When I Got Out

by Peter Seth

Larry Ingber fell deeply in love once . . . and it cost him forty years of his life. Branded "The Ivy League Killer" by the media that followed his sensational story of obsession and its consequences, Larry has at last been freed from prison and tossed into a world he barely understands. At one point, his life was brimming with promise. Now, he can barely find a job. And when Larry discovers that his lawyer has stolen the money his late parents had set aside for him, he comes very close to going off the rails. But the world is a more mysterious place than Larry can imagine, and it has surprises in store for him that will put him in grave danger, reunite him with his past, expose him to unscrupulousness, and teach him what it is truly like to have someone who cares about you.Filled with tension, nuance, and revelation, WHEN I GOT OUT is a remarkable story about what happens when the world you left behind and the world you never knew collide. PRAISE FOR PETER SETH'S NATIONAL BESTSELLER WHEN I GOT OUT: "Once I started reading I had to finish the book as fast as I could." - Stan Chervin, screenwriter, Academy Award nominee for Moneyball "Just when you think you know where the story is headed it changes directions. It's a roller coaster ride to the very last page." - Book Bug "Passionate, stark, haunted fiction that nails it on the head about young adult romance gone awry." - Crystal Book Reviews "A great beginning of a career for Peter Seth." - Literarily Illuminated

464 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 2019

About the author

Peter Seth is a writer living in Los Angeles. He has written for television shows produced by Gary David Goldberg and Glenn Gordon Caron. He wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning short film "Lunch with Louie," which appeared in more than thirty-five film festivals around the world. He was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island. He is the author of the national bestselling WHAT IT WAS LIKE and WHEN I GOT OUT.

Reviews

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Larry Ingber, Rip Van Winkle like, emerges into a new world after being incarcerated for his role as the Ivy League killer in 1969. Forty years on, there is much he "has missed," which he keeps repeating as he encounters his new life. Although there is some originality here in the handling of the plot line, there is also a lot of repetition, making for slow progress which caused my interest and concern for Larry's welfare to lag. Although I finished the novel, I felt it took a long time to get where it was going.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I Got Out by Peter Seth is a recommended story about starting over after being in prison for forty years.

Larry Ingber is the "The Ivy League Killer" from the late 1960's and has just been released after spending forty years in prison. Although his crime was not murder, he admittedly helped his girlfriend, The Girl, and was convicted as an accomplice for helping dispose of the bodies. After so many years behind bars, Larry is struggling to understand the outside world, which is very different from the one he knew. He has help settling into an apartment and getting a job and tries to adjust to his new life. He has to report to his parole officer, Fusco, who hates him. He is also obsessed with finding his lawyer, Mantell. Lester Mantell has disappeared with the money Larry's parents set aside and left specifically for him, for when he got out. And, surprisingly, Larry is also falling in love again.

There are some excellent qualities to When I Got Out and some parts that need tweaking. The diverse characters are all very well developed and interesting. Seth does an exceptional job portraying his characters as real individuals, while capturing their emotions and reactions in scenes. Larry's obsession with finding Mantell is relatable and you will sympathize with his dilemma. Honestly, the characters are a big draw to keep you continuing to read the novel. The settings and locations are also well described and envisioned.

The plot could have been tightened up a smidgen. The goal is for Larry to settle into his life outside of the system and recover his inheritance. There are several additional scenes that could have been edited out or tightened up to keep the plot running smoothly. There is a lot of foreshadowing of something bad to come, but all the extraneous stuff dampened the tension that a tighter plot would have created. I kept reading to find out what happened to Larry. Did he get his money? Did he and Betsy stay together?

Seth chose to slowly release details about how Larry came to be called "The Ivy League Killer," rather than sharing all the details all at once. I felt like this worked, but we also should have been given the whole story by the end of the novel. Rather than a thriller, although there are several heart-stopping scenes, this is much more of a character study of Larry. (Apparently Seth's first novel, What It Was Like, covers the whole story of Larry's crime.)

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Story Plant.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/0...

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I Got Out is a realistic account of a former inmate named Larry Ingber who’s been given a new lease of life after being incarcerated for forty years.

Before they passed, Larry’s parents left him a small fortune he could use to start life in the event of his release. His parents left his money in the trust of their family lawyer.

When he’s eventually released and assigned a parol officer named Kenneth Fusco who he’s to report to for five years. He finally gets a job at the offices of Clemency USA, a human rights organization. There, he meets Kelly Mott, a young girl who runs the Gateway Program, which helps ex-cons adjust to life outside prison.

With help from Kelly, soon Larry is able to settle into his new life and surroundings. Kelly helps him shop for his new place and even invites him to her home to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. In no time, he’s making new friends (which almost cost him in the short run when he confides in one of his new friends) and even starts dating.

When he discovers that his lawyer has stolen the money his parents left for him, he almost loses it. Frantic, he tries to locate his lawyer, Lester Mantell, but Lester’s in the wind. He enlists the help of law enforcement but they come up short.

To top it all, he gets laid off and now he has no money to fend for himself and pay rent. Besides, he’s barely getting by with the little money he makes working in a Nautical antique shop. Larry realizes he has to track Lester himself.

[Brooklyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Larry Ingber - the Ivy League Killer / just got released from prison after 40 years for his involvement in a bloody murder st the end of the 1960s with beautiful Rachel. Larry has paid back his debt to society- he fees - but is that enough for society? Part thriller - part human interest story of a “loser” regaining his life after the horrors of em prison lent in the US, part love story, big parts story of a man making peace with his past and learning to trust and love again in a hostile world. Peter Seth creates strong characters with great detail - even the minor characters - that kept me wanting to know more. Seth is a former screen and tv writer turned novelist - this is his second book- and When I Got Out has a cinematic quality to it.

My criticism - this book seriously need an editor and more of a direction. I kept reading because I was intrigued a and moved by his evolving love for Betsy and thrilled by his adventures with billionaire Jonathan klein, a former camp counselee. There are many great scenes - but this book could have been 50-100 pages shorter - there were many scenes where I scratched my head wondering where this was going. Also I get story could have been more dynamic if Seth had focused on the early murder more - we never really hear the full story- and had more of the thriller part and story relating to the past murders. I felt a little shortchanged.

An author to watch - who builds great stories and scenes- and I loved the thriller section in Bahamas— and all the details of larry’s conflicts and contrasts with the world around him - in his love life - at the.non profit he works at - when his story and past are outed by a rich kid and the reactions - his life in contrast with his former camp counselees and the super rich jonathan Klein - especially the night out at Le Bernandin restaurant in NYC. But there is too many irons in the fire and too many story threads that don’t pan out. And there are some sections where the author editorializes about social inequities and class struggles that can be dropped entirely. I wish this book was a bit more of a thriller - but went along with the character study that it ultimately is. I love the NYC locales especially City island - gives the book a certain flavor and obviously author knows his terrain.

I would be interested in his next book. I think author has good potential.

I read this book as an advance copy for #NetGalley netgaley.com

[Elaine Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Larry, who was convicted as an accomplice to murder when he was 20 and just finished his first year at Columbia University. Now, 40 years later, he's out of prison although he has enough restrictions from his parole officer. He's given a temporary job at the non-profit who worked toward his clemency, but when word gets out that he's the Ivy League Killer, he loses his job. Through old acquaintances and some new ones, he manages to get by but the going is rough especially when he learns that his lawyer has absconded with the money his parents had saved for him. This book does a great job of showing how life after prison can be a world of trials and tribulations but that with the support of good people, things work out.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I'm happy to have had the opportunity to read it. This is one of my favorite books of 2019 with skilled writing and clever characters.

[Melissa Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved “What It Was Like,” so when I began reading “When I Got Out,” I was hoping not to be disappointed. What I had loved about the first book was how magnificently Peter Seth captured the obsessional, yearning feeling of first love, and in this new book, he brilliantly now captures the very different obsessions, yearning, and revelations of a person in his 60’s. “When I Got Out” continues the story of Larry Ingber after he has served his 40 years in prison, and it’s filled with new fascinating characters, suspense, danger and romance. Even though it’s fiction, the world that Seth creates is so vivid that it feels truthful and real, and you don’t want to leave that world until you see what happens. It’s a beautifully written book, a very satisfying completion of the Larry Ingber saga, and not only entertaining but also life-affirming and inspiring. It’s a luscious read.

[Jean A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look for future books by Peter Seth. It is a compelling story and was hard for me to put down. Like others, I thought it was a bit long. Also, I would have liked to understand what, exactly, the crime was. The narrator referred to the bloody murders and helping Rachel but insisted he was innocent of killing the victims. There were also some other holes in the story as well as lengthy passages that seemed superfluous rather than adding to the story. Throughout the book, I liked when the narrator recognized his good fortune and called them a “Moment of Grace and Thanks.” We watch him go from the 40 year con with a “prison mind” to a, relatively, normal person who is making the best of the years left to him.

[Sharon S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read that explores the life of a man the main character released from prison. The point of view stays consistent in the first person and at times reads like a personal diary. The personal touch pulled me even more into the story. It's written in away that makes you feel everything really happened. There isn't any major violence, but there is many demons the main character struggles with, but in the end I felt it was one of those feel good books. Detailed, personal, and believable. Thank you for the opportunity of reviewing this book.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hung on Larry's every word. He's a decent guy who had a lot of promise as a college student 40 years ago but was thrown off track by his obsession with a beautiful girl. Now he seems out of place and unsure of himself. But you know he's a good person. I was struck by how he "messes up," sometimes, making unwise decisions. Yet it's faithful to his life experience--40 years in prison does not really prepare a person for real life. He does luck into friendships with some excellent people so as you read his misadventures and worries there is also a sense of hope. I grew very fond of Larry.

[Loraine Philliban · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have to say I really struggled to keep interested in this book but I persevered and finished it.
As a UK reader I found this extremely American and although it added to my vocabulary i found this very off-putting.
I enjoyed exploring all the varying relationships he made throughout and his struggle to adjust to a completely changed world.
Found it quite boring just not my cup of tea sorry.

[Jesse Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! A quick read in the best of ways. Continues the narrative from the first book What It Was Like but could also stand alone.
It reminded me why fiction is great!

[Tammy morse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought is book was written well and I never thought that this would be a book that I would be a great read. I followed very well. I thought that they would get revenge when they got out of prison . Just by the title and you have to read it .cover to cover to find out.