November Road audiobook

“With every decision we create a new future,” Leo said. “We destroy all other futures.” ---------------------------------------- If it’s a fair fight, Barone learned early on, you’ve screwed up somewhere. November Road is a page-flipping, compulsive read that will pull you in and hold on until it lets your lapels go and you fall to the floor in a heap, checking for damage. Frank Guidry’s got it made. A lean thirty-seven-year-old New Orleans native, he is a sharp dresser, with olive skin, green eyes, a dimpled chin, a comfortable income, an appreciation for smooth jazz, and a lively love life. Of course, his source of income derives from one Carlos Marcello, one of the most dangerous mob bosses in The City That Care Forgot. He has a slight problem though. One of his recent assignments was to drop a sky-blue ’59 Cadillac Eldorado in a parking garage two blocks away from the site of the crime of the century, the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. That bad day in Dallas transformed Frank from a loyal lieutenant to a loose end that needed to be cleaned up, with extreme prejudice, however many years of loyal service he might have given. Lou Berney- image from 75th Indiana University Writer’s ConferencePaul Barone is a professional. A big guy, he has honed his craft, and has more brains than his looks might suggest. He does not concern himself with the reasons why this or that person has been selected to receive his particular services. His latest assignment is to see to the elimination of one Frank Guidry. And the chase is on.Charlotte longed to live in a place where it wasn’t so hard to tell the past from the future. She has about had it with Logan County and her alcoholic husband. Dooley is not a bad guy, but has been drinking his prospects into the past, and what lies ahead for him can only be seen through the bottom of a bottle. She has ambitions, for herself and their two daughters. Working for the local newspaper, she has a feel for photography, but the guy making the photo choices at the paper won’t give her a shot. She knows that staying will be the death of her spirit. One more episode of daddy being “under the weather” is the final negative. She decides to finally leave, with their girls, and see what develops. Can’t be worse than Dead-End-Ville, Oklahoma. The three stories intertwine. After spotting her broken down on a desert highway, Frank finds Charlotte and her girls a particularly useful disguise for a man on the run. He gets more than he bargained for. Barone follows the clues to Frank’s whereabouts and relentlessly tracks his prey, leaving a trail of collateral damage in his wake. Frank’s only hope to come out of this alive is to get the help of a man he knows in Vegas. But can Big Ed Zingel be relied on, just because he hates Carlos, and would appear eager to do anything to hurt him? Or is Frank trading one brand of awful for another?Frank may not be anyone’s vision of a good guy, but Lou Berney makes you care about him. A creep who finds that there is a human being beneath the cynicism, good looks, slick clothes, and ever-present piece. Paul Barone is more of a killing machine, but even he develops a paternal fondness for the black teen he hires to drive his car. He dreams of leaving his dark NOLA life behind and heading north to Alaska for a fresh start. Charlotte is someone you can care for unreservedly, a talent, a person withering in a dustbowl of stasis. The life that spreads out ahead of her is a black blizzard that will choke the life out of her. Running is really the only sane option for her, and you will want her to get as far as she can.That city rat Frank and country mouse Charlotte will connect in a special way is something you can see coming a long ways away on those flat desert roads. (Route 40 specifically. I have had the pleasure) No surprise there, although the dance, the telling, is a thing of beauty. It is not the only meeting of cynicism and innocence. Barone develops what seems a genuine affection for the black teenager he engages to drive his car. This notion is echoed in other relationships, where cold-heartedness mixes unevenly with decency. The era plays a significant role here. 1963, big changes are afoot. The Civil Rights movement is making progress and confirming enemies. The second wave of feminism was getting underway, with the 1963 release of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and Gloria Steinem’s writings. Charlotte may not have read those works, but well represents the fallout that the nuclear family represented for many women, her talent ignored, her potential unrealized. She has an analytical mind, both to manage the challenges of survival, and to understand things of an artistic nature. “When I have a camera in my hand, it reminds me to look in new places. To have new thoughts, I suppose.” Barone expresses feelings that are decidedly not of the era regarding racism directed against his driver. Parent-child