"A profound, thoughtful, haunting tale." --Small Press Reviews
"
Frederick frames his novel around intriguing crime fiction tropes, but his pacing is deliberate and the contemplation much deeper than is usually found in the genre, resulting in an absorbing examination of how violence can alter lives for years, no matter what the ideology fueling it."
--Publishers Weekly
"
Frederick reminds us of the tenebrous atmosphere of the ‘60s."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Secret plots are hatched in darkened rooms by rebellious students in the 60s; by the 80s and 90s repercussions survive to haunt the future of suburban lawyer Alan Ripley...There’s an aura of threat, reminiscent of Ian McEwan's books... After Lyletown, explores the many facets and keys of secrets, the risk of relationships, and the need to preserve and appreciate the beauty of what we already have. A house becomes a metaphor. The past becomes a piece in the puzzle of life. And a hideaway in the woods might just be a place to escape from the rain.There are no absolutes in relationships, and no complete solutions to life’s mysteries. But After Lyletown builds something complete, something ready for the future with foundations and windows secured.
It’s a satisfying journey through past and present, edged with danger, founded on history and politics, and vividly real; the sort of read you put down feeling sure you’ll need to pick it up again, just to
remember the characters and spend a little more time in their company." --Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
In 1988 Alan Ripley is a successful suburban lawyer, happy at home as well as at work, with a deep sense of gratitude at having found his way to this place. Given his history, he has every reason to feel proud of what he's accomplished. Then he gets a phone call and hears a voice from twenty years ago; it's Rory Dekker, bringing with him memories of Lyletown.
When he was a grad student in the 60's, Alan got caught up in a political "action" that got out of hand, a bungled robbery of a gun store in a place called Lyletown. When the plan unraveled, one of the Lyletown Five, as the media called them, was killed, Rory was captured and the rest fled. Though Alan was too sick to participate, he knew very well that if anyone talked, he was in trouble.
Now, out of the blue, Rory, who spent more than a dozen years in prison, is back in Alan's life, and he insists on seeing his old friend. What does Rory want from Alan ?
The Lyletown affair, it seems, just won't stay in the past.
K.C. Frederick lives in the Boston area. His most recent novel,
Inland, published by The Permanent Press, won the 2007 PEN/L.L. Winship Award for Fiction.