Audiobook Review – The Cult

Title: the Cult

Author: Abby Davies

Genre: Mystery & Thriller

Goodreads Rating: 3.82

My Rating:

Source: Audiobook

Synopsis:

The gripping new thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last!
A hidden community…

Thirty years ago, in the English countryside, a commune was set up. Led by Uncle Saviour, it was supposed to be a place of love, peace and harmony. But what started out as paradise turned into hell.

A shocking abduction…

Now, two young children have vanished from their home in the middle of the night. Their parents are frantic, the police are at a loss.

A twisting case…

DI Ottoline is leading the search – her only clue a mask found in the woods. Could the key lie in events that took place decades ago, when a dream of a new way of life became something far more sinister?

My Review:

This story is told in multiple POV, switching from past to present. In the past we are at Uncle Saviour’s commune (cult) where Love is telling her story. I honestly found this community very weird and found it hard to gel with the characters. It was clear from the start that Uncle Saviour had a twisted view of what their world should be and his mission to achieve ‘Total Illumination’ often made me feel a little queasy. I felt for Love as she had clearly been brain washed into his way of thinking and this even led her to betray her own family. The only reason this one dropped some stars for me was due to a slightly slower pace at the start. Love’s story felt like it was at a simmering point for quite a while and so my attention often waivered.

In the present we follow the story of DI Ottoline and her investigation into two missing children as well as a few dead bodies. I enjoyed this part of the story a lot more and was keen to see what happened to Greg and Hannah. You have to admire Greg and Hannah’s mum Lily for her sheer determination to find her children and investigate herself. If either of my two boys were missing I don’t think I could sit at home waiting for news either. As it becomes clear that Hannah and Greg are involved and witnessed these murders I was desperate to know how this could be linked to the cult.

What started off as a slow thriller ending with a lot of drama. As the final scenes come together and the past catches up with the present it’s impossible to not get caught up in all the action. Will Lily find her children? What happened to the commune from thirty years ago? All these questions and more are answered in this twisted and creepy thriller.