A family confronts long-buried secrets as it struggles for forgiveness and redemption in this breathtaking story set against the majestic beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

In the summer of 1990, fourteen-year-old Trevor Riddell gets his first glimpse of Riddell House. Built from the spoils of a massive timber fortune, the legendary family mansion is constructed of giant whole trees and is set on a huge estate overlooking Seattle’s Puget Sound. Trevor’s bankrupt parents have begun a trial separation, and his father, Jones Riddell, has brought Trevor to Riddell House with a goal: to join forces with his sister, Serena, dispatch the ailing and elderly Grandpa Samuel to a nursing home, sell off the house and property for development, divide up the profits, and live happily ever after.

But as Trevor explores the house’s secret stairways and hidden rooms, he discovers a spirit lingering in Riddell House whose agenda is at odds with the family plan. Only Trevor’s willingness to face the dark past of his forefathers will reveal the key to his family’s future.

A Sudden Light is a spellbinding, atmospheric work rich with unconventional characters, scenes of transcendent natural beauty, and unforgettable moments of emotional truth that reflect Garth’s outsized capacity for empathy and keen understanding of human motivation.

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Video Book Trailer

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Explore The North Estate

Now there’s a special website dedicated to A Sudden Light, with expanded content on the book’s themes, characters, and settings.

The home page features an artist’s rendition of The North Estate, the central location for the novel. Hover over items in the picture and follow the links; you’ll find each topic is relevant to the novel in some way.

Come and explore The North Estate. Check out ASuddenLight.com.

 

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Excerpt from the audio book

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Garth Introduces A Sudden Light

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Buy the Book

Dear Reader,

I am a big fan of reading, first and foremost, so I encourage you to get your books any way you can and in any format you prefer: e-readers, hardcover, paperback, audio; your local independent bookseller, a global e-tailer, a library, borrow from a friend, read over someone’s shoulder on the bus. All are good.

That being said, I encourage you to support your local businesses. Sometimes we forget that the stores in our home towns weave together a fabric that enriches our communities; if storefronts on our Main Streets go dark, our towns will lose their vitality, and we will suffer as a society. So if you can pre-order my book from your local bookstore, you will be helping your community as a whole, and you’ll rack up double-bonus karma points which can be redeemed as soon as your next lifetime!

If you don’t have a local bookstore in your community, I would love it if you used the Indiebound website to find a local bookseller nearby that can assist you.

Or, of course, any of these wonderful retailers are fine choices as well:

Into the audio thing? Here ya go:

Thanks for putting my book on your reading list. I’d love to hear what you think. Send me a note through my Contact Page.

Sincerely,

Garth

P.S. If you’d like a personalized copy of any of my books, please come see me when I’m in your town. Here’s my events calendar. If I won’t be in your town, you can contact my local bookstore, Third Place Books, and they can take your order for personalization and mail the book directly to you.