Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Beautiful poignant book. I love the driver he is a beautiful man who means well. It is such a sensitive topic for some and it was handled with such Grace and compassion thankyiu

Brendan, one of life’s losers, has had to resort to driving Über cabs for a living in LA. He’s worn down with the cares of the world on his shoulders, the sort of man who doesn’t do what he really wants as he’s too busy pleasing everyone else. One day he got rather more than he bargained for with one particular passenger. The central topic of this novel is abortion, a highly emotive subject in the States. I think I now know more about Übers than I ever needed or wanted to! Plus I get it that not everyone is nice or gives tips so think having all those people using the cab was labouring the point a tad. I didn’t find the theme very interesting and much preferred some of DK’s earlier books. Didn’t care much for Brendan or his wife either. All in all, disappointing sadly.

In Afraid of the Light, we meet Brendan, 56, who is married to Agnieska, 54, and they have a daughter called Klara, 24. After 27 years, Brendan was made redundant from his job as a regional sales director for a big electrical cable company called Auerbach and now works long hours as an Uber driver in Los Angeles, dealing with aggressive and rude customers, earning the minimum wage and living on the brink of losing his livelihood at any moment – if someone complains about his car or behaviour, he’s likely to be let go by Uber.

One day, Brendan picks up a woman called Elise Flouton, a retired UCLA professor and women’s rights activist, and drops her outside what turns out to be an abortion clinic, where she volunteers, and it’s from this point that his world quite literally explodes. He gets caught up in events that make him question his own beliefs and those of his family and friends and he learns things about them that shock him to the core. He becomes involved in tense and dangerous situations and the lives of several people are put at risk. Can Brendan help to resolve the situation before his close family members are hurt?

In between fascinating observations of his mainly unpleasant passengers, we learn more about Brendan and his life and family – his childhood, how his parents got together, how he met his wife, their religion and beliefs, their daughter, etc. It makes for intriguing reading and really helps to build a picture of our main protagonist, who often does what is expected of him and what he thinks he should do, rather than what he actually wants to do. He is struggling and regretful and quite literally ‘afraid of the light’ at times.

From a rather relaxed start, the pace speeds up rapidly and I was surprised by the direction that the book took and found it very dark, gripping and tense and I flew through it in less than a day and couldn’t put it down. It’s engagingly written, covers some very emotive topics and is very powerful and thought provoking.

I haven’t read any books by the author before but the synopsis for Afraid of the Light was intriguing and I was keen to read it. This compelling and emotional thriller includes some difficult issues including family relationships, grief, religion, abortion and a person’s choices in life, and made me question my own beliefs and thoughts.

I really enjoyed this provocative and enthralling novel; it was cleverly plotted and made a big impression on me and I was still thinking about it days later. I will definitely be checking out the author’s back catalogue and reading more of his books soon!

Another unputdownable book from Douglas Kennedy, whose books I've always been very fond of. Afraid of the Light has a slow but compelling start in which Uber driver Brendan, an electrical engineer who has been let go from his job as a salesman, counts the dollars and lives from one ride to another under the glare of the California sky, escaping his loveless marriage with American Spirit cigarettes and strip-mall junk food that's packing the pounds on him and clogging his arteries, which aren't helped by the LA traffic.

Brendan's life changes when he picks up Elise, the archetypal older 'class act,' of a woman who often appears in Kennedy novels. A retired professor, Elise is a doula who helps out women at abortion clinics, and when the two get caught up in an act of vandalism and death, their lives become intertwined and Brendan has to face some hard choices, not least whether to align himself with his wife's increasingly pro-life Catholic sentiments or his beloved daughter's pro-choice feminism. As is often the case with Kennedy books, the story ends in a shoot-em-up with a defined bad guy, the transfer of large sums of money and property, and the self-imposed exile of two of the main characters to places not explored earlier in the book (Arizona and Amsterdam). I enjoyed this tobacco-cured thriller and story of an underdog turned reluctant hero.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for chance to review. This book is brilliant and I could not put it down. After a slow start exploring Brendans hand to mouth existence as an Uber driver it sparks to life and goes along at a cracking pace. It is thought provoking on a number of levels, highlighting social situations and how people are boxed into impossible situations through lack of work and money. It is a story of an ordinary man trying to exist on a day to day basis suddenly dragged into the anti abortion argument with terrifying results. Well written and very readable.

Often Douglas Kennedy puts over what it is to be part of the elite, surviving in coffee shops and absorbing culture, often from big money even if temporarily without it.

This is a poor blue collar worker of immigrant parents, who has settled for a life of downtrodden monotony - always keeping in his place. Who finds himself slaving away as an Uber driver who has a fare which puts him in the wrong place st the wrong time.
The fascinating detail of how a few dollars up or down can make such difference is just as absorbing as stories he has written about the affluent.
Once things start to unravel they the action keeps going and the pressure mounts. At one point Brendan's misfortunes rival those of Job but it is all do reasonable and how society works.
Just don't expect to be able to put the book down!

