I had the pleasure of interviewing Wanda M. Morris recently about her debut thriller novel, All Her Little Secrets (#1,048). Her main character, Ellice Littlejohn, like Ms. Morris herself, is a Black corporate lawyer working in Atlanta. I'm pretty sure that's where their resemblance ends.
Ellice is feeling stuck in both her career and her personal life. She's thinking about breaking off her relationship with Michael, the handsome WASP General Counsel at the firm where they both work, when she walks into his office for an early morning meeting and finds his body in a blood-spattered office. Ellice quietly retreats back downstairs to her own office, leaving someone else to find his body. Much to her surprise, later that same day, she's promoted into Michael's position without any chance to say no. Everything is not right on the Executive Floor. Is she just the token Black? It's obvious not everyone wants her there, but she doesn't want to make waves because she has her own secrets to hide. Her affair with Michael is just the first...
I found it hard to put this book down. When Ellice confesses to having a "jiggly midsection" and being teased by boys growing up about her height with the nickname "Mount Ellice", I knew I was going to relate to her character. Funnily enough, when I brought this up in the interview, Ms. Morris said she wasn't sure anyone would want to read about a tall, Black, middle-aged lawyer with plenty of secrets to hide as she struggles to make it to the top. I'm glad she pulled that manuscript back out of the drawer after letting it lie fallow for seven years! I was equally delighted to learn that she has a book coming out in October called Any Where You Run. Count me as a fan! Highly recommended!
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