patterson and country music legend Dolly Parton. The book follows AnnieLee Keyes, a broke, homeless musician, striking out on her own in the capital of country music: Nashville, Tennessee. She finds herself playing in local bars before being discovered by fictional country music legend Ruthanna Ryder (an obvious stand-in for Parton), who takes Keyes on as her protege. Yet despite all her good luck, Keyes’s past still haunts her, following her into her new life.

First of all, this book isn’t just a book. It’s actually a multimedia venture by the two co-authors. “Run, Rose, Run” is a book following the story mentioned above, a podcast acting out the story, available on Spotify, and an album based on the songs in the story. However, this is a review of only the book. I have not listened to the podcast or the Dolly Parton album. My opinions are based solely on the written word.

Let’s start with what the book does well: the characterization. The main characters are likable, and you want to see them succeed. Similarly, all the villains of the story can easily be disliked. The reader is also able to learn the backstories of the three main characters in each of their point-of-view chapters, providing context for their actions. 

 The novel itself is fine. The story is well-trodden territory: a down-on-their-luck musician with a tragic backstory and a massive amount of talent is discovered by an industry veteran who leads them on their way to stardom. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done before, and I can’t say that this story does it any better.

The biggest issue I have is the ending. I feel like it was from the wrong character’s point of view. The story seems like it’s leading up to things going one way, but then the ending itself doesn’t really match up and follows the actions of the love interest, Ethan Blake, instead of the main character of the story, AnnieLee Keyes. 

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t particularly interesting or memorable. Recommendation-wise I’d say if you’re a big James Patterson or Dolly Parton fan, go ahead and check it out, otherwise, you could probably find similar stories that you’ll find more interesting. I’d give “Run, Rose, Run” 2.5/5 stars, split right down the middle.

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Maybe Erik Larson Should Have Left the Civil War Alone

In “The Demon of Unrest,” present-day political strife inspires a dramatic portrait of the run-up to the deadliest war on American soil.

Maj. Robert Anderson in 1860. Credit... George S. Cook, via Library of Congress

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Alexis Coe is a fellow at New America and the author, most recently, of “You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington.”

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THE DEMON OF UNREST: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, by Erik Larson

The Civil War is one hell of a drug. It’s plentiful and Main Street-legal, but can induce hallucinatory visions when mixed with inflammatory substances. “I’m so attracted to seeing it,” former President Donald J. Trump confessed at a rally this past Jan. 6, three years after his “Big Lie” inspired followers to storm the Capitol — a feat the Southern Confederacy and its campaign to preserve slavery were unable to accomplish, even as the effort left more than 600,000 people dead in its wake.

In “The Demon of Unrest ,” Erik Larson recounts being “appalled” but also “riveted” by Jan. 6 and by “today’s political discord, which, incredibly, has led some benighted Americans to whisper of secession and civil war.”

When Larson, the reigning king of Dad History, drops a new book on the Civil War a month and a half before Father’s Day in a pivotal election year, he knows what he’s doing. Sort of. “The Demon of Unrest ” is Larson’s first book on the Civil War. And his green horns show.

Ostensibly, it mirrors his best-selling books — among them, “ The Splendid and the Vile ” and “ The Devil in the White City ” — with the same pulpy, black-and-white cover treatment and bulky page count, satisfying the collect-them-all, size-matters kind of reader.

The drama unfolds between Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 and the following April, when Confederate troops in Charleston, S.C., shelled Fort Sumter and started the Civil War. During those tense five months, Lincoln hoped, despite a pro-slavery mob’s attempt to stop Congress from tallying the vote and decades of physical violence within the Senate and House chambers , that the war might narrowly be avoided.

At the start the outgoing president, James Buchanan, is maddeningly passive in the face of cabinet resignations and seceding states, including South Carolina, where Confederates would see federal forces arriving at Fort Sumter as nothing short of a foreign incursion. “They ought to hang him,” an astonished Lincoln privately remarks, bewildered by Buchanan’s talk of surrendering federal forts.

Publicly, Lincoln maintains a determined yet conciliatory posture even as Larson’s other hero, Maj. Robert Anderson, a former enslaver and the fort’s commander, is under siege by thousands of better-armed Confederate soldiers and running out of supplies. Anderson and his 80 or so men pray for the best while cornered by the worst.