matters permeate, in both light and dark. Charlotte is, of course, a wonderful mother. Her husband is not an unkind father, merely unable to take on that responsibility in a meaningful way. Frank had serious issues with his father, enough to make him leave home as a teen, but he was taken in by an older man who brought him into his until-recently successful life. He begins to develop paternal feelings for Charlotte’s girls. Second chances figure large. Frank is hoping to get a new start, albeit of a criminal sort, in that up and coming nation, Viet Nam. Charlotte hopes for a chance to put her abilities to use in a real city, like Vegas or LA. Barone dreams of a life reset in Alaska. His teen driver, Theodore, hopes to become a lawyer someday. Not all second chances will necessarily be granted. Charlotte’s husband has been using his up for a while and is probably counting on a ninth or tenth chance. Charlotte may not be rocked by the assassination, as so many people around her clearly are, but she is determined to make her own second chance. Frank is faced with a decision on helping a colleague in need of a way out of a sticky situation. November Road uses the Kennedy assassination as a backdrop. It is not a serious look at whodunit, and why. But Berney does bring in some reality in support of his tale, Carlos Marcello was a real person, the biggest mob boss of his time in the area. And there was talk that the assassination might have been a mob hit. So that is not out of nowhere. But neither is that mystery the point of the book. 1963 marks a high point of anxiety for the nation, the JFK murder, civil rights, women demanding a greater role in society, fears that a nuke might go off at any time, resembling in many ways the world of 2018. Today, the nukes we fear might be from North Korea or terrorists rather than from Russia or China. Women are still struggling for societal respect and rights, even seeing some of the gains of the past being eroded. We have an erratic leader whose actions are both potentially catastrophic and unpredictable. So there is resonance in the anxious feel of the early 60s era to today’s world. Berney uses music to set a mood. Barone and Guidry share an appreciation for classic jazz. Barone hears Round Midnight in multiple venues. Guidry listens to Art Pepper, his favorite tune, How Can You Lose. Charlotte and Guidry talk about the meaning of Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice. (Links to all in EXTRA STUFF)I was reminded a bit of a famous sequence in the neo-noir film Chinatown, when Evelyn Mulwray, played by Faye Dunaway is confronted about the presence of a younger woman in her life. “She’s my sister…she’s my daughter…she’s my sister…” and on it goes. If someone tracked me down to a favorite barstool and was slapping me silly demanding to know what kind of book November Road is, I would have to say it’s a crime story, it’s a thriller, it’s a love story, it’s a crime story, it’s a thriller, it’s a love story, and as I sit, unable to find any purchase for my hands on the slick, saw-dusted floor, trying to spit the blood out of my mouth, I might mutter something about it also being a road trip of self-discovery, but let’s just keep that between us, ok? I don’t wanna make any trouble.Published – October 9, 2018Review first posted – July 27, 2018 =============================EXTRA STUFFLinks to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pagesLou Berney knows a bit about writing crime fiction. He won an Edgar Award (among several others) for his novel The Long and Faraway Gone His novels include Whiplash River and Gutshot Straight. He has also written a story collection The Road to Bobby Joe, and has done some screenwriting as well. His short fiction has appeared in diverse publications. He teaches in the MFA program at Oklahoma City University.The character of Charlotte was inspired by Berney’s mother, an Oklahoma native who grew up during the depression. Moved to California, and several times more. Her parents died when she was a teen. She always wanted to be a writer, or an artist, or run her own business. Charlotte got to do what her mother never could. Berney’s father was a particularly sociable sort, always ready to strike up a conversation and make new friends. Berney incorporated this social facility into Frank Guidry. Dad, so far as we know, was not a gangster. Movie rights have been sold, to a top-tier Writer/Director - Lawrence Kasdan To Script & Direct Film Adaptation Of Lou Berney Novel ‘November Road’ - something to look forward toHere is a wonderful article by Berney, in which he tells about many interesting facts he came across in his research for this novel - I Wrote an Historical Novel About the JFK Assassination. I Was Shocked By What I Found. - Thanks to GR friend, Idrissa, for letting us all know about this.Music-----How Can You Lose - by Art Pepper – an upbeat piece, that well reflects Guidry’s feeling at the time. Youtube kept feeding me more Art Pepper and I was very well seasoned by the time I switched off the light at my desk, not long before sunup.