The assassination of John F Kennedy has created a mini-genre all of its own down the years. Movies such as The Parallax View, though heavily influenced by the tragedy, used it as the inspiration for a fictional assassination, while others fictionalised the assassination, elements of it, or the circumstances surrounding it. Amongst these are Charles McCarry’s novel Tears of Autumn, Don DeLillo’s Libra, and of course, perhaps the best of them all, James Elroy’s Underworld USA trilogy.

Of course, this is is just a taste of the JFK assassination’s treatment in film (I haven’t even mentioned Oliver Stone’s film, JFK), television, and literature and the canon includes works which focus entirely on the assassination, to those that use it more as a backdrop. Lou Berney’s November Road is very much of the latter. While the assassination of Kennedy is integral to the plot, it is not central to it in the same way that it is to some other works. This isn’t a JFK conspiracy thriller as such, more one that uses the assassination and the conspiracy that surrounded it (in the novel there was a conspiracy, Lee Harvey Oswald having been a patsy) to drive the narrative forward.

Frank Guidry is a fixer for the New Orleans mob, a go-to guy for fearsome mobster Carlos Marcello. Guidry was asked to drive a car to Dallas. After the assassination, he puts two and two together and realises that the car had been used as a getaway vehicle for the real assassin. Guidry is scared, the assassination being audacious even for the mafia, in fact, it borders on the recklessly dangerous. When others who know about the plot start to die, Guidry guesses that Marcello is tying off loose ends and goes on the run.

Guidry meets a woman and her daughter who have fled a life of suffocatingly cloistered domesticity. He charms her so that he can travel with them, reasoning that whoever Marcello has sent after him will be looking for a man travelling alone, not a man with a family. But as they travel across America, he starts to develop real feelings for them.

November Road is in actual fact a road trip novel. The Kennedy assassination, Marcello’s determination to sew up loose ends, the hitman he sets on his erstwhile employee’s trail, all drive the narrative forward and give momentum to Guidry’s journey. The characterisation in the novel is top-notch. The contract killer is chilling, the mother and daughter touching and vulnerable, though not in a saccharine clicéd way. But most of all this is Guidry’s story. Much is said in creative writing workshops about a character’s arc, and November Road is a study in how to do craft such an arc well. Guidry goes from selfish womaniser to caring partner and father figure, though tragedy is signposted from the start and its obvious that things can’t end well. This is all down incredibly adeptly and this change in Guidry’s outlook, this transformation he experiences, is convincing.

November Road is a brilliant novel. Part JFK conspiracy thriller, but mainly a road trip undertaken by a desperate man, this is a definite five star read.

November Road by Lou Berney is a beautiful, moving story about love, personal growth and a new future with endless possibilities.

The cross-country journey is painted in such vivid colours and landscapes that I felt I was one of the passengers. The novel follows two prominent threads: escaping the past (Frank is being pursued by a hitman and Charlotte had taken her two children and left her alcoholic husband) and finding the future (their new experiences and falling in love) and throughout, the reader feels the tension of the looming point when these two threads intersect.

The characters of both Frank and Charlotte develop slowly, smoothly, with determination and strength. Both are open to change and growth, and that they bring this out in each other, coming from opposite sides of the social spectrum, is endearing and heartfelt. I fell in love with the both of them.

The writing is beautiful. The landscape descriptions conjure images of vast, open spaces and true 60’s America. The personification of Frank and Charlotte, her daughters, her “ex” husband, even Barone the hitman, is flawless and complex. These are humans you can relate to. And like. Faults and all.

One of my favourite books this year!

#netgalley #novemberroad #louberney #harpercollins

November Road is one of those books that just seemingly drops out of nowhere into your lap and totally takes you by surprise. The premise is an intriguing one. It’s November 1963 and mob foot soldier, Frank Guidry, finds himself tangled up in the JFK assassination. Having completed what he thought was a routine getaway car drop, Guidry sees the news of Kennedy’s death and suddenly realises he’s become a problem that his Boss will need to get rid of. Meanwhile, across the country, a housewife named Charlotte is reaching the end of her rope with her no good alcoholic husband. Seeing a depressing future for her and her two daughters, Charlotte snaps and takes the girls on a cross country road trip. When her car breaks down, Frank sees the perfect cover as he desperately tries to leave the country and the long clutches of the Mob.

