About This Book
The seventh novel by Richard Jan, AFRAID TO HOPE, in his masterfully crafted series, DYING TO SUCCEED, continues to build the drama of intrigue. John Van Laan, the main character in all seven novels, continues to be haunted by attempts on his life. This guy escapes more efforts to have him killed than a cat, and the suspense of these efforts in this novel carries from the beginning of its action-packed story to the very end. Hence, his fear of hope. We continue to gain deeper insight into this driven character. He now transcends power, wealth, and success. His struggles are now with his own self doubts, his guilt, and his love for the beautiful woman, Sandy, in his life. She is more fully developed in this novel, and we grow to become very fond of her. She provides the reader with a balanced perspective on John and on life. Both John and Sandy struggle with the role of God, faith, belief, fate, and destiny in their lives. They both come face to face with the reality of death, and this forces them to examine what really matters in life. How does one achieve love, what really is true, how do we find meaning? These are probing questions played out in the unfolding of the dramatic plot. Like all of the other novels, this one also takes you on journeys to various places, described with credibility. And evil lurks on the beach, in the bushes, and hidden in the shadows for both John and Sandy. Facing threats on their lives causes them to see life from very different perspectives. The novel probes the driven instinct to not only survive but to endure, to reach some fundamental understanding of life, to feel passion, and to taste the energy that moves us forward.Robert J. Van Dellen, Ph.D.