-----This version of Round Midnight features Billy Taylor on piano. In addition to noting Billy Taylor’s rendition, Barone also enjoys hearing it played on the street by a junkie with serious licks.-----Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright - The version of Dylan’s song by Peter, Paul, and Mary, which would have been on the charts at the time. There is a fair bit of info on the song in this wiki entry.----- Will U Still Love Me Tomorrow – The Shirelles – with a bit of obvious significanceInterviews-----Library Love fest – audio – 17:01 - An Interview with Lou Berrney, Author of November Road - by Chris Connolly-----Author Interview – Lou Berney - Mysteries and My Musings-----The noir, the music, and the faraway gone – an interview with Lou Berney - by Michael Engelbrecht Michael Engelbrecht: Can you remember what, in the first place, made you want to write crime novels? Was it a TV show, a book, an event of personal history?Lou Berney: I think I gravitated toward crime novels because I have a bit of a criminal mind myself. Nothing violent! But when I was a kid I had a natural aptitude for thinking of schemes and figuring out how to break rules. Now I’m happy to use those talents for good fiction (I hope) and not evil.Other Reviews-----ABC News - Lou Berney keeps tension high in 'November Road' - by Oline H. Cogdill, associated press-----Washington Post - John F. Kennedy’s assassination sets a thriller in motion in ‘November Road’ - by Bill SheehanFinal bit----- Carlos Marcello, the Man Behind the JFK Assassination - A Sicilian journalist, Stefano Vaccara, makes his case for Carlos Marcello being the man behind the killing of JFK –a short video – 5:25

November Road by Lou Berney is a 2018 William Morrow publication. A stylish piece of historical crime fiction-1963-Carlos Marcello the head of a large New Orleans crime syndicate is behind the assassination of the president of the United States. Frank Guidry, is one of Marcello’s best guys, but Frank, unknowingly became a part of the assassination plan, which means he has become a loose end, meaning his days are numbered. Making a run for it, Frank encounters, Charlotte, a young mother who decided to leave her ne’er do well husband. Charlotte is having some car trouble, and winds up at the same motel as Frank. The two strike up a conversation and before long, the wheels in Frank’s mind start turning. Anyone searching for him would not be looking for a man traveling with a family. So, he offers Charlotte and her children a ride to her aunt’s home in LA. It is the perfect set up for Frank, until he realizes he’s put this young mother and her children in grave danger, and his once hardened heart, can’t bear the thought of that. As the couple spends more time together, Charlotte starts to care for Frank as well, and although, deep down, she senses something about him isn’t entirely on the up and up, she still puts her faith in him, remaining completely ignorant of her precarious situation. Frank’s time with Charlotte, under the strain of life on the run, facing his own mortality, has him contemplating a different kind of life, one where he could have a family of his own. Lou Berney certainly has a way with words. He also perfectly captures the shocked and grief- stricken mood of the country, building rich, dark, and conflicted characterizations, while keeping the reader on the edge of their seats with a palpable atmosphere of foreboding. This is another amazing story by Berney. I don't know how he manages to capture time in a perfect freeze frame, holding the characters still, right in that moment, where the entire world seemed to shift with JFK’s murder. The story is chilling, yet, has its moments of genuine pleasure. The road trip, the fraught romantic entanglements, and the inner thoughts of the characters, as they each reach a life changing fork in the road- as does the country is a stunning combination. There’s a new door opening on the one just closed, pitting the feeling of hope against the feeling of dread.“With every decision we create a new future. We destroy all other futures.”Once more, for me, here is a mob figure I find myself liking, despite everything I know about it him and the actions I’ve seen him take. Watching him transform was maybe a little bittersweet, under the circumstances, but it was also a big part of why this book ticks all the boxes. Charlotte is braver that she may appear to some readers, as in the early sixties, divorce was still a stigma. I admired her tenacity, and the way her resolve strengthened, the more empowered she feels by the possibility of controlling her own destiny. This book is riveting, suspenseful, and so eloquently written, at times I thought my heart might skip a beat. Berney said he hoped this book would be ‘both hard to put down and hard to forget’ and I’d say he accomplished that goal and then some!

