Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

At First Light is a companion story to the author's debut novel Summertime and can be read as a standalone.

A beautifully written social history which was obviously well researched (based on a true historic crime) with insights to the mindset, pomposity and danger of the Klu Klux Klan and their prejudices, the stresses of forbidden love, and life in 1919 Key West through to the sensitive, modern-day handling of a crime of passion and revenge.

A gorgeous evocative book, beautifully written, that truly stole my heart. What a love story! What injustice! And what an ending....

An uncomfortable read, well written and well characterised. My biggest issue was that I wanted to turn away from the very real experiences depicted. Too well depicted that it was days before I could go back to finish it! The author is very talented, clearly to rouse such a reaction but perhaps it was just too much for me to stand! It says more about me than the story or the writing!

Having loved ‘Summertime’, the debut novel of Florida-born Vanessa Lafaye, I was looking forward to reading ‘At First Ligh’t. I was not disappointed. As with her first book, Florida in the period after the Great War is the setting. But the story starts with a bang in 1993 when an elderly Ku Klux Klan official is shot dead at a rally in Key West. The murderer is a 96-year old Cuban woman. ‘At First Light’ is the story of Alicia Cortez.
This is an intense story in many ways. Love, politics, racial hatred, prostitution and Prohibition. In 1919 Alicia arrives on a boat from Cuba, running from shame though for a while we don’t know the exact details. On the same day, John Morales disembarks from the troop ship which brought him from Europe where he fought with distinction in the Great War. Watching from the dock is fourteen-year-old Dwayne Campbell, who falls a little in love with Alicia, is in awe of John, and who becomes entangled in what is about to unfold. When John, a white man, a local man, is seen with a ‘brown’ stranger, Alicia, the newly established Klan of the Keys takes notice.
Although we know from page one that Alicia shoots someone, we do not know the identity of the victim. As she will not talk to the police, her motivation is unknown. So as the story of her arrival in Key West in 1919 unfolds, the guessing game begins as the Ku Klux Klan plans its attacks. This story segment takes place over a short few months and the speed at which events unfold is mesmerising. There are many thematic contrasts: the beauty of the location, the poverty and depravation; the global politics of war, the local politics run by corrupt men; the lack of women’s rights, the moral and emotional strength of women.
Inspired by a true story – the murder by the Ku Klux Klan of a white man in 1921 because he refused to end his relationship with a mixed-race woman – this is a novel about freedom. The freedoms fought for in war which are too often, and too rapidly, forgotten in daily life when hate is allowed to overcome tolerance and people become too quick to judge. And once a wrong is committed, who has the right to determine the nature of justice and how it should be implemented? Once the police cannot be trusted, the disintegration of society begins.
I read this book very quickly and didn’t want it to end. Second novels are often a disappointment, this one is not.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
This book is set in two different time periods - 1993 and 1919 in Key West Florida. The descriptive narrative is so vibrant that I almost felt like I was there. A novel set amongst the background of the Ku Klax Klan, which from a historical perspective was of particular interest to me, albeit made for shocking reading.
I loved the way this book was written and thought all the characters were interesting and well developed

When banished Alicia Cortez arrives in Key West in 1919, events will unfold to shape the next seven decades.

Oh my goodness. At First Light is EXACTLY my kind of read. Beautifully crafted with atmospheric prose that enchants and ensnares from the first word I loved everything about Vanessa Lafaye’s story. The smattering of Spanish lends an authenticity so that it is impossible not to become immersed in the action.

Based on real events, At First Light told me more about American history and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) than I had consciously internalised before. Vanessa Lafaye has made me look at my visit to Key West in a whole new light. She manages to convey both the ridiculousness of the KKK and their far reaching menace with such skill. Part crime thriller, part historical novel At First Light is a fabulous weaving of fact and fiction that left me reeling. The violence and threat lurks beneath the surface so that I felt tense as I read, desperate for there to be happy ever after endings but fearing there wouldn’t be.

