Guest post written by Barbara Anne Waite

Afraid of the Light

Paperback, 352 pages

Published June 16th 2020 by Kregel Publications

Written by Cynthia Ruchti

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Afraid of the Light is a contemporary novel that taught me some interesting, yet disturbing, facts about a serious subject.

Often when I read, I wince at parts of a story that seem unnecessary or too much fluff. This story fell into the wonderful category of perfect – no wincing, no disappointment, no fluff. I liked that there were not too many characters; and those main people became disclosed layer by layer, making it a bit like a mystery.

My all-time favorite books are Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, which some might call romance novels. But they are character driven, observations of behavior. That’s why Cynthia Ruchti’s character-driven novel was a perfect book for me. It is the story of a troubled clinical psychologist and some of her clients who are hoarders. Her rescue comes from a man driving a garbage truck. Yes, a character-driven contemporary mystery/romance that satisfied. It contains touches of humor and valuable truth woven throughout. It was an out-of-the-ballpark 5-star read for me, a totally satisfying novel.

This guest review was reposted from Goodreads with permission. Barbara Anne Waite is a nonfiction and historical fiction author. You can follow her reviews on Goodreads and learn about his books on her website. Waite’s most recent book is the historical novel, The Colour Box, about sisters Anne and Elizabeth Hart and their struggle against the injustice of slavery on the British island of Antigua in the eighteenth century.