Book Review: November Road by Lou Berney

“My philosophy is that guilt is an unhealthy habit,” he said. “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?”

Lou Berney, November Road

Review:

I’ve read a lot of non-fiction books surrounding the JFK assassination but this was my first novelized version. Though not about Kennedy himself, his death serves as the backdrop and involves real-life characters that may or may not have been involved. 

The book primarily follows Charlotte and Guidry on the run, eventually crossing paths, with Barone on their tail having been sent by Carlos Marcello. All of the storylines here are strong and intertwine well. There’s a great deal of action, too. The story flies by.

I latched onto Guidry the most which surprised me given I figured I’d be more inclined toward Charlotte. I do like her and her daughters’ story, but I wasn’t super into it until Guidry entered the picture. I like the growth he goes through with the family.

For as great as the action was, there was a lot going on for a 300 page book. I found it difficult to follow at times, though thankfully, they weren’t major plot points and were infrequent. This messed with the pacing a bit but ultimately didn’t take away from the story. 

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• The conspiracy theory plot. There was no talk of ‘who did it’ nor did it explore any particular theory surrounding JFK’s murder, only that there was something more than what the public was being led to believe.
• The characters. I can’t say they were lovable, but both Guidry and Charlotte grew. That’s not to say they were unloveable, either. The antagonists were fantastic, too.

What I didn’t like:

• A couple of fairly graphic sex scenes that had little to no impact on the plot.
• The writing was dry in some places.

Afterthoughts:

Part of me wishes that I’d waited until November to read this just so it would be closer to the time. It was enjoyable regardless, I’m just a mood reader. This made me want to look for more books set around this time. I love the premise.

(I own a Book of the Month copy so I’m tagging it with Book of the Month, however, I got mine second-hand.)

Where to buy the book: