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When a savage home invasion results in the death of a town's most glamorous couple, the surviving friends and relatives of the victims must navigate the emotional aftermath: Exasperated high school Vice-Principal Zachary Rivers makes a final effort to reach a troubled student. Town librarian, Shelby Blythe, the eldest daughter of the murder victims, begins a correspondence with Billy Lawson, her parents' murderer. Evelyn Kavanaugh, a retired marketing manager and beloved family friend of the Blythes, embarks on a luxurious cruise as a prelude to suicide. Noam Russell, Billy Lawson' s best friend, returns to Benfield to claim a share of his deceased father' s estate. Samantha Blythe' s maternal attempt to help an employee evokes a renewed desire to connect with her own family. The spaces between stories are haunted by echoes of the deceased couple's life, from the ignorant bliss of first impressions and great expectations to the tumultuous troubles of middle age, and, finally, an undying hope for reconciliation.
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Reviews
"In an innovative and daring reimagining of the literary crime novel, author Jonathan Kravetz has created a killer novel-in-stories that explores the impact of a brutal home invasion upon the lives of the victims' surviving relatives and friends. Told with distinctive wit and wisdom, and caulked with flickers of the dead couple's romance, How We Were Before is the rare work that glides with grace, both forward and backward, through time and emotion. The murdered Blythes might easily be our own neighbors. They might easily be ourselves. Kravetz has created a world that is panoramic and yet touches all too close to home. A brilliant debut."
Jacob M. Appel, author of Millard Salter's Last Day and many other books of fiction and no
"HOW WE WERE BEFORE is a beautiful collection of connected stories about well-drawn characters who are living in the aftermath of a horrific town event that affects all their lives. Jonathan Kravetz writes beautifully about themes and realities that transcend class and politics barriers, and therefore reminds us of what we all have in common, what we have to lose, and what can keep us going. This is a wise and poignant book."
Alice Elliott Dark, author of Fellowship Point and In the Gloaming