Run Rose Run

A big-hearted tale of music and perseverance from a living country legend is our top literary pick this month . . . Along the way, we get plenty of genuinely interesting information about the country-music world . . . Frankly bonkers fun

Reader's Digest

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

LISA GARDNER, bestselling author of the Detective D. D. Warren series

Run Rose Run is a suspenseful tale of a young musician desperate to escape her troubled past. A thrilling journey from two beloved voices, set against the backdrop of the country-music scene.

KATHLEEN GRISSOM, bestselling author of The Kitchen House and Glory Over Everything

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 throat, kick up the suspense, and move a novel along better than anybody else in the world. Run Rose Run is enthralling, terrifying, enlightening, and moving all at once.

LEE SMITH, bestselling author of The Last Girls and Dimestore

Run Rose Run grips your heart from the start and never lets go. Like a great Dolly Parton song, it is rich with heart, humour and humanity, full of a yearning for the light even in the darkest of nights. Unforgettably good stuff.

TONY PARSONS, bestselling author of the DC Max Wolfe series

James Patterson is promiscuous with his charms. He has co-written thrillers with Bill Clinton, now he has snuggled up to another Southern institution, Dolly Parton. In this thriller a young singer-songwriter in Nashville is determined to make it big, but - surprise, surprise - she's on the run from her deadly past . . . It's going to be big.

The Times

We always knew Dolly Parton was a wit. ("It costs me a lot of money to look this cheap.") In Covid, funding vaccine research, she became a hero. For her next trick, she unveils herself as a novelist, co-writing her debut with prolific hit-machine James Patterson

Daily Telegraph

One of the most eagerly anticipated thrillers of 2022

Daily Express

Tells the story of a down-on-her-luck singer songwriter whose career is turbo-charged by a country music legend bearing more than a passing resemblance to the legendary Parton herself

Sunday Express

It could be the literary year's shining jewel. Or more surely, simply sell by the shedload

RTE

America's master storyteller and much-loved performer join forces

Sun

Warm, feisty. Like having Dolly in the room with you

VAL McDERMID

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when this was being written. There must have been such extraordinary energy and excitement in that room; the resulting thriller certainly suggests as much

Platinum

All the great country songs are about heartbreak, about gittin' back on your feet and startin' over. Ultimately, that is where this book scores. AnnieLee is an adorable firecracker of a heroine . . . Run Rose Run has a sweet moreishness that will keep millions happily turning its 409 pages (plus lyrics at the back). Parton and Patterson may have invented a new style; let's call it Dolly Mixtures . . . Seriously, is there anything this phenomenal 76-year-old cannot do?

Daily Telegraph

A diverting duet . . . [Dolly Parton] is able to supply an authenticity in the details of the American music business . . . The autobiographical aspects of the novel are foregrounded: AnnieLee is as diminutive as Run Rose Run's co-author, with a similarly sparky, self-deprecating character.

Financial Times

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 . . . 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.

Maverick Magazine

Who doesn't love Dolly Parton? As well as being a wonderful singer, songwriter and actor, she has created a remarkable legacy as a philanthropist for children's literacy. Parton has now joined forces for a writing duet with bestselling author James Patterson.

Independent

Smart, spirited and thoroughly entertaining . . . set against the backdrop of the toxic music industry, Dolly's fury at the way women are treated blazes off the page. A wish fulfilment fairytale grounded in grit . . . deserves to be a runaway success

Daily Express

Told with passion and sensitivity it is as much a tribute to Parton's warmth and humanity as it is to Patterson's skill as a thriller writer

Daily Mail

A detailed, loving, professional portrait of a country music songwriter's process, whether alone and dreaming or down in the studio.

The Times

A deliciously hokey yarn about a young singer-songwriter (AnnieLee) struggling to shake off her murky past and make a career in Nashville.

Independent

I absolutely loved it!

ROSS KING

A perfect daily serving of soapy escapism

Guardian Weekly

An iconic singer and a master storyteller make for a sublime partnership in this fun and fast tale.

Sun

The likable trio will have you rooting for them all the way

Guardian

Just like Parton's hit songs, you'll find yourself pulled right in

i Paper

If you love Dolly (and let's be honest, who doesn't?), you'll enjoy the ride.

Woman's Weekly

Dolly doesn't miss!

Buzz Magazine

Dreams, drama and danger, with a generous sprinkling of magic and wisdom at every turn, it makes for a super holiday or bedtime read

Herald

Sassy AnnieLee and the Nashville music scene come across as authentic, and the plot speeds along with good humour and energy

Irish Independent

Such a page-turner

Closer

Run Rose Run is a story glittering with danger and desire

Press Association