After Midnight [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard Laymon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2006

When Alice's friend Serena goes away she stays in her house, with its sunken bathtub and big-screen TV. Best of all is the outdoor swimming pool. But one night a stranger walks out of the woods and jumps naked into the pool. Alice hopes he won't be coming to get her, like so many have done before.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although Laymon died in 2001, his U.K. novels have only recently gotten an American release; this 1997 title is a sordid, flawed gem, both stomach churning and erotic, and not infrequently at the same time. Narrated by paranoid, defiant 26-year-old Alice, the book opens on a peaceful night of house-sitting—but as Alice warns, "You can never be sure it's safe." Indeed, shortly after midnight she spots a strange man emerge from the woods and go swimming naked in the family pool. A fortunately timed phone call that's a wrong number gives Alice the chance to drive off the stranger, but sets in motion a 24-hour whirlwind of murder, terror and madness, beginning when Alice splits open someone's head with a Civil War saber—and escalating precipitously from there. Alice's matter-of-fact attitude toward her grisly handiwork can make her hard to sympathize with ("I felt rotten about killing him, but not particularly guilty"); supporting characters are easier to like, but don't get too attached. As the night wears on, Laymon piles on gory details and violent sex with perverse, over-the-top glee; it's definitely not for everyone and can strain credibility, but Alice proves to be one of Laymon's most original and memorable protagonists, and should keep hardened horror fans reading well past the stroke of midnight. (Mar.)
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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 438 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 084395180X
• ISBN-13: 978-0843951806
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 2.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #975,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Laymon's 'Secret' Message is in this book......, December 13, 2006

By 

PaulV01 "ReticentRomeo" (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After Midnight (Mass Market Paperback)

The English language editions of this book (published by Leisure in the US and Headline in the UK) contain a secret message which is refered to in the body of the book. To discover the secret message, you simply need to read the first letter from each chapter (including the introduction chapter) to unearth 'Alice's message. So, to get the ball rolling from the Intro, the first letter is H, the 1st chapter = I, 2nd = M, 3rd = Y, 4th = N, 5th = A, 6th = M, 7th = E.... etc

so from the intro chapter and chapters 1-7 it reads HI MY NAME .... the rest of the message... I guess you'll have to read the book, but its a nice little extra that Laymon incorporated into this book, and this book alone! Its not his best novel, Alice, acts in a way which very few people would but its a fair read and definitely worthy of any Laymonite's attention. Grab a copy today!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alice has got quite a story to tell you...a very bloody one..., February 28, 2006

By 

DanD - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: After Midnight (Mass Market Paperback)

Her name's not really Alice, of course; and naturally, all people and place names in her tale have been changed. To protect the innocent...and the guilty.

It begins with a midnight prowler, a man skinny-dipping in a pool. Alice is scared, yes, but not overly-so; she's had a hard, tumultuous life, one that's left her paranoid. She knows how to defend herself. That Civil War sabre hanging above the fireplace is a great self-defense weapon. Until she accidently kills someone with it...

From there it's a bloody ride, action piled upon action. While "After Midnight" is not the best Laymon novel of all time, it is certainly one of the better novels published since his death. Alice is not the most user-friendly protagonist; she's hard to sympathize with, at times, and yet you find yourself rooting for her and her psychotic ways. "After Midnight" is overly violent, bloody, and all-together disgusting...but that's Richard Laymon's mass appeal. With all the blood, it's easy to overlook Laymon's knack for character development and suspense; however, dig beneath the blood and gore of his novels, and what you'll find is one of the greatest suspense writers of the twentieth century. "After Midnight" is a superb horror/thriller that will keep you up...yes, here it comes: well after midnight.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A 4 1/2 STAR REVIEW, March 3, 2006

By 

Martin Boucher "Authorfan" (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After Midnight (Mass Market Paperback)

Alice is a woman on the edge. After experiencing self-defense gone wrong, she must find a way to free her binds from her mistake, while violent consequences ensue. Richard Laymon's AFTER MIDNIGHT is undoubtedly candy for the eye. Readers will have a field day following the misadventures of a protagonist not only tough but set with a mind as sharp as any pointed object. Again, the author doesn't just slowly but surely build up momentum, but throws it in a handful of action, suspense and gore that hold interest up until the edge-of-your-seat denouement that has to be read to be believed. Yes, Laymon is infatuated with the female form, and yes, his plot tends to be over the top, but his wicked pen sure compensates for these little "flaws". His sense of timing and deliverance make AFTER MIDNIGHT a fun grade-B treat that deserves its big following.-----Martin Boucher