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November road by Lou Berney
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November road (original 2018; edition 2018)

by Lou Berney (Author), Jasper Mutsaers (Translator)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
6364436,739 (3.96)57
"Set against the assassination of JFK, a poignant and evocative crime novel that centers on a desperate cat-and-mouse chase across 1960s America--a story of unexpected connections, daring possibilities, and the hope of second chances from the Edgar Award-winning author of The Long and Faraway Gone. Frank Guidry's luck has finally run out. A loyal street lieutenant to New Orleans' mob boss Carlos Marcello, Guidry has learned that everybody is expendable. But now it's his turn--he knows too much about the crime of the century: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Within hours of JFK's murder, everyone with ties to Marcello is turning up dead, and Guidry suspects he's next: he was in Dallas on an errand for the boss less than two weeks before the president was shot. With few good options, Guidry hits the road to Las Vegas, to see an old associate--a dangerous man who hates Marcello enough to help Guidry vanish. Guidry knows that the first rule of running is "don't stop," but when he sees a beautiful housewife on the side of the road with a broken-down car, two little daughters and a dog in the back seat, he sees the perfect disguise to cover his tracks from the hit men on his tail. Posing as an insurance man, Guidry offers to help Charlotte reach her destination, California. If she accompanies him to Vegas, he can help her get a new car. For her, it's more than a car-- it's an escape. She's on the run too, from a stifling existence in small-town Oklahoma and a kindly husband who's a hopeless drunk. It's an American story: two strangers meet to share the open road west, a dream, a hope--and find each other on the way. Charlotte sees that he's strong and kind; Guidry discovers that she's smart and funny. He learns that's she determined to give herself and her kids a new life; she can't know that he's desperate to leave his old one behind. Another rule--fugitives shouldn't fall in love, especially with each other. A road isn't just a road, it's a trail, and Guidry's ruthless and relentless hunters are closing in on him. But now Guidry doesn't want to just survive, he wants to really live, maybe for the first time. Everyone's expendable, or they should be, but now Guidry just can't throw away the woman he's come to love. And it might get them both killed."--provided by publisher.… (more)
Member:TallArnie
Title:November road
Authors:Lou Berney (Author)
Other authors:Jasper Mutsaers (Translator)
Info:HarperCollins (2018), 320 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:***
Tags:None

Work Information

November Road by Lou Berney (2018)

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» See also 57 mentions

English (41)  Swedish (1)  French (1)  German (1)  All languages (44)
Showing 1-5 of 41 (next | show all)
I am usually a fan of Lou Berney, but this one didn't do it for me.
It is set during the time of the JFK assassination, and a man is sent to do cleanup after the fact - to erase any trace of connection to his crime bosses. Meanwhile, the man is he chasing is traveling across the country and meets Charlotte, a woman with 2 young children, who is driving to CA to escape her marriage. "Frank" and Charlotte, a budding photographer, find solace with each other.
However, there was a lot of murder, and graphic violence, and I struggled through that. ( )
  rmarcin | Feb 19, 2023 |
This was a good book but an uncomfortable read for me: I don't like identifying with a narrator who's a bad person, and I especially don't like any hint of children in peril. Aside from those personal biases though, this story of a mobster fleeing retribution for knowing too much about the Kennedy assassination was well written with interesting (though mostly unpleasant) characters. Relieved at the outcome. Will I read more by this author? Maybe. ( )
  JudyGibson | Jan 26, 2023 |
For me, November Road by Lou Berney was a fantastic read that I both didn’t want to put down but I also didn’t want it to end. Set in November, 1963, the book covers the time immediately after the assassination of President John Kennedy. We meet Frank Guidry, a sharp dressed mobster in the city of New Orleans. When his boss makes the request that he park a get-away car in Dallas, he didn’t think anything of it – until after the news broke about the President. Then when he is requested to go to Houston and pick up the same car and ensure it disappears, he realizes this is all connected and now he knows too much.

On the run for his life, Frank meets up with Charlotte, a young housewife from Oklahoma who with her two daughters has left her husband and is one her way to a new life in California. Frank realizes that Charlotte and the girls would make an excellent cover for him and manages to work his way into their lives. What he didn’t plan was that he would develop strong feelings for them. Meanwhile they are being tracked by a ruthless killer who has been instructed not to leave any witnesses behind.

