For To Such Is the Kingdom

Available March, 2027

K.P. (Kevin) Kovacs

Available March, 2027

NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, 1967. When two young boys witness the brutal murder of a local convenience store owner, their lives are thrown into chaos. Terrified and convinced the killer is hunting them next, they flee to the Jersey Shore, hiding in plain sight while their hometown reels from the crime.

Weeks later, they return home believing the danger has passed. The police have arrested a suspect but the man in custody is not the killer they saw. And the real murderer knows exactly who can expose him.

In a working-class neighborhood shaped by poverty, racism, homophobia, and the rigid expectations of Parochial school culture, the boys face hostility from classmates, suspicion from neighbors, and pressure from every direction. As the wrongful arrest leads to a riveting courtroom battle, they wrestle with an impossible choice:

Should they cooperate with the police and help convict the real killer or keep quiet and hope justice somehow finds its way?

A gripping blend of intrigue, unlikely humor, misadventure, and moral tension, For To Such Is the Kingdom is a coming-of-age crime drama that explores conscience, courage, and the cost of truth. More entertaining than a day at the beach. And far more dangerous.

K.P. (Kevin) Kovacs was born and raised in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the setting of his first novel, For To Such Is the Kingdom. After early success with the University at Albany’s literary magazine, he took a brief writing hiatus to attend Rutgers Law School. After graduating, he worked as a Civil Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., followed by over thirty years in private practice trying cases in New Jersey.

After obtaining a master’s degree in history, he taught part-time for 10 years at Middlesex County College in Edison, N.J. This experience has informed his penchant for inserting historical digressions into his fiction. Tom and his wife Beth have three children and currently reside in Oswego, New York.

For to Such Is the Kingdom is one of the novels Kovacs is working on, centered around New Brunswick and the Jersey Shore.