INTERVIEW: Stay tuned for my #AuthorElevatorSeries Chat with Wanda, where we go behind the scenes of WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND and this award-winning author (June 19).

Bestselling author Wanda Morris returns following Anywhere You Run and All Her Little Secrets with her latest topical and powerful thriller, WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND.

The mysterious disappearance of a local landowner sparks a tenacious lawyer on a quest for justice and uncovers a deadly mystery that could ruin her coastal hometown. A conspiracy going back years in this moving multi-generational story of family, legalities, rights, heirs' property, community, grief, and injustices.

Deena Wood, a lawyer grappling with profound personal upheavals, including the loss of her mother, her marriage, and her esteemed position at an Atlanta law firm, seeks solace in her childhood home in coastal Brunswick, Georgia, and the loving Geechee people. On top of this, she is forced to deal with the woman her father married six months after the death of her mother.

However, she encounters some disturbing events when she stumbles upon the oceanfront property of a loner widower who has been fighting to keep the multi-generational land in the family since the end of the Civil War. He thinks she is a realtor or works for a developer and threatens her with leaving his land and not returning. Shortly thereafter, he goes missing, and his property is quickly put up for sale.

Deena thinks something is suspicious and starts digging into the history, discovering that their family legacy is part of the conspiracy. A deadly game of illegally taking over land and property redevelopment, especially in the poor and rural communities.

Deena soon becomes immersed in this nightmare—a scheme threatening her community and family. How are these events connected? She must do what it takes to stop innocent people from losing their land and their family's legacies.

WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND is an essential and powerful book and a hot topic of today about heirs' property, which targets the blacks, poor, rural, urban, and other areas. From manslaughter, fraud, greed, and a desire for wealth had come at the cost of lives and destruction of the community.

Wanda beautifully writes of the Gullah-Geechee community, located in Georgia's low country. This community is rich in culture and threatened by developers trying to use their heirs' property to scoop up land. The land is valuable; some families have handed it down for years. It is now being snatched away by greedy developers who want to turn it into resort properties and more.

I enjoy how the author writes about important and timely issues and themes that make you think and how we can participate and be a part of the solution and its legalities, as she mentions.

Inspiring, thought-provoking, and rich in history, with a cast of well-developed characters that will linger long after the book ends. I also enjoyed how the author sprinkled "Interstitial" sections and letters from the mother to Deena were spellbinding. The journey of the main character and her road to self-discovery was empowering, discovering she was stronger than she knew.

"Grief is love, repackaged in longings and despair. But after the emptiness of it all wears off, the love remains."

Please read the Afterword, which explains the inspiration behind the novel and the resources available. Heirs' property refers to a home or land that passes from generation to generation without a legally designated owner. Historically, an unstable form of ownership has made it easy for developers to acquire the property. When multiple people own the land, they can convince just one heir to sell their fractional share of the property and force a court-ordered partition sale of the entire property even if the other owners are against it.

HEIRS' PROPERTY: It is also imperative to know that when a person owns property with an unclear title, it is difficult to secure mortgages and loans to make improvements, thereby limiting the family's ability to build generational wealth. Some of these folks are rich in land but cash-poor. Some of these folks need access to tax and estate planning services, but there are non-profit organizations that can assist them.

Meticulously researched, the author tackles difficult topics and the fallout for real people and our communities. This topic is essential and timely, fascinating, and needs more awareness. I am delighted to see authors addressing it in their fiction and nonfiction books and how families are affected.

“This powerful, haunting topical novel combines the best of Southern, Gothic, legal, mystery, suspense, historical, family drama, crime thriller, literary, paranormal elements, and more... A MUST-READ!”

WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND, and all the author's books are highly recommended.

If you enjoyed WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND, I highly recommend reading John Grisham's Camino Ghosts, Terah Shelton Harris' Long After We Are Gone, and Brea Baker's Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership (all 2024). These four books also feature and highlight heirs' property.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for a digital advanced reading copy for an honest review. #CoverCrush

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: June 18, 2024
June 2024 Must-Read Books
June Featured #AuthorElevatorSeries

US pub date: 6/18/24
Genre: suspense/mystery
Quick summary: Deena leaves behind her life as a lawyer in Atlanta for a fresh start at home in coastal Georgia. But all is not well in her hometown - a mysterious company is buying up property from the longtime residents, and Deena is determined to find out how and why.

This is the third of what I'm calling "social justice-themed suspense novels" from Morris, and if you haven't read one yet, you should catch up! I loved how Deena put her personal struggles aside to fight for her town, trying to keep her fellow residents in their houses despite the attempted land grabs. There's a really strong sense of place here - both in the descriptions of the landscape and the spirits who help guide Deena. This story hooked me, and the twists at the end were so good! If you're headed to the beach and looking for a book with a bit more depth than the typical beach read, definitely try this one!

