Later Days - by Chip Jacobs (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Now a USA Today Bestseller and 2025 Winner of the American Writing Award Winner for General Fiction! In an evocative follow-up to his Los Angeles Times bestselling Arroyo, Chip Jacobs returns with a gripping tale of brotherhood, recklessness, and footloose souls in the anything goes of late-seventies Southern California.

As their elite, all-boys prep school turns coed, transforming from suburban Lord of the Flies to gender-roiled soap-opera, two unlikely friends-Luke Burnett and Denny Drummond--alternate rescuing each other from self-destruction amid troubled home lives. Eager to maximize their era as invincible seniors at Stone Canyon Prep, they and their pals commandeer Bob's Big Boy, explore the secret world beneath Caltech, stumble into a possibly-supernatural lab animal, and grapple with near-ODs at a playoff game. Just as our heroes manage to graduate, their bond is shattered by a wild gunshot that'll haunt them for decades.

Twenty years later, Luke is a high-powered journalist with a nosediving career, while Denny, a visionary software engineer, is socked by a terminal diagnosis. Desperate to make amends for that coyote shot, Denny guilts his estranged friend into helping him, all climaxing with a Hail Mary bid to demystify mortality, with an assist from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, while reconnecting with what matters most.

Later Days is a powerful exploration of the ties that bind and break us. Perfect for readers drawn to rollercoaster friendships, forgiveness, and the raw beauty of life skimming its edges to Near-Death Experience. With insight into Pasadena's buried histories and the psychological baggage of growing up in the shadows of "Great Men" fathers, Jacobs' second novel is as emotionally resonant as it is intellectually sharp.

Review Quotes

"A classically intricate portrait of life in the 80's, paired with the unique realities of the fictional teens within, Jacobs has created a lyrical coming of age mottled with the complexities and fragility of growing up. Later Days slowly builds the characters within from teens as they mature amongst the backdrop of suburban society through to some of their final days as they battle sorrow, sympathy, the path not taken, and the life that could have been."-Jill Rey, For The Love Of The Page

"One part Dead Poet's Society and two-parts Lord of the Flies...Most significantly, the novel rejects the typical coming-of-age arc of redemptive suffering...an honest, emotionally rewarding (narrative). "--IndieReader

"Later Days by Chip Jacobs vividly captures the complexities of adolescence while mirroring the cultural and social dynamics of that era... Lovers of historical novels blended with humor, drama, and a poignant coming-of-age tale will find this an enthralling read."--Readers' Favorite

"Emotional and brilliantly written...the ups, downs, resentments, guilt, and ultimately, the love (the characters) have for each other...captured my heart...One of the most compelling and honest coming of age stories that I've read...This one's special."--Book Reviewer David Morgan

About the Author

Chip Jacobs is a genre-crossing author and prize-winning journalist. His first novel, Arroyo, about Pasadena, California's mysterious Colorado Street Bridge, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller, CrimeReads most anticipated book and Independent Book Publisher Award honoree. Among his other books are the international bestselling Smogtown, which he co-wrote with William J. Kelly and is under development for a streaming series, the acclaimed black-comedy, true-crime story, The Darkest Glare, and the Indies Book of the Year Finalist, Strange As It Seems. Jacobs' reporting and subjects have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Marketplace, CNN, LA Weekly, the Los Angeles Daily News, and elsewhere. Learn more at chipjacobs.com.