The stage is set. “I invite you now to step into the past,” Larson writes, and he means it. He wants you not just immersed, but engulfed. A Larson book is like the Dead Sea: The extraordinarily dense level of details — “On the stillest nights, at 9 o’clock, Major Anderson could hear the great bells in the distant witch-cap spire of St. Michael’s Church, bastion of Charleston society where planters displayed rank by purchasing pews” — usually allows readers to float on his narrative without much effort.

I tried my best not to swim, but on more than one occasion, I almost drowned from exertion, especially in the incredibly banal final stretch. And still there was something lacking in the book’s 565 pages: Nary a Black person, free or enslaved, is presented as more than a fleeting, one-dimensional figure. Frederick Douglass, a leading abolitionist and standard of histories of the era, warrants no more than a mention.

Black people are primarily nameless victims of an antagonistic labor system that’s causing a political crisis among white Americans. At one point, to differentiate this near monolith, Larson employs the term “escape-minded Blacks,” a curious turn of phrase that suggests there were “bondage-minded Blacks.”

The flattening is all the more noticeable because so many other characters are given shape. Larson offers a cradle-to-coffin biography of the South Carolina congressman-turned-Confederate James Hammond. Lengthy passages on Hammond’s “five-way affair” with (read: sexual abuse of) four teenage nieces are followed by a short, unnervingly euphemistic account of the enslaved women he (and his son) raped and impregnated: Hammond made Sally Johnson “his mistress,” and when her daughter Louisa turned 12, he “made her his mistress as well.”

Larson’s magnolias-under-the-moonlight word choice is inadequate. Sally and Louisa were damned to Hammond’s forced labor camps, along with more than 300 enslaved people who “had a penchant for dying.” But they got Christmas off, Larson notes; Hammond “held a barbecue” and, on one occasion, “gave a calico frock to every female who had given birth.”

“Cotton is king,” Hammond declared in 1858. The phrase would come to epitomize the newly minted Confederacy’s misguided confidence in both its economic domination and the war. The greatest echo of the present day in “The Demon of Unrest” may be Larson’s newcomer ego, a swaggering disregard for the difference between the shopworn and the truly complex that leads straight into the pitfalls of nostalgia and hubris.

At his Jan. 6 anniversary rally, a century and a half after the Civil War ended, Trump suggested that Lincoln could have negotiated his way out of the conflict and avoided the killing — but only at great personal cost. “If he negotiated it,” Trump observed, “you probably wouldn’t even know who Abraham Lincoln was.” What better reason could there have been to fight?

THE DEMON OF UNREST : A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War | By Erik Larson | Crown | 565 pp. | $35

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Run, Rose, Run: A Novel Kindle Edition

From America’s most beloved superstar and #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson comes a thriller about a young singer-songwriter on the rise—and on the run—and determined to do whatever it takes to survive.

• Print length 547 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Little, Brown and Company
• Publication date March 7, 2022
• File size 1657 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

"A must-listen ensemble audiobook."

"Taut and exciting...Patterson's suspense mastery plus Parton's insider knowledge of Nashville's dark underbelly equals one great read."

"Dolly Parton is the beating heart and yearning soul of this amazing novel. Enter James Patterson, who knows how to grab a reader by the threat, kick up the suspense, and move a novel along better than anybody else in the world."

"A thrilling journey from two beloved voices, set against the backdrop of the country-music scene."

"Dolly Parton portrays retired country music superstar Ruthanna with humor, warmth, and attitude...There's plenty of good storytelling to keep listeners engaged."

"An exhilarating rags-to-riches story...Parton fans will relish this timeless fairy tale, which displays the singer's lively way with words and draws liberally from her experience in the music business."

"Yes, that's the Dolly Parton, contributing plot points to this story...Will shadowy figures from her past come get her? Parton wrote twelve songs especially for the book."

About the Author

Product details.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B098NHZPWY
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company (March 7, 2022)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 7, 2022
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 1657 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 547 pages
• #36 in Southern United States Fiction
• #57 in Southern Fiction
• #942 in Crime Thrillers (Kindle Store)

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About the authors

James patterson.

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, and collaborated most recently with Michael Crichton on the blockbuster “Eruption.” He has told the story of his own life in “James Patterson by James Patterson” and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton is a singer, songwriter, actress, producer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. The composer of over 3,000 songs, she has sold over 100 million records worldwide, and given away millions of books to children through her nonprofit, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

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2024 Kentucky Derby cheat sheet: Racing form, past performances, connections for 150th Run for the Roses

The prep races are done, posts have been drawn, and it's full steam ahead to the 2024 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs. The 20-horse 2024 Kentucky Derby field is set and Fierceness is the 5-2 favorite in the 2024 Kentucky Derby odds despite drawing a long trip around from the No. 16 post. Sierra Leone (3-1) will have to battle traffic near the rail after drawing the No. 2 post for the Kentucky Derby 2024. Epic Ride joined the 2024 Kentucky Derby field this week following the scratch of Encino. The latest 2024 Kentucky Derby weather forecast is calling for a 10% chance of rain and a high around 80.

