A Light in the Forest

An intense and gripping book about the weight of secrets and the restorative power of friends and family is released by Melissa Payne, the bestselling author of The Night of Many Endings.

All that Vega Jones has left when she flees an abusive relationship is her two-month-old child and the van she was raised in. Her late mother, a wanderer, abandoned the small Ohio town she was headed to years ago. Her mother cautioned that it's one full of nobody. For Vega to lie low, feel safe, and possibly discover more about a past her mother never discussed, it's the perfect haven.

Vega becomes friendly with the community and her new friends, including the sympathetic Eve, a local farmer whose near-death experience gave her more than just her life back, and Heff, the young deputy and artist who prefers his yard art to actual enforcement. But even in this friendly neighborhood, there's a hint of unease, rumors of a tragedy that happened in the woods years ago, and a mystery that's somehow tied to Vega in a way she never could have imagined.

Vega learns that even in the deepest of circumstances, there can be light in unexpected places as she navigates a path of increasing dangers and revealing truths while on the run as a mother.