It has been a long time since I have read anything by Douglas Kennedy whose books I have always loved, so I was eager to read this one.
It is always refreshing to read a different type of book. Described as a social thriller it had lots of moral issues, excellent and interesting characters, a lot of pace and grabbed me from the very beginning until the very end.
One of those books that I could not put down. Excellent read.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy in exchange for a honest review.
5 stars

I was excited to read this book as it comed highly recommended by a trusted friend.
But somehow around half pint I kinda lost interest and had to dnf.
Not sure why exactly, maybe the topic itself is harder to read for me personally.
What I have read though is really good and interesting.
Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Thank you to @HutchHeinemann and @DKennedy_Novels for this advanced copy of Afraid of the Light in return for an honest review. Afraid of the Light was published on 8th July 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Brendan is a man who lives his life following rules and keeping other people happy. He has stayed in a marriage that is not filled with love and worked in a job that does not give him satisfaction. When he loses that job, the only opportunity available to him in his sixties is to drive for Uber.

One of his fares changes his life. Elise is a retired professor and spends her retirement volunteering for a charity that supports women through abortions. When Brendan drives Elise to an abortion clinic, his life changes forever.

General Thoughts 🤔

This book certainly packed a punch. I didn’t think that anything was over dramatised and that was what made it even more frightening to me. I probably find it too easy to live in a bubble where people are accepting, rational and are considered to be thinkers. That makes it easy for me to forget that there are still people in the world with harmful thoughts and beliefs. It is those people that Brendan lived amongst even though he did not share their beliefs.

Living in the UK, I could argue that pro-life activism isn’t such a problem here however I am inclined to think that it probably is, it’s just not as publicised or as blatant. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a woman facing danger during what could be one of the hardest moments of her life. It terrifies me to think that women can be attacked for making a choice about their own body.

Characters 👬👭👫

My heart was drawn to Brendan right from the beginning. It must be hard to get to the later stages of your life and realise that your decisions have always been made for other people rather than yourself. However, I think that this helped in giving him the strength to break ranks so to speak and do what he believed to be right.

Elise was a force to be reckoned with and I think that any woman would be lucky to have Elise in their corner. She was certainly a strong woman and used her privilege to help others. I found it interesting that these two characters had very different lives yet shared so much in common.

Writing Style ✍️

As I mentioned earlier, I certainly didn’t feel like there was any dramatisation in this book. It was written in a way that was almost a bit flat, but it suited the subject matter perfectly. It was so brutally honest and blunt that it hit me right in the gut. This author definitely knows how to write a book about an emotive subject matter without making it read like a saga.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I really don’t know what I was expecting from this book but I definitely got a slap in the face of reality and emotion. It’s harsh and I didn’t find it an easy book to read, but I feel like I have gained something from reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed Afraid of the Light and would definitely recommend reading it.

I am a huge Douglas Kennedy fan and it always amazes me that more of my bookish friends haven't heard of him before (I've put them right).
I liked Brendan, I could relate to him. He just wants to get on with life and not rock the boat too much. This is the sort of character that Kennedy writes so well, going through the everyday life issues. While driving his uber to try and make ends meet Brendan managed to get caught up in the anti abortion debacle that is gripping so many communities at the minute.
This book makes a big political statement, at a time when I think it is really needed. It looks at abortion, the role of the church, the role of families, survival.
Another excellent read from Kennedy

Thank you to #Netgalley & Penguin for an ARC in return for an honest review.
I am a Douglas Kennedy fan and for me Afraid of the Light is one of his best books yet. DK returns to America for this .his latest book. DK is a master of describing the small lives of middle class Americans.
The main character Brendan is a recently laid off engineer, now working as an Uber driver. His marriage is in ruins and having spent his whole life obeying his parents and the rules of society he finds himself increasingly isolated and unhappy.
Then what appears to be an ordinary fare turns Brendan's life upside down and makes him face issues that he has been burying for years.
It would be easy to consign Afraid of the Light to the family noir genre but it is so much more than that. The effects of upbringing and filial relationships Brendan and his father and Brendan and his daughter Klara are also explored. The radicalisation of Christian religions is also a theme. Power and control instead of love and kindness, creating situations where there are no grey areas only increasingly violent actions.
Afraid of the Light's considered look at the polarising effects of beliefs and how a person's experience can be used to create radicals is well expressed. This book made me think and examine my own beliefs and I thank Douglas Kennedy for an intelligent, nuanced read.
4.5⭐

I always get excited when I see a new Douglas Kennedy novel is out and I raced through this one; he is just such a great storyteller. I really love the way he tackles big themes - (in this instance) grief, guilt, responsibility, regret, religion - and packages them up in a page-turning thriller. Great stuff.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have not read anything from this author for a while and I shall be changing that. Fast paced read, good characters and an even better storyline

Douglas Kennedy is a remarkable author, I always find his books thought-provoking and captivating. This book features Brendan, struggling to make a living as a cab driver, struggling with a marriage which has been eroded by tragedy who unwittingly becomes caught up in pro_life/pro-choice clashes. It is riveting and challenging with great depths of characterisation.

I was looking forward to reading this story but the amount of swearing put me off reading this book.