Just Finished Reading: November Road by Lou Berney (FP: 2018) [299pp] 

New Orleans, November 1963. It was such a trivial request Frank Guidry could hardly have refused, a sort of ‘Oh, and while you’re there’ sort of thing. To be honest he’d almost forgotten all about it until he heard the news from Dallas. The feeling was something new. Once he got over the surprise, the shock, of the successful assassination he started to feel something else – how it felt to be a loose end. Because that’s exactly what he was now. The car he’d left, been asked to leave by his boss Carlos Marcello, in a parking lot a short walk from Dealey Plaza might just be traced back to him and then back to Carlos. So, loose end. Frank knew exactly what happened to loose ends, they were cut off – permanently. There was no point pledging his loyalty. Carlos would always have the doubt that Frank would save himself from the electric chair by turning States Evidence. So, Frank only really had one option – run. But run where and to who? Who would help a mob street lieutenant rather than make a phone call and get in Carlos’s good graces? It would have to be Las Vegas. He had contacts there and maybe some hope. They’d be looking for someone on their own and both the trains and flights would be covered so, a long drive it was. But if he could pick up a passenger, someone he could use as cover, that’d help, that’d help a lot. Luckily for him Charlotte Roy, on the run from a failing marriage, along with her two young daughters, need a lift to anywhere. No one Carlos sent after him would be looking for a family on vacation. It was Frank’s lucky day, though maybe not for Charlotte... 

I bought this because I liked the cover and thought something about the Kennedy assassination might make an interestingly different read. I found myself regretting waiting so long to read this excellent character-driven thriller. Both Frank Guidry and Charlotte Roy turned out to be wonderful character creations, each with their own strengths, weaknesses and credible backstories. The hired killer following them was equally well drawn and his arc throughout the book was as fascinating as that of the main characters. Throughout I felt completely immersed in the world the author created. Nothing, not a word, place or incident felt ‘off’ or out of place. The sparse conversations rang true and even a few surreal events in Vegas (where else!) were outlandish enough to feel creepily believable. The ‘chase’ (it was more subtle than that generally) kept the tension humming along and the periodic outbreaks of violence – moderately graphic but completely in context – gave an enhanced tone of dread just when the plot needed it. The ending both surprised and delighted me. There was a really nice misdirection that I was initially disappointed by but quickly realised just how good it was. The following epilogue was an additional sugar frosting on an already satisfying read. Quite excellent from start to finish and most definitely one of the best books of my reading year. Very highly recommended for lovers of thrillers and for those who just want to be transported out of their day-to-day reality into another life.

Awards

Dagger Awards Best Book (nominee)

Anthony Awards Best Novel

Barry Awards Best Novel

Macavity Awards Best Novel