Reviews

Fascinating! Most of the story set during the time the main character was involved with the cult, with flashbacks to the past of another person. The full extent of the cult's nastiness is revealed gradually. The author herself was in a cult for quite some time, so that added another layer of uncomfortable feeling on top of everything.

emilymaree10's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

bookdevour_bettie's review against another edition

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5.0

I found myself thinking about how easily someone (anyone, even myself) is manipulated into joining a cult. It was a very interesting and an eventful read. I really do recommend it.

stevienyx's review

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

thexantidote's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

kirkw1972's review against another edition

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4.0

I've read many thrillers but very few on the subject of cults so this one really appealed to me and I don't think it disappointed.

Sofia takes a job as a librarian at what seems like a new-agey mansion on a remote island after meeting owner Franz Oswald. As you'd expect things start off wonderful but slowly descend into a nightmare. I think the build up to the descent worked really well. There's great tension in the story and the 2 years Sofia is there fly by.

I think Franz could have been a bit more charismatic. I don't think the book really got that across properly and so I couldn't quite accept that people didn't leave at certain points in the story. Some minor characters were completely brainwashed by him but I didn't have enough belief in him to accept the why of that.

I'm intrigued by the fact this is classed as a Book 1 about Sofia so I'm now wondering as we don't get to see what happened to all the inhabitants of the sect if there is more to come on that or if she ends up in a whole new drama. I will though read on and find out.

annakoptenko's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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