I didn't warm to this book at the beginning. The plot revolves around Laurence who has just been released after many years in prison for his association (ie disposing of the bodies) after a murder of a young girl Rachel after which he became known as the Ivy League Killer). The focus on us in public (and readers of crime novels) batting for the ex -convict sometimes wears thin and I did start off having very little compassion for the main character.
He also seemed to teetering on the edge of a return to crime and would be be able to be completely able to live his life outside the prison constraints (an association with an old school friend and the need to get his family inheritance from crooked lawyer Lesley Manville nearly blows the whole reformed character out of the window)
Laurence gets a job with Clemency USA, a liberal based charity organisation, helping reform ex offenders and giving them work experience, help with housing and getting them back on the straight and narrow.Laurence is also still having his sessions with Fusco (probation) who seems convinced this ex prisoner is a lost cause and will easily fall into trouble again.
When Laurence is tricked by someone he felt was a friend who splashes his story all over the press we can't help but feel concern that his attempts to reform are being obliterated by all around. The fact that hard cash and patronage of liberal charities was the priority against actually helping protect the vulnerable was an interesting and revealing turn of events.....
Slowly it is the people that not only Laurence begins to trust but that trust and like him that make a difference to his life. The role of Betsy (a relative of his supervisor at Clemency) is pivotal alongside her landlord Roland who owns an ailing antique shop but who both provide stability and friendship when he needs it the most.
The fact that violence is always a natural consequence for some always makes total belief in reform tricky but overall Laurence has to face his own demons and eventually trust and love to make a life for himself.
Good insight into the prison processes and criminal activity outside jail. A nice setting in Cape Cod and the day to day troubles an ex-con has in adjusting to life outside after many years (the IKEA scene is hilarious!) are handled well and I ended up totally wanting a happy (if not completely secure) ending. As it states at the beginning of the novel 'I have 4 sealed copies of this document which have been sent to (many legal representatives) mean even ex- prisoners now who have served their time still might need to be looking over their shoulder in danger as much as they did when within the prison walls.
Not my usual type of book but grew to enjoy.it

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When I Get Out is an intriguing novel about a man convicted of murder charges and getting released after serving his term. This novel is intense! While this is definitely a book you don’t forget, it went down some rabbit holes at times. It could’ve been cut shorter without losing out on pertinent details of the story. Peter Seth is an author to follow.

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

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 down himself.

A big thanks to Peter Seth, NetGalley, and The Story Plant for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book for two separate reasons. One is intensely personal: I grew up on Long Island and spent some time with a girlfriend that lived across the bridge in New Rochelle, so I am very familiar with the locales mentioned in this novel. And that brings me to my next reason. It is a novel, although disguised as a "tell-all" book from a noted murdered who gets out of the slammer after serving 40 years behind bars. This first novel is well written and very realistic account of the challenges from an ex-con at returning to normal society, and some of the challenges that he faces. If you are a fan of true crime you will enjoy this book's adventures and challenges. Highly recommended.