This book starts off as a noir story and then turns into so much more. Frank is more than a one dimensional character, despite himself he starts developing feelings for Charlotte and almost kids himself that it’ll all work out. Charlotte is a great character. She’s determined and resourceful with nerves of steel. Frank’s would be assassin, Barone, was interesting too. He has an almost terminator like single mindedness too his job, all the time ignoring a serious injury while he closes in one his prey.

This is such a good book. The writing is brilliant and the dialogue has a real ring to it. There’s loads of historic touches and the author obviously has a real feel for the time period. I absolutely tore through this in a couple of days, almost missing my train stop at one point in the process! The story hurtles towards a tense end and I was genuinely unsure of which way it would go. It’s a perfectly written book in so many ways and I would definitely recommend it. Outstanding.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

*4.5 Stars *

Set against the backdrop of President John.F. Kennedy’s assassination, November Road brings together the lives of Frank Guidry, fixer extraordinaire for the Marcello mob in New Orleans, and housewife Charlotte and her daughters Joan and Rosemary and the family dog. Both Guidry and Charlotte are running away from their lives - Guidry has information on Kennedy’s assassination, (he knows way too much) so there’s now a price on his head from the very mob that he worked for. Charlotte is running away from her marriage - from a husband who’s drinking has become a problem, but as with most alcoholics, he’s the last one to recognise or at least admit that his drinking has gotten out of hand.

When Charlotte’s car breaks down, Guidry offers her a ride to California - he believes that travelling with her and the kids will give him a kind of legitimacy - whoever is after him, they won’t be looking for a ‘family’. Of course, he never expected to fall in love with Charlotte, but that’s exactly what happened, and naturally, that makes it a very dangerous game for her and the kids.

So the hunt is on to find Guidry!

This was an exceptionally well written novel, with a wonderfully atmospheric noir feel to it, immersed in a seeping dread that not only Guidry’s life is under threat, but also that of his new found ‘family’! A terrific read.

November Road is the first book I've read by Lou Berney and particularly after just having finished, "Don Winslow's "The Winter Of Frankie Machine" I was struck by how similar their writing styles are. As Mr Winslow is one of my favourite author's this is no bad thing and Berney's latest book has attracted a lot of positive attention with such luminaries as Ian Rankin and Stephen King as well as the aforementioned Don Winslow raving about it,

Frank Guidry is a big player in the 1960's New Orleans organised crime family fronted by Carlos Marcello and finds himself inadvertently involved in a fairly minor way with the Kennedy assassination, which for the sake of this story at least is orchestrated by Marcello. Realising in time that the Mafia don't "do" loose ends he goes on the run from his erstwhile associates. Hot on his trail is hit-man Paul Barone, an excellent character with all the charm and empathy of a rattlesnake. Meanwhile small town Oklahoma housewife Charlotte has had enough of her drunken waster of a husband and packs her daughters and faithful old hound into her car to,she hopes, stay with her aunt in California. Charlotte and Frank's paths cross and he decides to use her and her kids as part of his disguise..
That's the bare bones of the story and what a tale it is as Guidry and Barone engage in a game of cat and mouse with the innocent Charlotte completely unaware of the danger her and her girls are in,thinking Guidry is a good man doing them a favour.
The characterisation is superb, Charlotte grows as a person during the journey while the manipulative and immoral Guidry finds a new side to himself. My favourite character however was the psychotic Paul Barone,unlike Guidry and Charlotte there's no back story to show why they are what they are ,he's just a predator with no redeeming part to his character.
I spent a whole evening and the next morning reading this from cover to cover, the story flows and I didn't want to put it down,one of my favourite reads of the year so far.
If you're a fan of Don Winslow , Michael Farris Smith or John Hart you'll love this, a love story,gangland thriller with a touch of conspiracy theory thrown in.I'll be adding Lou Berney's previous books to my "Wish List" ,an author I think we'll be hearing a lot more of in future.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Lou Berney and HarperCollins UK for the review copy in return for an honest review.

