A Light in the Forest

A Novel

By: Melissa Payne

Narrated by: Kay Eluvian

From Melissa Payne, bestselling author of The Night of Many Endings, comes an emotional and suspenseful novel about the weight of secrets and the healing power of friends and family.

Vega Jones escapes an abusive relationship with nothing but her two-month-old baby and the van she grew up in. Her destination is a small Ohio town her late vagabond mother left years ago. It’s one full of nobodies, her mother warned. That makes it the ideal refuge for Vega to lie low, feel safe, and maybe learn more about a past her mother never spoke of.

Vega warms to the town and to new acquaintances like Heff, the young deputy and artist who prefers his yard art to actual policing, and empathetic Eve, a local farmer whose near-death experience gave her more than just her life back. But even in this welcoming community, there’s an undercurrent of something unsettled, talk of a tragedy that unfolded in the woods years ago, and a mystery connected to Vega in ways she couldn’t have anticipated.

As a mother on the run and following a path of mounting risks and illuminating secrets, Vega discovers that even during the darkest of times, there’s light in unexpected places.

©2022 Melissa Payne (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

”…brought vividly to life in a true 'theatre of the mind' experience by the narrative storytelling skills of Kay Eluvian…riveting entertainment.”—Midwest Book Review

“The authentic characters and their realistic struggles make this introspective tale entirely believable. Vega’s resilience is sure to endear her to readers.”—Publishers Weekly

“A Light in the Forest is a thrilling portrait of women finding their footing when all odds seem stacked against them.”—BookTrib

Excellent book. Narration doesn't quite fit

Highly recommended listen, although the narrator sounds older than the (highly relatable) characters being portrayed. Still, the narration is good, and certainly not a reason to avoid this book, bc it's great. Listen to the sample, and read it yourself rather than giving it a pass. Personally, I consider the Audible version a keeper. Relevant, compassionate book.

Good story

Good story with a few twists and turns. Voice characters could have been a bit better.

The Narrator

I did not hate this book, but I did not care for the narration. The voice did not fit the characters, and honestly that “southern drawl” was offensive to actual southerners. -not to mention that the setting was predominately Ohio, which is not in the South. She really should have done more research on locations and dialects and put more effort into consistency. This was hard to listen to, but I did finish and overall enjoy the audiobook.

The diversity of characters

Although I loved the story and the characters, I did not care for the narrator. When reading straight, his voice was sort of sinister. When performing a southern accent he sounded harsh and too redneck.

LOVE!

What a well written story. The characters all came together so well. Highly recommend if you need a mood boost.

Surprisingly Moving

A slow burn of a story. The tension builds a little more with each chapter. Satisfying and well written. The narration was strong. Not typically something I would read, but I’m very glad I gave it a chance.

Loved this

Timely subject. Touching story. Bravo. The characters were so real, so layered with love, hate, fear and courage. Everyone should read this book.

Great story telling

A story about family, community, and support. Told from several character a point of view and bouncing back and forth from 1995 to 2021, we hear the story of trauma and how a young girl, young boy, and community reeled, supported, and grew from it. Somewhat predictable, but great story telling!

I don’t understand the negative reviews about the narrator. Yes, I was unsure at first but if you actually listened to the themes of the book then you’d understand why this narrator was chosen. She did a great job. #isupportyouKay

Heartwarming

I loved the story however the voices could use a bit of work especially with he voices of the female characters.

Long ready

This book was engaging and interesting. I like the details of some of the board era, clothing, and situation that is around them.