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.