Winston Graham attempts his most ambitious novel in "After the Act" …, an examination of a successful murderer which scraps all accepted clichés about remorse and retribution and tries to analyze, completely anew, what his reactions must be. Much though I admire the intent, I am forced to report that this is a moderately tedious book, despite exciting glints of insight. It takes forever to reach its starting point, and then continues to move, at the pace of a snail who has given up all hope of the Olympics, through a fuzzy thicket of imprecise words.

Anthony Boucher, "Criminals at Large: 'After the Act'," in The New York Times Book Review (© 1966 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission), May 15, 1966, p. 29.