Before making any 2024 Kentucky Derby picks for the annual Run for the Roses, you NEED to see our ALL-NEW 2024 Kentucky Derby cheat sheet and racing form featuring analysis from renowned horse racing handicapper Jody Demling. We've done all the research so you don't have to .  Join SportsLine here to get his full 2024 Kentucky Derby picks and cover all your research needs with our NEW 2024 Kentucky Derby racing form !

If you've never heard of Jody Demling, he's a fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years. Demling enters the 2024 Kentucky Derby having nailed the Derby-Oaks double 10 of the last 15 years ! He also predicted the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last six years and called 10 of the last 19 Preakness winners!  Join here for his full horse-by-horse analysis and our 2024 Kentucky Derby cheat sheet !

We've pulled all the critical information from past performances that you need to crush your 2024 Kentucky Derby picks and added Demling's analysis to give you an expert's opinion. With SportsLine's Kentucky Derby cheat sheet, you'll get valuable information for every horse in the 2024 Kentucky Derby field. The Kentucky Derby racing form will give you post position, connections, odds, career record, earnings, past performances and speed figures. Here's the breakdown of the 2024 Kentucky Derby favorite, Fierceness:

Post position:  17 Trainer:  Todd Pletcher (Kentucky Derby winner in 2010, 2017) Jockey:  John Velazquez (Kentucky Derby winner in 2011, 2017, 2020) Odds:  5-2 Career earnings:  $1,703,850 (second in Derby field) Career record (starts-win-place-show):  5-3-0-1 Notable win:  Florida Derby (G1) Best consensus speed figure:  110 (first in Derby field) Last Race:  1st by 13.5 Florida Derby (G1)  

Jody Demling's Analysis:  The Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner was a disappointing third in the Holy Bull Stakes but came back and looked like a champion in the Florid Derby. He's a legit favorite and trainer Todd Pletcher will have him ready to go. Get PPs for every horse by joining SportsLine here .

Demling is also especially high an EPIC double-digit longshot who "keeps getting better and better!"  See all of Demling's picks and analysis now, and give yourself a MASSUVE head start on your research with our 2024 Kentucky Derby racing form featuring past performances and more. This Kentucky Derby 2024 cheat sheet can save you LOADS of time and give you a leg-up ahead of the first race of the 2024 Triple Crown!

Who wins the 2024 Kentucky Derby, and how can our 2024 Kentucky Derby cheat sheets make you a better horse racing handicapper? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Jody Demling's Kentucky Derby picks and see ALL the intel on the 2024 Kentucky Derby field with our time-saving past performances, cheat sheet, and racing form !

GET VEGAS EXPERT PICKS FOR NFL, MLB, NBA, CBB, GOLF, NHL, HORSE RACING AND MORE - PLUS ADVANCED COMPUTER SIMULATIONS, WINNING TOOLS, AND MORE!

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Bestselling novelist Paul Auster, author of 'The New York Trilogy,' dies at 77

"You think it will never happen to you," Paul Auster wrote about aging and mortality in his 2012 book Winter Journal. He's pictured above in New York in April 2007. Nicholas Roberts/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

"You think it will never happen to you," Paul Auster wrote about aging and mortality in his 2012 book Winter Journal. He's pictured above in New York in April 2007.

Best-selling author Paul Auster, whose novels addressed existential questions of identity, language, and literature and created mysteries that raised more questions than they answered, has died. He was 77.

His death was confirmed by friend Jacki Lyden on behalf of Auster's family.

A leading figure in his generation of postmodern American writers, Auster wrote more than 20 novels, including The New York Trilogy , which included his 1985 breakthrough book, City of Glass, and his ambitious 2017 novel 4 3 2 1, which ran close to 1,000 pages.

"I think he was a really exciting and compelling voice of his generation," says Alys Moody, a professor who teaches postwar American literature. "Auster will be remembered for being one of the leading figures in a post-modern tradition that's reimagining how central language is, and how central writing is, and how central above all storytelling is."

Author Interviews

Paul auster meditates on life, death and near misses.