5 Astounding Stars. Oh My.. What a Tale! Masterful and Mesmerizing! Frank Guidry is a lieutenant to Carlos Marcello, the NOLA mob boss. When he dropped of a ‘59 Cadillac Eldorado in a parking garage in Dallas he originally thought nothing of it. Then a few days later, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated mere blocks away and he realized the significance. Guidry is a guy who always took care of the bosses’ business, now he’s the guy who has to be taken care of. Barone is a hit man, his assignment is to get rid of Guidry. Easier said than done. Charlotte, a small town woman from Oklahoma, is unhappily married to a man named Dooley. He cares more about booze than anything else. When she decides to leave him, it’s for good. Charlotte packs up her daughters, Joan and Rosemary, and their dog and embarks on a road trip to California. On the way, they encounter a man named Frank Wainwright. On the road, Frank, Charlotte and the girls get to know each other. They take walks in the park, play hopscotch and mini golf. Frank gets an inside glimpse as to what it must be like to have a family. When talking about life, Frank shares one of his philosophies with Charlotte: “Guilt is an unhealthy habit,” he said, “it’s what other people try to make you feel so will do what they want, but one life is all we ever get as far as I know, why give it away.” This, my friends, is a philosophy that gave me pause. How apropos. Guilt, I think rules almost all of us at one point or another, thus when I heard this I knew, this book was a keeper. Be still my heart, however, as there was more. There is a dance that men and women, people, fall into ....it is symbiotic, it just happens and you cannot prepare yourself. Here, this man, Frank, who is of course, all wrong for Charlotte, finds something he never imagined, at completely the wrong time and yet, he can’t stop his feelings from bursting forth:“I don’t know what the hell has happened to me. My life made sense before I met you, now ..it’s like I bumped into you and the girls...and something inside of me tumbled off a shelf .. no it’s like all of me fell off the shelf and broke to pieces on the floor...” Listening to those words, I got that feeling in the back of my throat. That tightness and then I felt the tears glisten. Hearing them, I fell for “November Road” hook, line and freaking sinker! While I’ve never heard a man speak like that and can’t personally imagine it, Lou Berney’s writing style got me. It is enthralling, spellbinding and absolutely gorgeous. I imagined myself sitting in an old leather bound chair, in a flapper dress and heels, with my feet up, drinking bourbon while reading this highly entertaining and completely compelling novel. “November Road” by Lou Berney is an all-consuming heart-stopping romantic read. I loved it plain and simple and can’t wait to read other books written by Mr. Berney. This was a monthly BOTM pick although I ended up listening to the audiobook from Hoopla and I must say that it was an excellent choice. The narrator, Jonathan McClain did a fabulous job with all of the different character’s voices, their inflection and their intonation. When listening to an audiobook you never know what you are going to get - in this case, I picked wisely. If you haven’t read this one yet and you are looking for a book to get swept away by, read “November Road,” it'll knock your socks off. Published on Goodreads, Twitter and Amazon on 12.27.18.

I’ve long been a huge fan of Lou Berney’s novels, especially The Long and Faraway Gone, which won an Edgar in 2016, along with several other prestigious awards, and which remains one of my favorite books of the last few years. Consequently, I’ve been very anxious to finally get my hands on his new book, November Road, which was released last week, and which has gotten rave notices in advance of the publication date. Simply put, the wait was more than worth it. November Road is a great novel and, like its predecessor, it’s one of those books that I’ll be rereading often in years to come. The story is set in November 1963, in the days following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and it features two expertly-drawn protagonists. The first is Frank Guidry, a ranking member of the New Orleans mob, under the command of Carmen Marcello. A couple of weeks before the assassination, Guidry ran what seemed at the time to be a fairly inconsequential errand for Marcello. But the moment Guidry learns that the president has been shot in Dallas, he realizes that the task he performed was anything but inconsequential. Guidry has always been loyal to Marcello and has been a valuable lieutenant to the mob boss; he should have no reason for concern. But then other people close to the Marcello family who had tenuous connections to the errand that Guidry ran are suddenly turning up dead and Guidry is reluctantly forced to recognize the fact that, in a situation as explosive as this, anyone can be deemed expendable.Guidry decides that he has no choice other than to run. With a deadly killer hard on his trail, he heads for Vegas, hoping to connect with an old friend who becomes his only hope of escaping the fate that Marcello wants to deal him. But the mob has eyes and ears practically everywhere, and the challenge of reaching Vegas alive will be a daunting one.The book’s second protagonist is Charlotte Roy, a housewife from Woodrow, Oklahoma, who was once the most adventurous eleven-year-old girl in her tiny town. But that was seventeen years ago, and in a place like Woodrow, life happens—especially if you’re a young woman and most especially if it’s still the middle of the Twentieth Century. Charlotte is married now with two young, precocious daughters. Her husband, Dooley, drinks, has trouble holding down a job, and has even more trouble supporting his family.Charlotte wonders if she’s selfish to want more out of life, both for herself and for her daughters. “Woodrow was idyllic in many ways. Quaint, safe, friendly. But it was also interminably dull, as locked in its stubborn, small-minded ways, as resistant to new things and ideas, as Mr. Hotchkiss [her boss]. Charlotte longed to live in a place where it wasn’t so hard to tell the past from the future.”Her husband would never consider the idea of moving to a larger city and, Charlotte knows that he’s never going to stop drinking and become the kind of husband and father that she and their daughters deserve. And so, practically on a whim, a few days after the Kennedy assassination, Charlotte quickly packs up some things, gathers up her daughters, and hits the road for Los Angeles, planning to stay with a distant relative for a short time while she begins a new life for the three of them in California. Along the way, her path will intersect with that of Frank Guidry and when it does, everything will change—for Frank, for Charlotte, and for her daughters.It would be unfair to reveal any more, but suffice it to say that this is a richly textured novel with characters that are fully realized. Berney has clearly done a great deal of research, and the reader finds him- or herself fully immersed in the early 1960s. The settings, the attitudes, and the atmosphere feel exactly right, and the story grabs you from the opening page and then refuses to let go. Frank Guidry and Charlotte Roy are characters that will remain with the reader for a very long time, as will this excellent novel. A great read, and an easy five stars.

