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November Man #8
The Infant of Prague
In the majestic silence of Chartres cathedral, Deveraux--code name November Man--receives his help Czechoslovakias' cultural liaison cross over to the West. A hard enough job, even without the added complicatin of an act of God.For in a humble Chicago parish church, the sacred statue of the Infant of Prague is found weeping real tears. A visiting Czech child star actress, transfigured by the wondrous event, declares, on live television, her intent to remain in American in the name of Christ and freedom.Only an operative as cynical and seasoned as the November Man can sense the sinister link between two dramatic, yet apparently unrelated defections. A miracle has plunged him into a vast global adventure. And it will take a miracle to get him through it alive.
341 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 17, 2015
12 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
Bill Granger
41 books43 followersaka Joe Gash, Bill Griffith
Bill Granger, was a newspaperman turned novelist whose fiction alternated between international spy thrillers and police procedurals set on the gritty streets of Chicago.
Usually under his own name but sometimes under the pseudonym Joe Gash or Bill Griffiths, Mr. Granger wrote 25 novels, many of which evoked the rougher environs of Chicago and included colorful characters with names like Slim Dingo, Tony Rolls and Jesus X Mohammed.
Mr. Granger’s favorite, and perhaps best-known, book was “Public Murders” (1980), in which the city is in an uproar as a rapist-murderer strikes again and again. Public and political pressure exacts an emotional toll on the tough, foulmouthed detectives investigating the crimes. Public Murders won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1981.
Two years before that, Mr. Granger’s first spy novel, The November Man,caused something of an international stir. It involved a plot to assassinate a relative of Queen Elizabeth by blowing up a boat. Later that year, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the queen’s cousin, was killed on his fishing boat when a bomb set by the Irish Republican Army exploded.
Mr. Granger always thought of himself as more of a reporter than an author. “I can’t think of a day without newspapering in it,” he said in a 2003 interview. In his nearly 40 years in journalism, he had reported for United Press International, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Daily Herald. He covered the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland and wrote a series based on interviews with a veteran who had witnessed the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War.
Granger had a stroke in January 2000, and ended his writing career. From 2002 to his death he lived in the Manteno Veterans Home; the immediate cause of death was a heart attack, although he had suffered a series of strokes since the 1990s. He is survived by wife Lori and son Alec.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/0...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Bill Granger, was a newspaperman turned novelist whose fiction alternated between international spy thrillers and police procedurals set on the gritty streets of Chicago.
Usually under his own name but sometimes under the pseudonym Joe Gash or Bill Griffiths, Mr. Granger wrote 25 novels, many of which evoked the rougher environs of Chicago and included colorful characters with names like Slim Dingo, Tony Rolls and Jesus X Mohammed.
Mr. Granger’s favorite, and perhaps best-known, book was “Public Murders” (1980), in which the city is in an uproar as a rapist-murderer strikes again and again. Public and political pressure exacts an emotional toll on the tough, foulmouthed detectives investigating the crimes. Public Murders won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1981.
Two years before that, Mr. Granger’s first spy novel, The November Man,caused something of an international stir. It involved a plot to assassinate a relative of Queen Elizabeth by blowing up a boat. Later that year, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the queen’s cousin, was killed on his fishing boat when a bomb set by the Irish Republican Army exploded.
Mr. Granger always thought of himself as more of a reporter than an author. “I can’t think of a day without newspapering in it,” he said in a 2003 interview. In his nearly 40 years in journalism, he had reported for United Press International, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Daily Herald. He covered the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland and wrote a series based on interviews with a veteran who had witnessed the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War.
Granger had a stroke in January 2000, and ended his writing career. From 2002 to his death he lived in the Manteno Veterans Home; the immediate cause of death was a heart attack, although he had suffered a series of strokes since the 1990s. He is survived by wife Lori and son Alec.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/0...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 29, 2019
Devereaux - code name November - gets requested for a little and easy job that leads to him ending in the hands of his personal arch-rival colonel Ready.
The story is all about defection and the interest by certain parties to stop certain defectors from doing and so and possible blowing the lid of other unsavory agendas, it seems that both sides of the Iron curtain have similar stakes.