Paul Auster tackles homelessness and broken hearts

Auster was born in 1947 in Newark, N.J., to Jewish middle-class parents of Austrian descent. After he graduated from Columbia University with undergraduate and Master's degrees, he moved to Paris. There, he supported himself by translating French literature. Auster returned to the United States in 1974, part of a disillusioned generation. In a private 1992 interview with me, he said his novel Leviathan was about a character much like himself: "Someone filled with a kind of idealistic hope about what could be done about the future of the country and the world, who saw all these dreams bit by bit be dismantled by subsequent political events."

In his 20s, Auster published his own essays, poems, and translations. A strange event in 1980 led to his first novel.

"I was living alone in Brooklyn. And I did receive a telephone call," he recalled. "And the person on the other end asked if he had reached the Pinkerton Agency. And, of course, I said no and hung up. But after the second or third time, I said, well, what if I said Yes? And that was the genesis of the novel."

The story of that novel, City of Glass, is set in motion when the main character, a detective fiction writer named Quinn, gets a late night phone call:

Book Reviews

'winter journal': paul auster on aging and mortality, a personal 'report from the interior' of author paul auster.

"I would like to speak to Mr. Paul Auster." "There's no one here by that name." "Paul Auster. Of the Auster Detective Agency." "I'm sorry," said Quinn. "You must have the wrong number." "This is a matter of utmost urgency," said the voice. "There's nothing I can do for you," said Quinn. "There is no Paul Auster here." "You don't understand," said the voice. "Time is running out."

The writer in the novel takes on the identity of the detective, who sets out to solve the mystery of "what is reality?" He was sometimes criticized for the bizarre coincidences in his work, but the events of his life, he said, outstripped the implausibility in his fiction.

"When I was about 13 or 14 years old and, I was off at a summer camp, and we got caught in a storm. And a boy standing next to me was killed by a bolt of lightning. Dropped dead. Struck down by the sky. I think maybe that informs my work more than any book I have ever read," he explained.

4 lives in parallel run through ambitious '4 3 2 1'

1 character, 4 different lives in paul auster's '4 3 2 1', 1 character, 4 different lives in paul auster's '4 3 2 1'.

Auster also wrote and co-directed a handful of independent films. He was never at a loss for words. In 2017, he published an 880-page novel called 4 3 2 1 that told the story of one main character in four different versions, in alternating chapters. When he finished that book, he decided to take a break from fiction, so he began writing a 780-page biography of 19 th century author Stephen Crane.

"I have tried in my books to turn myself inside out as much as possible," he said. "And not to hide behind style, tricks — whatever you might call it."

Auster, whose literary influences included Franz Kafka and Samuel Beckett, will be remembered for the purity of his language, and the seriousness of his intent.

Correction May 1, 2024

An earlier version of this story indicated that Paul Auster was born in 1937. He was born in 1947.

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Full horses list and odds for the 2024 Kentucky Derby

Editor's note: Follow along for  live coverage of the 150th Kentucky Derby .

Who will win the 2024 Kentucky Derby ?

That's a question to be answered this weekend when the 150th Run for the Roses starts on Saturday, May 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Morning-line odds are out for all 20 participants – including two Japanese horses – in this year's race, indicating which horses are early favorites to win the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown.

Topping the early odds are two American horses born in Kentucky: Sierra Leone, trained by Chad Brown and jockeyed by Tyler Gafflione, and Fierceness, trained by Todd Pletcher and jockeyed by three-time Derby winner John Velazquez.

After Saturday's post drawing , we know Sierra Leone will be trying to be the eighth horse to win the "Greatest Two Minutes in Sports" from post 2.

On Tuesday, Encino – the horse slated to start from post 9 – was scratched from the race. Horses originally set in posts 10-20 have moved up one post and Epic Ride will start from post 20 as Encino's substitution.

Here is the full list of participants and morning-line odds for the 2024 Kentucky Derby.

2024 KENTUCKY DERBY: Time, date, TV and streaming info for 150th Run for the Roses

2024 Kentucky Derby horses and odds

Looking to bet: Bet the Kentucky Derby with FanDuel Racing

Kentucky Derby 2024: TV, streaming and where to watch

• When: Saturday, May 4
• Coverage starts : 2:30 p.m. ET
• Post time: 6:57 p.m. ET
• Where: Churchill Downs, Louisville Kentucky
• Cable TV: NBC
• Streaming: Peacock ; YouTube TV; fuboTV

HOW TO WATCH: Watch the 2024 Kentucky Derby with a Peacock subscription

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