Thank you to William Morrow and @thoughtsfromapage podcast for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This talented author has written a novel of intrigue and mystery. The setting is almost a character. The realistic characters keep the story moving quickly. I like this author. Enjoy the journey of this book. Thanks Netgalley.

Thank you to William Morrow Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.
Deena is a non-practicing lawyer, she has been through a divorce and a job loss, as well as the death of her mother. She becomes aware of people being forced off of their property, namely Holcomb, who is killed for his lucrative island land. The premise is interesting, even though Deena is not. There is a love story line, but it falls flat and doesn't bring anything to the narrative. I am rating 2.5 stars rounded up to 3, just because this was boring. It is a great premise, but the execution doesn't live up to the potential. It definitely made me think about how poor people can be "land rich" and be manipulated by equity firms who get them to sell their land insanely cheap. In the story, of course it is dramatic and includes murder, but in the real world, this is still something to consider. The rich get richer.

Wanda Morris became an auto read/buy author after her amazing book Anywhere You Run came out in 2022. What You Leave Behind was a strong thriller with just a hint of spiritual and supernatural elements that I loved and felt added to the atmosphere and suspense of the novel. There was some great tension that continued to build as Deena’s story unraveled, and Morris was great at teasing that suspense out and helping it last for the reader. I never felt bored or disinterested in where the story was going, and I honestly can’t say that for all thrillers.

If you saw someone in trouble, would you step up to help them, even if it put your life at risk?
From what I've heard, the hero stats are not good, for obvious reasons.
But Deena Wood is an exception.
After a random visit to a place that was special to her mom, Deena encounters a man who tries to warn her away. While it takes Deena and the reader to understand the big picture, this story centers on real estate and the lengths bad people will go to obtain it - essentially stealing property from heirs. However, they have found loopholes to make it all very legal. Does it make it right, though?

Although I think Deena took entirely too many risks, especially when her and her family's lives are threatened, she seems to be the only one paying attention to what is going down in her community. Eventually she convinces several other people to help her. Are they really on her side? Sometimes I had to wonder. With the turn of events, someone is clearly lying to her. But who?

I was surprised when the full truth came out and how deep the corruption ran. It is amazing what greed will drive one to do unspeakable things.

Overall, this was a carefully crafted thriller, and I enjoyed how the pieces came together, ultimately providing closure. Deena took huge risks and became the true hero her community needed.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 “Perhaps that’s the way life is. You don’t just deal with one bad thing at a time. Life throws a stream of adversities at you with no break in between. Ma used to call it a season.” Wanda Morris very eloquently shares the sentiment of when it rains, it pours. She beautifully illustrates the spectrum of human emotions in her newest novel, What You Leave Behind. The book is vividly descriptive and so alluring that her writing draws the reader in from the very beginning. When Deena returns to her low country home after losing her mother and a divorce, life seems much slower but strange things begin to happen that make her question what could be lurking around this quiet town. A brilliant statement on the impact we leave, the legacy we create, and an homage to generations before. This thrilling mystery is written with so much heart and balanced with a gripping plot that will land this as a top read for this summer!


5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review is posted on Goodreads and final review will be on Instagram ahead of the publication date.

This was a really good read! My first Wanda M. Morris book and I’m impressed, will definitely check out more of her work. The build up of this story kept me engaged the entire book ! 🗣 The audacity , I’m so happy that Deena did not give up . She knew something fishy was happening and she continued to trust her ancestors and her intuition❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ !

A young lawyer ends up dealing with personal and professional tragedy and goes back home. She is mistaken for a realtor and finds a new case to work on. I loved how suspenseful this book was and how it was law based with the thrilling parts. Legacy and law is always a fun subject to write about you can tell the author really put the knowledge from her job into this piece of writing. I really enjoyed it. Also that cover is beautiful and I love it.

This is my first read by Wanda M. Morris and it won't be the last! What You Leave Behind is a legal thriller centered around Deena, our main character, who discovers unfair property practices happening in her hometown. This book delves into family drama, grief and loss, political involvement, and Gullah-Geechee culture. It was so interesting learning about the Gullah-Geechee culture. Many of these people deal with the exact issues Morris writes in this book. Adding the climate crisis to this, these stories must be told to protect their lands. The supernatural elements added so much to the story.

I will say, that my only con to this book is that it started pretty slow. Even though I empathized with our main character I felt like I was waiting for more action to happen. However, once it picked up, I was drawn in!

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love the way Wanda M. Morris unravels mysteries. She always keeps the reader on their toes but has so much respect for the reading experience. Some mysteries and thrillers feel far-fetched but the premise of this book is so frighteningly rooted in reality, every moment was believable. Podcast review to come.