The plot races along. Some elements are what could be termed prosaic, relating to the everyday life of the characters, but this adds credibility and genuineness to the people and events so that other aspects are all the more shocking. I can’t spoil the plot for others, but I can’t see either how anyone could read At First Light and not be moved, horrified and enraptured.

The characterisation is outstanding. Alicia, John, Thomas and Dwayne will live long in my heart as real people I wish I had known. I wanted to apologise to them for their treatment, feeling almost partly to blame for what happens to them. At one point, so intense was my feeling along with Alicia’s that I found I was sobbing. Vanessa Lafaye has the power both to educate and to move without the reader’s permission.

Having read At First Light, there’s an ache in me that I don’t think I’ll ever quite recover from. I feel almost bereft that I have finished it. At First Light is, quite simply, a life changing book that everyone should read.

When I reviewed Summertime, I mentioned the wonderful descriptions, the carefully chosen words, and the languorous quality of the writing, the way the detail was etched in my memory by a writer at the peak of her powers. I rather left myself with no more superlatives to use, but I’m going to need to find a few: I’m delighted to report that I think At First Light is even better.

I called Summertime “one hell of a story” – but this one is absolutely stunning. It’s a love story full of aching passion, a story of a remarkable woman who learns to be strong, of the rising tide of hatred as the Klan gain a grip, corrupt officialdom, naive enchantment… with a set of characters within both the past story and the current who grasp your heart and refuse to let go. The writing is just breath-taking in its assurance – perfectly rounded characters, a vividly detailed backdrop, a stirring of deep emotion quite perfectly handled. This isn't a full review - I’ll do things properly when I return from my holiday and have more time to do it justice. But I just wanted to tell everyone how much I loved this book – I always thought Vanessa Lafaye’s writing was something rather special, but this book really is something very special indeed.

Having read this author's previous novel, Summertime, I was delighted to receive an egalley copy of this new book, At First Light, for review, and I was not disappointed when I started reading! What a story! Based on fact, this book details the introduction of the Ku Klux Klan to Key West, USA in the 1920s, and an 'unsolved' murder from the time, highlighting the impact of the Klan on the local people. The descriptions of Key West resonate with sound, colour and smell, enabling the reader to really see the town in their imagination. Soldiers are returning from WW1, Spanish flu is taking hold and Prohibition is just about to start, when the Klan come to town. This is a love story between a coloured woman and a white man and so much more besides. I found myself gripped from the very beginning as an elderly lady, Alicia Cortez, is arrested for shooting a man dead at a Ku Klux Klan march in 1993. The book then goes back to the 1920s, and tells the story of Alicia and John, and their love affair. The story builds and builds, the tension increasing towards an inevitable climax, which kept me gripped throughout, desperately hoping that things would work out for them. It also made me keen to investigate further into the Key West of this period. Highly recommended read, particularly if you enjoy historic fiction!

I love the first novel by the author Summertime. Which was also historical fiction set in the Key West area of Florida. I love American novels but don’t get round to as much American historical fiction, as I’d like to. So this was an obvious choice for me.
The novel is set between two time frames, 1993 as the modern day era and reflective on 1919 as Alicia Cortez arrives in the USA. The novel is essentially the story of Alicia’s life and how she comes to end up, sitting in a police cell in 1993 at 96 years old!
The novel is emotive with many political themes and how those politics impact the everyday people. With a multitude of races and religions, this novel makes for intriguing and thought-provoking reading. There are a wide variety of characters, some you love and some you down right despise. but the real story, is who is Alicia Cortez? Why did she shoot Charlie ‘bucket’ Simpkins?
Alicia is of mixed race heritage being both African and Cuban, arriving in an American era, torn apart by racial divides. She must navigate her way, for a life she never chose, asked for, nor wanted. Alicia first encounters, known war hero John, whilst surrounded by death and misery. Can he help her put a life together?

Having loved LaFaye's previous novel, I dived right in to this sublimely realised story of the Deep South in the claws of the KKK. Her writing is vivid and insightful, and her depiction of this particular location and moment of history is compelling and utterly believable. The characters are perfectly drawn, and as a reader I was totally drawn into their lives and travails. Highly recommended.