Great read. I would not pass this one up. It is going to be an Edgar Award contender. This one's going in my top ten for the year.I tried to read Berney's last two books even gave one of them three shots at it because it won every award out there and for some reason I just couldn't drop into it. This book is set in 1963 and starts out in New Orleans and moves across the country. When the book opens the main character does something despicable, a big risk for an author but Berney pulls it off beautifully. All the characters big and small are well drawn and real. The story really moves. For me this book had hints of Elmore Leonard.David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series

"Frank Guidry’s luck has finally run out."Frank Guidry is a loyal lieutenant in the New Orleans mob who dropped off a car very near to where President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated. Was it a coincidence or was the car part of the assassination plan? Now Frank has been asked to get rid of the car. Is this a set up or a means to an end? Either way, Frank knows too much about the crime and is expendable. As those with any knowledge of the assassination begin to disappear, it becomes obvious to Frank that it is only a matter of time before his luck runs out. He hits the road hoping to meet with a possible alley who can help him disappear.Charlotte, is a married housewife from Oklahoma who has had it with her husband's drinking and the constant stress about being able to pay the bills. She has packed up her two daughters and the family dog and begins driving to California. She is a photographer who dreams of a better life for her and her children. Frank is no fool. He has been at this game a long time. He knows that there is someone trailing him. That the man is most likely hot on his trail. He knows he should not get involved with this Mother and her two children. But in the midst of trying to survive, he learns what it truly means to live.Barone has been tasked with taking care of Frank. He must tie up this loose end and will not be deterred and will not let anyone get in his way. He is a man on a mission and will not stop until he achieves his goal.This book is part cat and mouse and part love story. It's about starting over, redemption, hope, vengeance and determination. Conspiracy theories have surrounded JFK’s assassination since the day he was killed, and the Author uses the mob hit/conspiracy theory as part of the plot in this book. We may never know what really led up to the deadly shooting in Dallas, but this book shows a plausible explanation. This book felt like it was happening in black and white and yet was extremely vivid at the same time (I know I am contradicting myself but read the book maybe you'll get what I mean). It has an old Hollywood Noir/mobster/crime feel to it. I imagine that soon the rights will be bought up for this book and we learn that there is an actual movie in the works.I really enjoyed this well written and well thought out book. There are three main characters in this book with minor supporting characters. The execution of their story-lines was effortless. This is a great book for book clubs as there is a lot to discuss ranging from the plot, the characters, the real-life assassination and subsequent conspiracy theories, to the desire to re-invent one' self, divorce, romance and starting over. I enjoyed traveling Route 66 with these characters. I felt compelled to keep reading for most of the day to see what was going to happen. Would Frank get away? Would Charlotte get her chance at a new life? I received a copy of this book from William Morrow and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinion expressed in this review are my own.Read more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com

The cumulation of this story takes place in Texas- November 1963 - when a distraught housewife from her deadbeat drunk husband- her two daughters & their epileptic dog take to the road and connect with a mobster on the run. ( he knows too much about the JFK assassination)Even though this is a conspiracy JFK story - with fascinating plausible speculations -I felt that the conspiracy was more a backstory to a love story, ( not mushy)..... and a general nostalgia of stepping back in time. I can hear the music playing - see the old cars - and that old Hollywood ‘feel’....Irresistible characters from different backgrounds......A bittersweet ending! I was pulled in right away- reads quickly - but in general this is not my favorite ‘type’ of book I gravitate towards. 3.66 route 66 ... 🚘

I love historical fiction but I wasn't entirely sure if a thriller style plot about JFK's assassination was going to be my thing. I'm pretty picky when it comes to choosing thrillers but thankfully there were enough regular fiction elements to the story so it didn't feel like it was guns and violence the entire time. Adding in a story line about a mother with two young daughters really gave the book a nice balance. Frank Guidry is a street lieutenant to New Orleans’ mob boss Carlos Marcello. When people he knows wind up dead, Frank can see the writing on the wall. He knows a little too much about the assassination and so he better go on the run if he wants to save his life.Charlotte is the mother of two young daughters. She hopes leaving Oklahoma and her husband will lead to a better life for both her and her girls. Charlotte and Frank's paths cross and well, things are never the same.I really think this book is going to appeal to a wide audience because there's a little something for everyone. There's definitely action but there are some heartfelt moments too. This was an entertaining read for sure.I received a free advance copy from the publisher but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.