Thank you, Thoughts from a Page, and William Morrow for the early reader copy of the book.

This was such an unusual thriller for me. The story is set in Georgia and focuses on an heir property law. There is a conspiracy and the fight for power involved, a little bit of a love story, and the power of your ancestors. I loved the small supernatural element presented, it was not scary, more of a magical realism.
The story was well thought through and all the loose ends were connected. The only thing that was missing for me was the ending. The book ends abruptly, I wanted a more flashed-out scene and maybe a harder payback. My favorite part was the house descriptions, they played such a large role in this story, and the rich descriptions added to the experience.
Overall, highly recommend adding this to your summer reading.

Yaaaaas. Completely devoured this mystery. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.

This is my first read from this author, but won’t be my last. I’m excited to see she has a couple of titles on the backlist already out.

This is my second book by Wanda M. Morris, and she did not disappoint. Did I read it in one day? Yes, yes I did. Definition of a page-turner. I kept trying to figure out who the ghost was and why it was who it was never dawned on me, idk. All the people implicated were suspected but the last one? I wanted to throw the book because I never would’ve guessed. That plot twist was plot twisting.

Experiencing death, divorce, and professional failure, Deena has had a rough year. Grieving, she drives to an island off the Georgia coast to find solace, only to be threatened at gunpoint when a local landowner thinks she is a trespasser working for predatory land developers. The next time Deena returns to the island, the same property is for sale and the landowner nowhere in sight. As Deena attempts to resolve the mysteries of the missing landowner and the property’s current ownership, she uncovers secrets not only within her town and family but also within cultural power structures that have been haunting American families for generations.

Put this in your beach bag because this book is pure entertainment. It’s easy to read and will keep you turning the pages. While I recommend it for its sheer entertainment value, it also explores some legal issues that will probably surprise many readers and, thus, make for great book club discussions.

Death, greed, and murder are at the heart of this complex tale of intrigue that had me immersed in all aspects, quickly becoming a page-turner. Deena’s return home came with tension from within her family and her community and the author’s voice propelled this drama dealing with societal concerns that claimed a stake in the telling of this tale. The suspenseful nature of this story with its well-defined mystery kept me in the game. The visually descriptive narrative with its engaging dialogue and a setting that was made real came through, putting me in the middle of all the action as I rooted for Deena. When I thought I had a handle on what was going, the author changed directions with a few strategically placed twists, some I didn’t see coming, all to enhance my reading pleasure. The pacing was on par with how well this story was being told. Overall, this was an excellent and masterful story from Ms. Morris.

"What You Leave Behind" by Wanda M. Morris introduced intriguing new cultural perspectives on the Gullah Geechee, which added depth to the narrative. While the premise was clear and the direction of the story was understandable, it fell short in its overall execution.

The attempt to weave in family dynamics and the theme of overcoming grief is commendable and added emotional resonance to the storyline. However, the book suffers from an overreliance on telling rather than showing, which hampers immersion in the narrative.

I think the over reliance of cultural connections sometimes fragmented the story. My lack of connection to the characters and the story itself left me imagining what the story could have been like with a little more editing.

Thank you #Netgalley and #WilliamMorrow for letting me read this early in exchange for an honest review!

This is my first book by author Wanda Morris and I highly enjoyed it. The description of the coastal setting was a highlight for me. This story was based on a premise about property ownership and how someone can con and be deceptive in stealing your rights to your land. I appreciated the authors note and learned tremendously about a topic that I didn’t know a lot about. I love when a story is thought provoking and has me researching about themes in the novel. I highly recommend this book if you like coastal settings, supernatural elements, and an intriguing murder mystery.

Wanda M. Morris has a great feel for the complicated relationships and emotions that tie families and communities together. She weaves a compelling story of communal loss in the mystery/thriller "What You Leave Behind" through the main character, Deena Wood, who is grieving over her own immediate personal and professional life calamities. Readers will empathize with Deena's realistic hodgepodge of contradictory emotions that emerge as a result of the loss of her mother and regret over poor life decisions. While I thought the plot development in the first half of the book could have been quicker, by the second half the progress of significant events and character evolution were paced nicely. There were plenty of sneaky plot twists and surprises that kept me wanting to find out what happened. This was a quick and satisfying read. Thanks to Cindy Burnett from Thoughts from a Page and NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC!

I really enjoyed the new novel by Wanda Morris. It was a mystery with strong characters and twists that kept me guessing through out the book. I was also interested to learn more about the challenges facing some in the South who have lost their family homes due to lack of proper documentation. This is the third novel I’ve read by Morris and I look forward to reading her work in the future!