It takes the November Man's skills and that of his love and friends to set the system right and survive the murder and mayhem released by those who silly enough oppose Devereaux and his friend. Yes I clearly see Pierce Brosnans face when reading about this anti-hero. I would be glad for another movie installment.
A decent book that is clearly an older style thriller, which I do enjoy much more than I expected.
The story is all about defection and the interest by certain parties to stop certain defectors from doing and so and possible blowing the lid of other unsavory agendas, it seems that both sides of the Iron curtain have similar stakes.
It takes the November Man's skills and that of his love and friends to set the system right and survive the murder and mayhem released by those who silly enough oppose Devereaux and his friend. Yes I clearly see Pierce Brosnans face when reading about this anti-hero. I would be glad for another movie installment.
A decent book that is clearly an older style thriller, which I do enjoy much more than I expected.
March 31, 2022
Another good read. The Infant of Prague.
What happens when you have a statue that cries tears?
Or 2 people a Russia & a Czech 🇨🇿 child star 🌟 wanting to defect.
Something is amiss, and Devereux (the November Man) must find the correlation.
Because there is one.
This is where the storyline takes off.
There are alot of people involved as well as other agencies.
The clock ⏰ is ticking.
Murder & mayhem are close behind.
Devereux better get on his "A" game, because he will need every advantage to stay head of the game.
Because it is a game that's being played by 2 power houses.
Don't sleep on this one. It's a good one.
That's all I got.
Until my next review, Happy Reading 📚!!!!
Ciao 💋
What happens when you have a statue that cries tears?
Or 2 people a Russia & a Czech 🇨🇿 child star 🌟 wanting to defect.
Something is amiss, and Devereux (the November Man) must find the correlation.
Because there is one.
This is where the storyline takes off.
There are alot of people involved as well as other agencies.
The clock ⏰ is ticking.
Murder & mayhem are close behind.
Devereux better get on his "A" game, because he will need every advantage to stay head of the game.
Because it is a game that's being played by 2 power houses.
Don't sleep on this one. It's a good one.
That's all I got.
Until my next review, Happy Reading 📚!!!!
Ciao 💋
February 18, 2021
I liked the last 25 percent of the book but the first 75 percent was so so fir me- but couldn’t relate very well to the characters as they were ages 18-23. I would have liked it better when I was younger I think.
September 30, 2022
Another excellent entry in The November Man series.
April 26, 2009
Humor, yes there is some comic relief I suppose in this work that should not go unmentioned. Three stars are the result for this otherwise pretty good story.
A more scattered story than I had come to expect when first reading these works and thus not as absorbing as some of the other entries in the dark and dangerous world of agent November.
Not a starting point for the series, though none are truly sequential, this one does require a fair amount of knowledge to have been gleaned from other stories to 'hang together'. From Rita his girlfriend, to why he, Deveraux,does what he does and for whom, there is a fair amount of background that is needed to allow this story to work.
Granger may have been experimenting with elements and mechanisms to enlarge his characters. Thankfully I am of the opinion he did not pursue many in other November man episodes.
For the entire November Man series this is certainly a must read, however those who are reading one or a few of this Cold War/Spy saga you can skip this one.
A more scattered story than I had come to expect when first reading these works and thus not as absorbing as some of the other entries in the dark and dangerous world of agent November.
Not a starting point for the series, though none are truly sequential, this one does require a fair amount of knowledge to have been gleaned from other stories to 'hang together'. From Rita his girlfriend, to why he, Deveraux,does what he does and for whom, there is a fair amount of background that is needed to allow this story to work.
Granger may have been experimenting with elements and mechanisms to enlarge his characters. Thankfully I am of the opinion he did not pursue many in other November man episodes.
For the entire November Man series this is certainly a must read, however those who are reading one or a few of this Cold War/Spy saga you can skip this one.
September 5, 2011
I could not take this anymore. I GIVE UP!
A week just to ready 100pgs means it was not going to stick. Messy arrangement but undeveloped characters at the Reader almost as if to fill pages with Zero Story. Not for me.
A week just to ready 100pgs means it was not going to stick. Messy arrangement but undeveloped characters at the Reader almost as if to fill pages with Zero Story. Not for me.
July 23, 2011
I love Granger's series
June 29, 2015
I'm reading The November Man series sequentially and this novel definitely lived up to the series for me.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews