Six-year-old Jamie Conklin is far from a cynical, hard-boiled detective. Later traces his literal and moral growth from an innocent boy to a 17-year-old with a more complex view of the world—fueled by his supernatural ability to see the dead. In the end, he achieves a realistic view of human frailty, eventually arriving at the titular “later.” Jamie’s adult perspective reflects the gritty realism and moral ambiguity of the hard-boiled detective genre, but he himself rejects the cynicism of traditional detectives.

Jamie sees the good in people, even former maternal figure Liz Dutton, and makes a conscious choice to reject cynicism when he chooses not to ask Uncle Harry (his biological father) about his conception. Rather than risk disillusionment, Jamie chooses to believe in human decency and conjures a fictional story about how he came to be. Still, he acknowledges that one can’t fully reject their inner darkness, and instead works toward becoming stronger so as to not be overpowered by the deadlight in the future.

While generally good-natured, Tia Conklin acts the part of a devouring mother. She’s overprotective of Jamie, while insensitive to the issues that come with his supernatural ability.