Review now up on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R25QUJ2SNF6047?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp

Dallas, November 1963. Everyone knows what happened and who was responsible...…

or perhaps not. Mob boss Carlos Marcello's associates are dropping like flies. Knowing too much about everything, Frank Guidry hits the road before someone hits him

And the perfect cover for the journey? The wife and daughters he acquires along the way

Wow, this was an unexpected pleasure. I had heard some good things about this book and picked it up with few expectations. I was mesmerised by its quality. Beautifully written, nonstop action and a set of credible characters. The plot set in the mid 60s was original and fascinating and the author was spot on with his period and historical detail.

I read it in a couple of days and have already recommended it to others.

An exceptional book.

Lou Berney’s “November Road” was nominated as one of the best books of 2018 by the media, among them the Washington Post and Newsweek. I really loved this gripping, atmospheric 1960ties story, set right after JFK’s assassination with a cast of very likable, shady and intriguing characters. Lou Berney is a new discovery for me; I will definitely check out other novels by this Edgar Award winning author. He is a terrific writer reminding me in parts of Chandler but he has his own distinct voice with short, clipped sentences.


Frank Guidry works for the mob in New Orleans and is one of the most trusted, smartest men in the employ of big boss Carlos Marcello. Frank’s luck runs dry when Kennedy is killed in Dallas and he realizes everyone connected to Carlos and Dallas turns up dead within hours. Frank knows too much himself and decides to hit the road heading for Vegas before ending up a corpse himself.




Charlotte, smart and witty, made a bad choice by marrying too early leaving all her ambitions behind. Ending up with an alcoholic as a husband, two young girls and a dog, she is bored stiff as a housewife pretending contentment in small town Oklahoma. After a disastrous Thanksgiving dinner she packs up the car while her husband is sleeping off yet another hangover, taking her girls and the dog hoping her courage will not desert her. As she drives off, California comes to her mind.


Barone, the hit man sent out to kill Frank, is sniffing out Frank’s well covered tracks second guessing where he might be heading. Eventually luck sends him into the right direction.


These three characters and story lines give the novel their color, voice and tempo. When Charlotte gets stranded after an accident, she and Frank’s paths cross, as destined by fate. The suspense becomes even more gripping when the unthinkable happens.


I will not reveal any more as it would spoil a major part of the book but I rushed back to this Tarrantino like plot as fast as I could, loved every page of it.

The title of the German edition is terribly misleading , Dallas only triggers Frank's escape and is never a destination.

It is not often that I read a book by a new author and think...wow! that was a thrilling ride.November Road by Lou Berney simply crackles along with strong characters, clear precise prose,and a really enjoyable story. Frank Guidry "former fixer extraordinaire for the Marcello organization is a hunted man. His employers are uncomfortable that he knows a little too much about the perpetrators behind the assassination of JF Kennedy in Dallas and need to terminate his employment on a permanent basis. As a separate story we learn that a beautiful young housewife Charlotte has escaped the clutches of her controlling drunken husband Dooley and is on route to the west coast with her two daughters Rosemary and Joan. As luck (or possibly not) would have it she crosses path with Guidry and this newly combined family attempt to stay ahead of those who would do them harm.

As an avid reader and reviewer I often try to anticipate the direction a story is heading and how the adventure will conclude. I was pleasantly surprised with the ending of November Road as the author presents an unexpected conclusion to a cracking little crime thriller. Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy of November Road in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written. Highly recommended.

A very well written, fast-paced crime thriller story. I couldn’t put the book down. I loved the idea behind the crimes. I don’t want to give too much away and spoil the story but a cleaning up operation after the biggest conspiracy theory of 1963

Parachuting straight into my top three reads of the year is this little beauty from Lou Berney, one of the most engaging and sensitively written books it’s been my pleasure to read of late. Championed by the mighty Don Winslow among others, and with an irresistible premise, this was more than reason enough for me to seek out November Road…

As the book is so bound up with the Kennedy assassination, and the violent ramifications for the small group of individuals who enabled it to happen, Berney’s evocation of the period is absolutely perfect. Paying close attention to the social and political fallout of this event, and firmly placing the reader in the heart of 60s America, Berney also traverses the country from New Orleans, to Dallas to the west coast with vivid detail, as Frank Guidry attempts to escape the retribution of his gangster associates seeking to tie up the ‘loose ends’ of those involved in the assassination plot. The sense of the period is always front and centre, from the smallest detail to passing references to civil rights, the filling of the political vacuum, and Berney’s interesting new reworking of the assassination itself, although this is ground that has been trod by many writers and social commentators before. In tackling the Kennedy assassination myth, Berney not only shows belief in himself as a writer, but also succeeds in constructing an incredibly plausible narrative of this most examined and documented event in American political history.

