November Road By Lou Berney: Book Review

November Road  by Lou Berney
Publication: October 9, 2018 By William Morrow
336 Pages
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From Publisher: Set against the assassination of JFK, a poignant and evocative crime novel that centers on a desperate cat-and-mouse chase across 1960s America

My Thoughts: Ever since reading and loving The Long and Faraway Gone (My Review), I’ve been waiting on Lou Berney’s next book. I’ll come right out and tell you, this book was terrific and did not disappoint. I love that it was set in the time period of the 1960s, especially with the Kennedy Assassination as a backdrop. The way Berney writes, you just feel you’re there. The story begins in New Orleans with Frank Guindry, a handsome, shady, arrogant street lieutenant for mob boss Carlos Marcello. Frank has assumed he’s Carlo’s right hand man- untouchable –  and maybe he was but that was before he knew too much about a certain assassination. Let the cat-and-mouse chase begin.

The story alternates perspectives between Frank and Charlotte, a mom who makes an impulsive decision to run away from her home and husband with her two young girls. Two people escaping from different lives, running from different people, will cross paths and…well of course you’ll have to read but don’t worry there’s plenty of drama, conflict, potential romance, and possible redemption to keep you interested along the way.

There’s so much I loved about this story but what really stood out to me were two things: the unbelievably realistic  dialogue…it read like a screenplay (this would make a great movie) and the flawed yet likable characters. While I didn’t agree with many things Frank and Charlotte did throughout the story, I found myself still rooting for each of them. I also loved how Berney explored the layers of redemption, especially in terms of Frank but also for Charlotte as well. If you like your reads with a little bit of everything, this one’s for you.

Many thanks to William Morrow via Netgalley for my copy