A review by princesszinza
Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple by Deborah Layton
4.0
I've been interested with the Jonestown massacre since it happened. I followed the coverage in the Orange County Register when I was an adolescent. In fact, I played a newspaper game where I checked every day to see if there was a story about the tragedy. I found one in the paper everyday for almost a year after it happened. I was shocked to learn that the church close to the apartment I later moved to, the one that had broken windows and a for sale sign on it, was the infamous San Francisco People's Temple Church.
The author was a highly regarded church member who instigated the investigation which led to the deaths of congressman Leo Ryan and most of Jim Jones' followers. Her brother was the man who shot the congressman.
This was a fascinating and completely creepy read which will probably give me nightmares for days. I've always wondered if I'm the kind of person who could be lured into a cult. I had previously read of admirable things People's Temple did before Jim Jones became a paranoid, crazy, drug addict. This book makes it clear that this church was pretty heinous in its treatment of parishioners from early on. In fact, Jim Jones told his leadership that the church was just a ruse for the socialist organization he was forming. I don't think I could ever fall for all the paranoid lies that Jim Jones told. I don't really understand how Deborah Layton, obviously an intelligent person, did. I'm glad that she had the courage to leave and to tell her story.
The author was a highly regarded church member who instigated the investigation which led to the deaths of congressman Leo Ryan and most of Jim Jones' followers. Her brother was the man who shot the congressman.
This was a fascinating and completely creepy read which will probably give me nightmares for days. I've always wondered if I'm the kind of person who could be lured into a cult. I had previously read of admirable things People's Temple did before Jim Jones became a paranoid, crazy, drug addict. This book makes it clear that this church was pretty heinous in its treatment of parishioners from early on. In fact, Jim Jones told his leadership that the church was just a ruse for the socialist organization he was forming. I don't think I could ever fall for all the paranoid lies that Jim Jones told. I don't really understand how Deborah Layton, obviously an intelligent person, did. I'm glad that she had the courage to leave and to tell her story.