If someone offered me the choice between taking a long road trip with a couple of kids or being murdered by the mob, I’d have to really think it over.It’s November 1963, and Frank Guidry is living well in New Orleans thanks to his top position with Carlos Marcello’s mob outfit. However, one of Frank’s recent chores was leaving a car in a parking garage in Dallas very near the spot where President Kennedy would be assassinated just days later. It doesn’t take a genius to make the connection especially when several other people on Carlos’ payroll start turning up dead. Frank just became a loose end, and he flees west with lethal hit man Paul Barone hot on his trail.Meanwhile, Charlotte Roy has been trying to raise her two daughters in a small Oklahoma town which isn’t easy thanks to her drunken loser of a husband. When Charlotte has enough she takes the girls and starts heading to California, but she’s consumed by guilt and uncertain if she's done the right thing. After Frank meets Charlotte at a motel he realizes that traveling with a lady and two kids would make him a lot less conspicuous so he engineers circumstances so that they all go together. Frank is surprised when what started as a con to help him get away begins to turn into a real relationship with Charlotte and the kids. But that pesky hit man is still right behind them…I read Berney’s The Long and Faraway Gone earlier this year and enjoyed it quite a bit. Then I heard a tremendous amount of good buzz about this one before it released, and I’m pleased to report that it lives up to the hype.In the wrong hands this concept could be just some cheesy tale about a ‘bad man’ who sees the error of his ways after becoming part of a family, but the strong character work done with Frank, Charlotte, and deadly Paul Barone is where this really shines. You thoroughly understand all of them, and despite the historical backdrop it all feels grounded and realistic with Frank and Charlotte struggling to deal with how their lives have been forever changed while Barone has to deal with a variety of setbacks as he just tries to complete his mission.I particularly liked how Berney used the JFK assassination as the jumping off point, not the center of the story. It’s obviously the thing driving the plot, but what’s presented comes across as a believable scheme by one pissed off mobster instead of some vast shadowy tinfoil-hat conspiracy theory. So we’re not dragged into some Oliver Stone style fever dream.The work done on the settings and time is top notch, too. We get an authentic sense of the places like New Orleans, Las Vegas, crappy motels, and roadside tourist traps. It all builds the mood of what it must have been like back then. There’s nice touches of how the mob operated at the time, too.It’s a damn fine piece of crime fiction, and I’ll be tracking down more of Berney’s work.

