This is the fifth book in Klavan’s excellent series of the man with a “strange habit of mind.”
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: Present day, many locations across the country
Characters: Cameron Winter, a former assassin and current poetry professor who can not avoid being dragged into new, bizarre adventures, his boss and mentor, the Recruiter, Gwendolyn Lord, his new love, a terrific arch enemy named the Tattoo Man, and the primary nemesis, Thaddeus Blatt, an evil technical billionaire genius reminiscent of Elon Musk.
Overview: Winter finds an uncanny similarity of incidents where men have suddenly become unhinged and perpetrate heinous murders. He tracks down the common background point and realizes there is more to come. While being somewhat grounded with his new love and his expertise in poetry, he again faces evil forces that are set to change the world. His intimate dialogues with Gwendolyn, directly in counterpoint to chase and escape scenes, make this a fine book.
Recommendation: I rate this book 4 stars
Extras: This book in the series reminded me of the terrific, witty, sarcastic asides of early Trevanian stories. Winter always has appropriate snarky thoughts about everyone, even face-to-face with his arch rivals. This man with the “strange habit of mind” has a strange habit of being challenged by billionaire geniuses and eventually defeating them. Nicely relevant.
Thanx to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for the opportunity to provide this candid review.

4.7 stars, rounded up and well deserved

What can I say, this is Andrew Klavan at his best. Part redemptive growth, part love story, part mystery, part technothriller, part race against the clock, part mercenary chase, and all thrill ride – this read is spectacular.

Klavan himself says that you can start at this book like a standalone and then go back to the beginning with When Christmas Comes. While the mystery itself is separate, we do get background and growth that builds off of the previous books. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that you start with this one unless you just don’t want to commit to a series. If that’s the case, then this is still well worth jumping into.

So, in this fifth installment of the series, we continue to follow (totally, for sure normal, everyday) English professor Cameron Winter along a difficult and dangerous path toward healing. He finds himself opening up toward pursuing a healthy relationship when he hears about a locked room mystery. Wanting to impress the woman, he takes on the case. Now he's in the middle of this mystery turned thrilling, clock ticking pursuit, all the while uncovering high level corruption and a possible coverup that hit far too close to home for Winter when they involve the Recruiter.

What I liked:
Gosh, where to begin? Though written in third person, the monologues and the way that Klavan expresses the characters’ inner thoughts were exquisite. And some of the lines were such zingers, it had me laughing out loud! You wouldn’t think this kind of story would have me kicking my feet, but you’d be wrong. In addition to laughing out loud, I got goosebumps in other parts and read fast in others because the fast-paced thrill. The creepiness of specific scenes was well written in that it was only in small sections and the worst of it was implied (very effectively) as experienced through the potential victim. Now, Klavan’s writing has been great this whole series, but I would say it’s turned up in this book. This book was an experience and the best in the series thus far.

Winter’s character growth in this book is amazing, but it’s not an unrealistic progression. His growth is a direct result of the work he’s done in the previous books. The reader has been with him since the beginning of the series so we’re cheering him on. I do love that even though Winter struggles with his emotions, who he is, what he believes in, and how to allow himself to be loved, he never betrays his values. Klavan writes the values so well into Winter’s decision making and in describing his thoughts. I also enjoyed the portrayal of the women in the story – it’s honestly so refreshing and very real.

Things that weren't my favorite:
I had a smidgen of trouble keeping the timeline straight, but only with the italicized storytelling sessions shared with the therapist. And more of a neutral comment, but Klavan has a minor style point of writing repeated adjectives within the same sentence or paragraph. I don't know why but it’s just peculiar, though it doesn't take away from my experience.

This is maybe my 14th Klavan read and he's at the top of his game here. Bottom line, this series is not one to sleep on. I highlighted a few lines that have me speculating where this series will go from here, but I have high high hopes!

Special thanks to the author Andrew Klavan (with an A), Penzler Publishers, and Netgalley for a copy of the book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Great to have Cameron Winter back. The professor/assassin brings a unique approach to a crowded genre. His ongoing battle with faith is tested in this story as he chases killers and their controller while beginning a new relationship.. Lots of action as well as introspection.

After That, the Dark is the latest from Andrew Klavan, and really is a delightful mix of noir, academia, intrigue and true love, though not necessarily in that order. Add to that, political aspirations and a foray into trans humanism, not to mention a love of poetry and Klavan manages to weave the entire morass into quite a story. The novel resolved well and was an interesting afternoon read.

In this fifth book of the Cameron Winter series, Andrew Klavan just seems to get better and better with his storytelling. Amidst a steady background of suspense, mystery, love, romance, and a hint of the supernatural, Winter looks into the crimes to two upstanding citizens who abruptly and unexpectedly went on murderous rampages. Along the way, the assassin-turned-English professor encounters an array of fascinating characters, including the terrifying Tat Man, an icy attorney, and a power-hungry billionaire. Regardless of the violence or terror that often surrounds Winter, Klavan always finds a way to incorporate humor…which sometimes comes in the form of the annoying “diversity officer” Lori Lesser or the undercover operator, Stan-Stan Stankowski. For that matter, with more than a passing reference to religion, it was fun to watch Winter, the atheist, deal with the fanatically religious Recruiter, as well as maneuvering around the spiritual devotion of his beloved Gwendolyn Lord. As I began to worry about the safety of Winter and those close to him, I realized that I was fully 100% invested in this novel. Fortunately, “After That” demonstrated once again that Klavan is a master at writing the perfect and most satisfying of endings to his novels.

As with the others in the series, this book was a pure delight to read. My thanks to Net Galley and Penzler Publishers for an eARC in exchange for honest feedback.

I only recently discovered Andrew Klavan, but he is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I adore this series. Cameron Winter is such a great complex character. I love that he is finally figuring out who he is and accepting it. Gwendolyn is not how I expected her to be and she's not what I would picture as a good fit for Cameron, but I'm glad he's happy and moving on from Charlotte. As always, the humor had me laughing out loud. Stan-Stan continues to be ridiculous and fabulous. The plot was incredibly intriguing and really makes you think. What if a device like that actually existed? I don't want to spoil anything, so that's all I'm going to say about that. The climax was excellent and had my heart racing. I was so worried! And that ending? Chills. Loved it. My only minor disappointment was that the story Cameron told his therapist about his past wasn't as exciting as usual. However, it was relevant to the plot and was clearly a pivotal moment in his life. That's okay though because the main story was more than exciting enough to make up for it. Overall, I thought After That, the Dark was a wonderful installment in the series, and I already can't wait for the next one to come out! Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the ARC.