Although the sense of peril looms large with Guidry, and by extension Charlotte and her daughters, being pursued by a particularly pernicious and ice-cold hitman, Berney balances this beautifully with the development of Guidry and Charlotte’s characters, with Guidry in the guise of a travelling salesman, and Charlotte rapidly trying to come to terms with the impulsive decision to leave her alcoholic husband with no plausible plan of what would follow her instantaneous decision. The growing tension in the book, as the sinister hitman Barone unmercifully (for those in his way) pursues them across states, ratchets up the pace of the narrative, and as we focus on the growing relationship between Guidry and Charlotte, the reader has this nagging feeling that danger is just around the corner, as does Guidry himself, and that the clock is ticking down to some kind of showdown. It’s beautifully done, keeping our attention pinned in two strands of the book, inwardly dreading the consequences of these two strands meeting.

Although, theirs is a relationship built on smoke and mirrors, certainly in the case of Guidry, Berney weaves a heartfelt and, at times, incredibly sensitive portrayal of two strangers in flight, drawing closer together, despite the hug chasm between them of their lives up until this point. Suffice to say, we see a gradual change in both of them, and a growing appreciation of how life can sometimes so surprisingly chart a different course, and that these opportunities should be grasped and learnt from. As Guidry becomes more involved with Charlotte and her daughters, I loved the way that Berney handles the initially tentative nature of this, but how he develops and explores both their characters, and the shift in strength and self-determination, particularly in the case of Charlotte. In an effort to avoid spoilers, I can only say that Guidry’s actions both pre and post Charlotte reveal a very different man from the perception we have of him at the outset, and prepare yourself for an incredibly moving denouement…

Regular readers of my blog will know that I appreciate my crime reading is always influenced more by those books that span the genres of crime and contemporary fiction, as I find the more linear, and therefore utterly predictable crime books, less enriching as a reader. Along with two of my reads earlier in the year, Tim Baker’s City Without Stars, and Derek B. Miller’s American By Day, this book held me in it’s thrall from the outset, with its clarity of prose, and perfect characterisation, digging down deep into the nature of human relationships forged in troubled circumstances.

November Road is one of those books that will haunt me for some time. Highly recommended.

A stellar piece of noir speculative historical fiction from Lou Berney, set amidst a background of a nation seeking to redefine itself with its social and political turbulence with the clamour for civil rights, feminism, and a fear of nuclear weapons. It is 1963, in Dallas JFK has been assassinated, and 37 year old Frank Guidry has a comfortable existence in New Orleans. Frank is a loyal lieutenant to Mob Boss Carlos Marcello, and the implications of an errand he ran begins to become clear to him as loose end are being tidied up. Frank understands he too has become a loose end, expendable, as he goes on the run to escape the fate that awaits him, heading towards a man he hopes will be able to help him. Charlotte lives in a small town in Oklahoma, married to Dooley, an alcoholic, and thwarted at work in her ambitions and love of photography. Charlotte refuses to accept that this all that life holds as she packs, taking her two young daughters and dog with her, heading for big city life in California. Paul Barone is the implacably icy hitman hunting for Frank, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind him.

The breakdown of Charlotte's car, has Frank spotting the opportunity for cover as he offers her a ride to California. What he doesn't imagine on the road trip is the development of their relationship and feelings that will turn his life upside down and his actions bringing danger and peril into their lives. Frank dares to hope of new beginnings and a new life, just as Charlotte does in a bigger city, and Paul hopes for in Alaska. As their lives intertwine, an atmospheric air of chilling menace builds in the narrative amidst the background of Kennedy's assassination. Berney writes an effortlessly erudite novel that takes in real life historical figures, Carlos Marcello was a dangerous Mob boss, and speculation as to the possible role of the mafia in JFK's assassination was rife. The characterisation is truly superb as the author reels in the reader, despite Frank's history as a bad man, you feel for him and root for him. Charlotte is a courageous woman of that time, strong and determined, prepared to uproot her unfulfilled small town life in search of something more for her and her daughters.

