Thirty years ago Love is living in a commune with her family, looking for a harmonious way of life. Over the years the cause changes to a darker direction. In present day, 2 children go missing over night and despite a full search, the only clue found is a mask. The investigation start to link to the events of the commune which has since been dispersed.
The story is split between several view points and different time periods but is easy to follow. The suspense builds as snippets of the past are revealed.
An intriguing plot with plenty of tension and suspense. An enjoyable read, having crime, cult and conflict all mixed in.

Too dark and gory for me with a mix of what seemed to be rather stereotypical characters. Not that I know anything about cults but they all seemed to fit with what I would have imagined. Two timelines that ultimately make sense within the plot.

This is a great read by Abby Davies about a hidden community and an abduction of two young children. Likable characters and very un likeable characters are in this book. A fast paced thriller of a book, highly recommended.

Hannah follows Greg, her six year old brother out of the house one night. He is determined he has to meet his friend to meet a fairy but before she can get him to come home they witness something awful & run into the woods. Detective Pearline Otterline (what on earth possessed the author to come up with such an awful name???) fights to find them- hampered by their mother Lily who is intent on finding them herself. This forms part of the story. The other part deals with the Cult run by Uncle Saviour, seen from the point of view of Love- a young girl. Her story is told from over twenty years ago & through the years. Uncle Saviour is a deeply dislikeable disturbed man & in Love he seems to have found his perfect mate! Like most of these things, a nice idea of a community of people living & sharing is perverted by a megalomaniac & his kingdom!

It takes a while to put the two strands together. It was a story that had a lot to recommend it, spoiled somewhat by the irritation of Lily & side-lines about Pearline. I rounded this up to four stars because I had to find out how it ended but for me it is not without its faults. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

A good read for this time of year. Chapters are not too long and a nice mix from different character perspectives.
Missing children in books is always an edge of the seat guarantee (for me anyway) I did get a little lost and confused at certain points in the book, the way it jumps between now and history and some of the names of the characters take a lot to get used to.
Overall a good read that I would recommend people give a try. Especially at this time of year!

This is one of those books where I can't decide if I enjoyed it or not. The beginning was very promising when two children went missing after a violent confrontation and I was drawn in to wanting to know what happened and why. Then the book kept jumping between the present and the past where we discover the cult. I found it at times confusing especially with the plethora of different names of people in the cult and working out who each person was. There were some very slow bits where I found myself skipping through to get to more interesting parts. The ending definitely gained pace and the conclusion was quite satisfying. I would definitely give this author another go.

This was a slow burner for me. The beginning is really good then it slows right down. The story alternates between the past and the present and it's told through three of the main characters Love, Lily and Pearline. It's quite intense in places but it's also rather sad at the same time. The characters are easy to identify with but the one name I didn't like was Pearline Ottoline, the detective, her name just didn't suit the character in my eyes. Their are a few twists and the ending is really good. Overall it's quite a good thriller/police procedural/psychological book, it's gripping in parts but a tiny bit slow.

Oct 31, 2021 · edit
it was ok

I'm still not sure what I feel about this book, I'm not sure if I'm just choosing the wrong books or if my reading preferences have changed.

This novel has 2 main threads, a historical perspective focusing on a cult in search of eternal life and a child abduction in the present time.

I did find the information about the cult absorbing and interesting, but found the names used by the author very distracting and unnecessary. Who is actually called Pearline? I lost interest about a third of the way in but did find it again in the final third.

I'm sorry not to be more positive about this novel as I know that the author is popular.

This is the strangest of stories. The story begins in the present when two young children disappear. Then drops back to a time in the 1980s when a commune was set up.

The cult had just happened and hadn’t seemed planned. Uncle Saviour owned a farm where his brother and his family came to live, then others just wandered in and didn’t leave. It was a calm setting where they all stayed together and helped out. Then it was decided, that they should take new names, hence Uncle Saviour. His niece, six-year-old Zoe, became Love. It is Love that tells the story of how the cult grows, not only in size but its special needs too. What begins as a haven turns into something much more sinister.

In the present-day, two children disappear in the middle of the night, and the body of a dead man is found not far from where the children were last seen. The mum takes charge, flying around trying to interrogate everyone the children know. A nightmare for the police who are trying to solve the case.

The story is shocking, stomach-churning and sickening. There are some very hard chapters to read, which will leave you with haunting images. Child abuse is quite rampant, so if you have such triggers, do be aware. There are distressing scenes because these monsters are real. The story is well written, and it has clever twists that will linger with you for a long time after you put the book down.

