#1 on The New York Times bestselling Paperback Trade Fiction list The New York Times Washington Post Later is a horror story, but it’s also a proper thriller, told by a master of his craft."—The Guardian "Later is a horror story, but it’s also a proper thriller, told by a master of his craft." - The Guardian" Absolutely riveting read....and memorably terrifying." -Cemetery DanceLocus
01/25/2021
MWA Grand Master King (The Outsider ) demonstrates that no good deed goes unpunished in this gruesome yet mesmerizing paranormal coming-of-age story. For as long as he can remember, 13-year-old Jamie Conklin has been able to see dead people, and images of bloody homicide victims and grotesquely disfigured casualties of traffic accidents haunt him. His gift is sometimes a blessing, as when his protective mother, Tia, an industrious literary agent whose company is on the verge of bankruptcy, exploits his talent for monetary gain, cementing her bestselling client’s legacy in the process. More often, though, it’s a curse, slyly capitalized on by Tia’s girlfriend, NYPD Det. Liz Dutton, who pressures Jamie to aid her in bringing an end to a notorious mass bomber’s 18-year reign of terror. Inevitably, perhaps, Jamie’s virtuous deeds expose him to heinous things no boy should see and bring wrath and vengeance and cruelty upon him. Gory and unnerving, this twisty chiller has sufficient sins and revelations to keep readers pursuing the action to its breathless conclusion. King fans are in for a treat. Agent: Chuck Verrill, Darhansoff & Verrill. (Mar.)
"Voicing Jamie is Seth Numrich, who brings all his classical theater training to what could have been the throwaway role of a kid who mostly tries to ignore an ability he didn’t ask for. Numrich, who played Benjamin Tallmadge in four seasons of AMC’s 'Turn: Washington’s Spies,' embodies Jamie from ebullient first-grader to terrified but determined teen, nailing the evolution of a boy trying to solve his own mystery. The story can be whimsical and funny, thoughtful and alarming, and Numrich is perfectly in step."
"Seth Numrich portrays Jamie Conklin, a young man who sees dead people and can compel them to answer questions truthfully. As a child, Jamie is able to help his mother, Tia, avoid financial ruin. But then Tia's girlfriend, an NYPD detective, asks him to force a dead man to reveal the location of a hidden bomb. This unleashes sinister forces that stalk Jamie for years. As the 20-something Jamie remembers these traumatic supernatural events, Numrich sounds appropriately melancholic and haunted. But he also illuminates moments of levity and warmth, mostly in Jamie's musings about growing up and in his relationship with his mother. King's words and Numrich's performance reinforce the idea that kindness can still shine in a world full of horrors."
AudioFile Magazine Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
Seth Numrich portrays Jamie Conklin, a young man who sees dead people and can compel them to answer questions truthfully. As a child, Jamie is able to help his mother, Tia, avoid financial ruin. But then Tia’s girlfriend, an NYPD detective, asks him to force a dead man to reveal the location of a hidden bomb. This unleashes sinister forces that stalk Jamie for years. As the 20-something Jamie remembers these traumatic supernatural events, Numrich sounds appropriately melancholic and haunted. But he also illuminates moments of levity and warmth, mostly in Jamie’s musings about growing up and in his relationship with his mother. King’s words and Numrich’s performance reinforce the idea that kindness can still shine in a world full of horrors. A.T.N. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2021 - AudioFile
Seth Numrich portrays Jamie Conklin, a young man who sees dead people and can compel them to answer questions truthfully. As a child, Jamie is able to help his mother, Tia, avoid financial ruin. But then Tia’s girlfriend, an NYPD detective, asks him to force a dead man to reveal the location of a hidden bomb. This unleashes sinister forces that stalk Jamie for years. As the 20-something Jamie remembers these traumatic supernatural events, Numrich sounds appropriately melancholic and haunted. But he also illuminates moments of levity and warmth, mostly in Jamie’s musings about growing up and in his relationship with his mother. King’s words and Numrich’s performance reinforce the idea that kindness can still shine in a world full of horrors. A.T.N. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2021 - AudioFile
2020-12-26
Jamie Conklin sees dead people. Not for very long—they fade away after a week or so—but during that time he can talk to them, ask them questions, and compel them to answer truthfully. His uncanny gift at first seems utterly unrelated to his mother Tia’s work as a literary agent, but the links become disturbingly clear when her star client, Regis Thomas, dies shortly after starting work on the newest entry in his bestselling Roanoke Saga, and Tia and her lover, NYPD Detective Liz Dutton, drive Jamie out to Cobblestone Cottage to encourage the late author to dictate an outline of his latest page-turner so that Tia, who’s fallen on hard times, can write it in his name instead of returning his advance and her cut. Now that she’s seen what Jamie can do, Liz takes it on herself to arrange an interview in which Jamie will ask Kenneth Therriault, a serial bomber who’s just killed himself, where he’s stowed his latest explosive device before it can explode posthumously. His post-mortem encounter with Therriault exacts a high price on Jamie, who now finds himself more haunted than ever, though he never gives up on the everyday experiences in which King roots all his nightmares.
Crave chills and thrills but don’t have time for a King epic? This will do the job before bedtime. Not that you’ll sleep.