This is hugely gripping reading, capturing an era with its culture, social norms and attitudes, and the fallout from the death of a president. This is a novel with everything, crime, romance, love, hope, redemption, violence, conspiracy theories, a search for a new identity, with a host of great characters. A fantastic historical thriller that I recommend highly. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

* spoiler alert ** What starts out with the assassination of President Kennedy,turns into a mob boss trying to do a clean sweep across the board of anyone connected to the crime.
From the minute Charlotte talked of leaving her husband,I felt like I was just waiting for a car crash with my fingers over my eyes.
As our two main characters moved closer together,the tension built,because there was no way it would end well.
Good pace,good plot,good characters. I sped through to the end.

If I HAD to complain,is say the epilogue seemed uneccessary. Only if I HAD to though.

Set against the backdrop of the JFK assassination, this story tells of Frank and Charlotte – two very different people, whose lives cross because of that fateful day in Dallas.

I am English, this book is set in America. We have a Prime Minister, America has a President. I find it fascinating how idolised the president of the United States of America is, or maybe was, not so much now. It isn’t the same nowadays, to my mind. Back then, people believed in their leader, they admired him. When the assassination happened, as described in this book, people openly wept on the streets: man, woman and child alike. I haven’t had that experience, and I don’t think I will, in modern day, and also here in the UK. Political inclinations aside, the profound affect JFK’s death had on Americans at the time, and still to this day, is just unimaginable. So to have this as a backdrop to this story, and the way it is woven in, to sound realistic, was really good.

Frank Guidry works for big mobster boss Carlos. Carlos had Frank drop off the car used in the assassination, in Dallas. After the hit, Carlos needs to tie up lose ends, and ultimately that means Frank. However loyal, and trustworthy Frank has been in the past to his criminal boss, he is still a lose end. So Frank decides to go on the run. On his way, he meets Charlotte.

Charlotte, is a housewife, mother, amateur photographer, alcoholic-enabler. She is married to Dooley, whose drinking is getting out of control. Charlotte decides to pick up and leave Oklahoma, with her two girls and dog in tow. They have slight car troubles, and who should come to their rescue? Of course, the handsome stranger, also going their way.

The juxtaposition of Frank’s gangster lifestyle, with Charlotte’s sweet homebody type existence is just such contrast that you don’t see how they can ever been tied together in to one story. In fact, they read like two separate books. One world where Frank exists with gambling, showgirls and whiskey, and one where Charlotte exists to please her husband and clean the home.

We don’t want to like Frank, I mean, he is a bad guy – he has killed, he was complicit in the JFK affair (well, unknowingly I suppose), and he is only using Charlotte and her family as cover to get him where he wants to be. But yes, we do in a way start to like Frank. He has that cheeky way about him, that makes you want him to get his happy ending. He’s not asking for much, just not to be knocked off by Carlos.

Charlotte didn’t dwell on the irony. The moral of The Wizard of Oz, of course, the lesson that Dorothy finally learned, was that there’s no place like home.

Charlotte is sweet, but she is very clever and thoughtful and she know what she wants. When she finally finds her voice and realises what she wants, she goes for it, and her reasoning is sound. I liked that she wasn’t a soppy housewife who was moaning about her husband the whole time, or dithering about whether she made the right decision in leaving. She made her decision and is living with it.

But Guidry had been attracted to plenty of women over the years. Never once had it clouded his judgment. Why would this time be any different?

They ultimately get it on and it seems natural and meant to be, when sometimes it can be all too cliche at this point. Especially as he doesn’t fight the feeling of attraction for long.

The sense of the era comes across stunningly, it feels like you could be there in the early 60’s. The detail about Vegas and the small towns each of the characters pass through on their way, is descriptive and interesting. The soundtrack of 50’s and 60’s crooners is great, the secondary characters are all well fleshed out – Seraphine, Ed, Barone, Carlos, Joan and Rosemary.

Barone is another of Carlos’s bad guys, sent to find and kill Frank. He seems to be one step behind the whole way. He is a nasty character. The scenes where he makes a kill, are gruesome, but not gratuitous. He is a bad man, it is his job. He doesn’t seem to kill for fun though. Not sure if this makes him scarier or not?!

Overall this book was really good. It hooked me from the start. I would recommend this in a heartbeat.