LOVEDWhat I love about reading is when I find a hidden gem that I would have normally not known about. I jumped out of the comfort zone and took a personal recommendation and borrowed this book as soon as I had the chance – thank you my public library!Usually steering away from historical fiction, I embraced this one given the familiar theme presented to us in Labor Day, which I also loved.Kennedy has just been shot, and Frank Guidry, a whip smart street lieutenant (referenced in the author questions at the end of the book as a charmingly amoral mob fixer), a description that I couldn’t have beaten if I’d tried, ends up being the hunted. He’s good at this, after all, it is what he is paid handsomely to do.He’s resourceful and cunning, letting nothing get in his way. He uses women and lies his way out of any situation (or into), and we learn a lot about his childhood along the way. He would never show any of this softer side to anyone, but we do have a glimpse into the reasons why he has ended up on the wrong side of the tracks. Frank is a flawed protagonist, who is an extremely likable man.Carlos Marcello is the kingpin, a real fictional character who was one of the most dangerous men in America around the 1950’s and 60’s. Frank gave him a run for his money, that was for sure. We are witness to much violence, but I cannot say it was unnecessary; it was fitting and coexisted with the storyline, which to me was never gory or gratuitous. This is a story of redemption, awakening and knowing when enough is enough, and having the strength to go out and get it. This is where Charlotte comes in; a dissatisfied and subservient housewife from Oklahoma, married to an insipid and weak as they come alcoholic. The scene where her brother-in-law is waxing lyrical about the role women play in society, civil rights, was a tipping point for this remarkable woman. Women thinking they can do anything a man can do. She won’t sit completely still, she will speak up – But shouldn’t they be allowed to try at least? What’s the harm? Charlotte, her two adorable young daughters and Frank’s paths will collide as Charlotte refuses to accept her lot in life. She decides to leave on a whim, and thus embarks on a venture that was more than a simple road trip, that will change their lives, and that of Frank’s.I loved this book, it was compelling and hard to put down, it was intriguing and thrilling till the end. I read it quickly and was absorbed at every page. The ending was satisfying and completely thought provoking, one of those experiences where I mulled over the characters, their choices and the fates awaiting them. I am not sure if I have ever read such a rewarding and necessary epilogue, and that, combined with the author Q&A, created the perfect book for me.Highly recommended and so pleased to again step out of my comfort zone. Lou Berney, here I come keenly looking for your other books!

Favorite Quotes: What if someone happened to come round that corner right now and caught them skulking? Trouble in this business had a way of spreading, just like a cold or the clap. Guidry knew you could catch it from the wrong handshake, an unlucky glance.The only poor decision was a decision you allowed someone else to make for you.Charlotte longed to live in a place where it wasn’t so hard to tell the past from the future.Her favorite movie, as a child, had been The Wizard of Oz, her favorite moment when Dorothy opened the door of her black-and-white farmhouse and stepped into a strange and wonderful land. Lucky Dorothy. Charlotte dipped her brush again and not for the first time imagined a tornado dropping from the sky and blowing her far away, into a world full of color.My philosophy is that guilt is an unhealthy habit… It’s what other people try to make you feel so you’ll do what they want. But one life is all we ever get, as far as I know. Why give it away?My Review: It is still unclear what actually transpired and how deeply tangled the web had to have been leading up to that awful November day in Dallas in 1963. This book wasn’t about JFK but proposes a possible, highly likely, and often speculated version of events culminating and occurring after his horrific demise with additional storylines that provided a realistic slice of life for those along the path. The writing was superb and highly engaging. I was riveted to my Kindle and soaked in each well-chosen word like a sponge. I don’t often read this genre and this was my first exposure to the talents of Lou Berney, who is a gifted scribe. His storylines were dynamic, well-crafted, and ingeniously woven with mind prickling details. Yet I felt the true treasure of his creation was his vibrant and oddly endearing characters. I was thoroughly transported and only wished for more, but I’m greedy like that.

Lou Berney has a way with words, this stunning story was both mesmerizing and memorable. A story about second chances, heart crime thriller, part romance, set against the backdrop of 1960s America. The Kennedy assassination, civil rights, Vietnam, the time was as much a character as the characters were. Frank Guidry has it made snappy dresser smooth talker a lieutenant in the mob, one of Carlos Marcello‘s best men. Then things change after he has delivered a Cadillac Eldorado to Dallas days before the JFK assassination. Guidry knowing that he is now a disposable loose end those on the run. Charlotte is fed up! She’s tired of dealing with her drunk husband and a job that won’t take her seriously. So she packs up the car with her two daughters and heads to LA. When Frank and Charlotte’s paths cross they become friends and possibly even more. Meanwell Barone has been hired to hunt Frank down and eliminate him. This book was so good, these characters so Multi dimensional. I was rooting for all of them even the mobster and the hitman, and I could not figure out how this could turn out well for everybody. The bond that forms between Frank and Charlotte was quite remarkable I was both hopeful and afraid for them. The overlying theme of the story really was second chances, but sometimes these characters second chances weren’t necessarily better then there previous situation. Out of the frying pan into the fire if you will. Beautifully told, captivating characters, compelling storyline, what more could you want?This book in emojis: 🏩 🛣 🏙 🚗 👩‍👧‍👧*** Big thanks to William Morrow for my copy of this book ***