I write this review from the perspective of one who worked in just the kind of environment so accurately and sympathetically portrayed in this impressive first novel. (I was a faculty member, associate dean and interim dean at a journalism school.) Bourne Morris taught advertising at the University of Nevada at Reno until 2009. Her 26-year teaching career followed what she calls a “splendid” career in advertising, notably at Ogilvy & Mather in Los Angeles. She worked in the “Mad Men” era of advertising. Morris has embarked on a third career—novelist—and her debut novel, “The Red Queen’s Run,” is exceptionally good. It’s set in the fictional journalism school at the fictional Mountain West University in fictional Landry, Nevada. She writes with obvious love for the beautiful scenery of northern Nevada. Meredith’s red hair prompts colleagues to call her “Red,” and promotional material for the book promises more novels in a “Red Solaris” mystery series. That’s really good news! The murder of the school’s dean promotes the antagonist, associate dean Meredith Solaris, to interim dean. In addition to coping with the death of her mentor, she has to face issues that are familiar college faculty members: students with personal problems, “helicopter” parents, vociferous and antagonistic faculty members, sexual harassment by faculty members, student and faculty plagiarism, changes in journalism and the school’s curriculum, promotion and tenure decisions, accreditation, and dealings with a provost and president who aren’t always sympathetic. Morris’ characters are well-developed and multi-dimensional, and I cared about them. We learn how Meredith’s family experiences shaped her personality and cause an initial reluctance to become romantically involved. The romantic interest develops slowly and realistically, however. We learn, too, that the faculty members who initially seem one-dimensional are more complicated and cause us to reconsider early suspicions about the murderer. The late dean once said, “Hell is a tenured professor with hurt feelings.” I once held unrealistic notions about writing a novel based on my personal experiences. I abandoned that idea, however, because I didn’t think I could make fiction about a journalism school interesting or compelling. Bourne proved me wrong, and this is the novel I wished I could have written. No one else could have, however, and we’re the better for it.
