RUNNER
Coming July 28, 2026 - Pre-Order Now!
In this gripping, emotionally-layered novel set in Prohibition-era Martha’s Vineyard, a young woman from a Black seafaring family plunges into the dangerous world of rum-running to save her home and uncover the truth about her father’s death.
Martha’s Vineyard, 1923. The sea is a gift that keeps on giving to Lena Jameson’s father, Earl, a fisherman turned successful rumrunner who’s built up a small fortune smuggling liquor from offshore ships to thirsty customers back on the island. But when Earl and his entire crew are lost in a mysterious shipwreck that some whisper was no accident, his loved ones are left reeling and penniless—and Lena, who’d been on the cusp of heading off to college in Boston, sees her future slipping away.
Desperate to save her family and her own hopes of escaping their small town, Lena decides to take over Earl’s rum-running business. For a crew, she ropes in Walter, her roguish big brother who leans too hard on the bottle, Sam, her steadfast local boyfriend who wants to keep her tethered to shore, and Dee, a glamorous young woman summering in the Vineyard from Boston, who offers Lena a glimpse of the future she still wants for herself—and who’s keeping an explosive secret.
The foursome takes off on a journey from the quaint, colorful streets of Oak Bluffs through gangland Boston and down to the jazz-filled clubs of Harlem in its early Renaissance, all in search of quick money—and the truth about the shipwreck. But as buried secrets rise to the surface and the temptations of the glittering underworld pull Lena in deeper, soon everything she’s fought to protect hangs in the balance: her heart, her family, and her place in a world quick to condemn women who dare to want more.
PRAISE
“Buckle up, readers! Ashton Lattimore’s gripping Prohibition-era tale of two lady rumrunners who risk everything to rescue their families and their futures is a twisting, turning thrill ride of a book!”—Marie Bostwick, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Club for Troublesome Women
“During Prohibition, a young Black woman from Martha’s Vineyard discovers the dangers of rum-running in this exciting novel… Lattimore ably captures the high stakes of the rum-running trade during Prohibition and shows how the danger is magnified for a Black woman. Readers will be drawn to this singular portrait of Massachusetts history.”—Publishers Weekly
“Lattimore again brings tension to the forefront as Lena and Dee take big risks and try to find out who is undermining them. The more they trust each other and discover who they cannot trust, the more confidence they gain, refusing to let others define or confine them.” — Booklist (starred review)
“I loved Runner! It’s a quintessential tale of family secrets, set against the backdrop of Prohibition and the rich history of a Black community on Martha’s Vineyard.”—Crystal Smith Paul, author of Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
“Lattimore has cemented her place as a bright new voice in historical fiction with her highly anticipated, intimate, and heartrending second novel. . . . Generational secrets come to light, trauma runs bone-deep, and rivals close in from every side, but Lattimore’s characters keep reaching toward a brighter future. Runner is a thrilling adventure that takes readers from the moon-lit shores of the Atlantic to the jazzy speakeasies of Boston and Harlem, while also challenging us all to consider the price we might pay for just one chance at the American Dream.”—Avery Cunningham, author of The Mayor of Maxwell Street