The author has delivered a sharp, chilling story that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. He develops each character fully and gives us a glimpse of their inner thoughts and feelings which ensures that the reader will feel a connection to all. November Road is a suspenseful, beautifully written story and has placed this author on my “must-read” list. ( )
  DeltaQueen50 | Oct 1, 2022 |
The title stems from the "action" that begins when a hitman is asked to drive a car to Dealey Plaza and leave it. Two days later Kennedy is assassinated from the 6th floor of Dealey Plaza. Everybody involved in the operation is killed, even the killers themselves. Down to one who knows something: Frank. He eludes those sent to kill him and gets involved with an innocent woman with 2 children. The ending is as I expected, but the tension ran high throughout the book. ( )
  Tess_W | Aug 23, 2022 |
Frank Guidry is a street lieutenant for New Orleans’ mob boss, Carlos Marcello. Frank performs a simple task in Dallas, but quickly realizes he has been inadvertently drawn into the Kennedy assassination when others start disappearing so he goes on the run. But, Frank is no fool: he knows that dead men tell no tales. A stone cold killer named Barone is on his trail and will not be deterred until Frank takes his last breath.

Meanwhile, in the small town of Winslow, Oklahoma, Charlotte decides to leave her husband, who likes drinking too much, and take her two young daughters to California to start a new life. She and the girls are independent and like to speak their minds.

Coincidence brings Frank across Charlotte’s path, and he sees a perfect disguise, a way to escape those who want him dead, by traveling together. He did not foresee developing strong feelings for her and her daughters, especially as a Casanova type. Heading west on Route 66, they try to escape their circumstances, eventually ending up in Las Vegas, with an old friend of Frank's when things go awry.

A good period piece, but I think Lou Berney could have done more with respect to the prevailing mood in the country and the assassination's effect on all.
( )
  skipstern | Jul 11, 2021 |
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Behold! The Big Easy in all its wicked splendour!
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"Set against the assassination of JFK, a poignant and evocative crime novel that centers on a desperate cat-and-mouse chase across 1960s America--a story of unexpected connections, daring possibilities, and the hope of second chances from the Edgar Award-winning author of The Long and Faraway Gone. Frank Guidry's luck has finally run out. A loyal street lieutenant to New Orleans' mob boss Carlos Marcello, Guidry has learned that everybody is expendable. But now it's his turn--he knows too much about the crime of the century: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Within hours of JFK's murder, everyone with ties to Marcello is turning up dead, and Guidry suspects he's next: he was in Dallas on an errand for the boss less than two weeks before the president was shot. With few good options, Guidry hits the road to Las Vegas, to see an old associate--a dangerous man who hates Marcello enough to help Guidry vanish. Guidry knows that the first rule of running is "don't stop," but when he sees a beautiful housewife on the side of the road with a broken-down car, two little daughters and a dog in the back seat, he sees the perfect disguise to cover his tracks from the hit men on his tail. Posing as an insurance man, Guidry offers to help Charlotte reach her destination, California. If she accompanies him to Vegas, he can help her get a new car. For her, it's more than a car-- it's an escape. She's on the run too, from a stifling existence in small-town Oklahoma and a kindly husband who's a hopeless drunk. It's an American story: two strangers meet to share the open road west, a dream, a hope--and find each other on the way. Charlotte sees that he's strong and kind; Guidry discovers that she's smart and funny. He learns that's she determined to give herself and her kids a new life; she can't know that he's desperate to leave his old one behind. Another rule--fugitives shouldn't fall in love, especially with each other. A road isn't just a road, it's a trail, and Guidry's ruthless and relentless hunters are closing in on him. But now Guidry doesn't want to just survive, he wants to really live, maybe for the first time. Everyone's expendable, or they should be, but now Guidry just can't throw away the woman he's come to love. And it might get them both killed."--provided by publisher.

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a poignant and evocative crime novel featuring a cat-and-mouse chase across 1960's America in the wake of the Kennedy assassination
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