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November Man #5
The Zurich Numbers
They are immigrants, working in American laboratories and universities. They are Soviet spies, forced into a network of terror, with their families dangling as hostages. When Devereaux--the November Man--uncovers the brutal scheme, the forces of both East and West mark him and the woman he loves for death. From California to Chicago to Switzerland, the November Man tracks the cold-blooded mastermind who controls the numbers. In a vicious maze of power, murder, and greed, every enemy may be a friend--and every friend, a sudden traitor.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 22, 1984
11 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
About the author
Bill Granger
71books42followersaka 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.
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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:
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 2, 2015
I continued my reading of the November man series with the Zurich Numbers, #5 in the series featuring Deveraux, the cold, grey-eyed espionage agent who works for R Section in the Department of Agriculture, a competitor of the CIA. As this novel opens Deveraux is in hiding because the KGB is on his trail for fouling up one of their previous operations. Although Deveraux appears to have no known family ties, he does in fact have an aunt, Melvina, who still lives in an old house in the South Side of Chicago where Deveraux spent part of his youth. They have not communicated in years but one day Deveraux receives an envelope postmarked Chicago with a cryptic note enclosed with a code phrase that alerts him that his aunt has been visited by some unwelcome characters. Deveraux sets out for Chicago to investigate. He discovers that agents are monitoring his aunt's house. He sneaks in to talk to her.She has an East European woman working for her and after tracing some leads Deveraux discovers a slavery ring being operated out of the Soviet Union by the KGB. With their children held hostage back home these woman are expected to spy in universities, laboratories and other places where there could be information of interest to the KGB. These arrangements are facilitated by a portly middleman in Zurich who acts as a guarantor for the promises the KGB has made to these women. Hence the title, the Zurich Numbers. Deveraux calls on journalist Rita Macklin for assistance to hide one of these women in California. He also recruits former KGB agent Denisov, now living in America, to accompany him to Zurich to uncover more details on this blackmail ring and to help wrap it up. After some hair-raising close calls they expose the scheme and bring it to a conclusion.
Another first-rate espionage thriller by Granger.
Another first-rate espionage thriller by Granger.
January 31, 2022
Excellent read. It seems like the more I read the November series, the more I enjoy this author.
The Zurich Numbers is no different.
There is a scheme going in that has been initiated from Russia 🇷🇺 KGB, that takes place on US 🇺🇸 soil involving cities like Chicago.
Where immigrants are placed in position of spying on the US.
The contract is for 2 years, and once the 2 years is up. They are reunited with the loved one (usually a child) and paid a nice sum of money.
But some thing is not right & Devereux is summoned to Chicago by his great aunt.
Needless to say, all hell breaks loose and Devereux along with Rita must find the person (s) responsible for the slave trade that been going on with these polish women immigrants.
His great aunt had employed one of these women, whose job is to watch and see if Devereux calls 📞 or come to visit.
Once Devereux arrives, he realizes that he still has a place on his head. Russia 🇷🇺 KGB is still gunning for him.
It's going to take some cunning on his part. But he's always up for a challenge.
But first, he needs to learn all the players.
From Switzerland 🇨🇭 to Chicago, to California its going down.
Man, I love this espionage stuff.
So on that note 📝, on to my next adventure. There Are No Spies.
Happy Happy Reading 📚!!!!
侱💋
The Zurich Numbers is no different.
There is a scheme going in that has been initiated from Russia 🇷🇺 KGB, that takes place on US 🇺🇸 soil involving cities like Chicago.
Where immigrants are placed in position of spying on the US.
The contract is for 2 years, and once the 2 years is up. They are reunited with the loved one (usually a child) and paid a nice sum of money.
But some thing is not right & Devereux is summoned to Chicago by his great aunt.
Needless to say, all hell breaks loose and Devereux along with Rita must find the person (s) responsible for the slave trade that been going on with these polish women immigrants.
His great aunt had employed one of these women, whose job is to watch and see if Devereux calls 📞 or come to visit.
Once Devereux arrives, he realizes that he still has a place on his head. Russia 🇷🇺 KGB is still gunning for him.
It's going to take some cunning on his part. But he's always up for a challenge.
But first, he needs to learn all the players.
From Switzerland 🇨🇭 to Chicago, to California its going down.
Man, I love this espionage stuff.
So on that note 📝, on to my next adventure. There Are No Spies.
Happy Happy Reading 📚!!!!
侱💋
November 25, 2019
This book was excellent! The last two November Man books have been great. I will reading the next book in the series soon. I really like these novels and Granger is a natural storyteller.
September 15, 2022
Read in Norwegian
June 6, 2015
A good story well told, but this novel is the stage in the November Man series where Granger takes the downward plunge into prurience and scatology, which makes parts of this otherwise fine book boring and tedious. The plot--human trafficking--is intriguing and he deals with it in an interesting way.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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