I wish to thank the publisher and Net Galley for an e-copy of this book, which I have reviewed honestly.

Oh my, this story is scary 😬 It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I loved the short chapters between characters. I found it unnerving as it was about missing children but well written, well put together and a gripping story. The names of the cult members took a little bit of getting used to, but it was a good addition. Love was an unnerving character, as was Uncle Saviour. I kept wanting to talk some logic into them!! I’m hoping this might be the start of a series with DI Pearline Ottoline!

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for sending me this book in exchange for a honest review.

Great book not my normal type of read but I did enjoy reading this book . Would recommend a read . Well worth a read .

other loves me was an absolutely fantastic book and I was so excited to be invited on the book tour for The Cult.

I was not disappointed at all with this book and could not put this book down

The book is a perfect read for the spooky season and if you can squeeze it in October, I would urge you too!

The book is extremely edgy and creepy.

There are some upsetting scenes throughout, but they add to the storyline.

I loved meeting DI Ottoline and I can’t wait to read more of her!

The book was unique, highly original and unputadownable

Flipping between the past and the current date this thriller does draw you in but at the same time is a little unbelievable. The main thing that will stay with me is the detectives silly name ! Not for me, sorry.

Two seemingly unlinked timelines. But they are linked and as more information unfolds it becomes clear just how they are related.
Very well written, very creepy and very disturbing. I was totally gripped, this one is a real page-turner, very hard to put down.

Two timelines, two stories. The unsettling description of a cult group who believe in peace, harmony, self-sufficiency and eternal life! The other story is about the disappearance of two young children who witness a violent scene and escape into the woods, only to disappear. As the chapters alternate the two stories vie for the attention of the reader, both reaching a tense climax. Well paced with interesting character portrayals. My first read by this author, not my last.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Abby Davies/HarperCollins UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Now: Two children go missing. That alone is a scary thought. But that’s not the only scary thing in this story. It was heart wrenching to see how Lily slowly breaks down. Her mental health problems, the mission children and a maybe cheating husband.
Then: Love, her sister Peace and Charity, her mother, moving to her Uncle Saviour and his new community. Over the years it became more clear that Love craves the power of being the leader. But everything seems to fall apart when members seeking for an out.
I don’t know if I liked any of the characters. But Love was, without a doubt, the strongest and will stay with me the longest.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher HarperCollins UK for the ARC.

On the whole I found this book to be quite intriguing, although it becomes progressively darker and creepy as the two main storylines converge. This is told between two timelines beginning with 1987 where Love is 6 years old and relates her experiences of the commune where she lives. The main theme here is Love's absolute obsession with the cult's leader, Uncle Saviour, and her increasing disdain for her mother and sister. As Love's point of view of the cult moves forward across the years, Uncle Saviour's delusions become more bizarre, bordering on horrific, however Love remains in awe of him.

In the present, 10yr-old Hannah and 7yr-old Greg leave their house at 2am with Hannah reluctantly following her brother in his quest to see a fairy - invited by a note he'd received at school. Entering an undesirable area they witness a murder and are chased by two men into the woods.
Called to investigate the murder is DI Pearline and her murder team where they hear of the two children being chased. Subsequently they identify them from a missing persons' report and they turn their investigation to finding the children.

The two storylines eventually converge with several twists and heart-stopping moments.

Characters-wise - I really didn't like any of them and as the members of the cult increase and their names change, it became a little confusing to keep up with. Pearline spends too much time on memories of a previously unsolved disappearance of a young girl - always seeing herself as a failure and doubting her abilities, together with her past treatment by her father, her thoughts haunt her. Lucy - Hannah & Gregg's mother, is a mental wreck and her musings over how much she is to blame get rather repetitive. Love has a heart of stone for anyone other than Uncle Saviour - she really plays a good horror part in this.
Overall I found a good deal of the narrative repetitive and boring.

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?

After reading 'Mother Loves Me' I was so excited to be given the chance to read Abby Davies' next thrilling book 'The Cult' , and WOW!!! What a read it was! I was completely hooked. I was really enthralled with Love's character, the way the author made me feel empathy, hatred and respect for one person was really clever.
Set ithrough multiple timelines I was a little wary that the storyline would knock off track and I'm glad to say that it didn't and the pages flowed seamlessly throughout, with an ending I didn't predict. There could have been several ending scenarios, which makes 'The Cult' an even better reason to read. Another brilliant, creepy, psychological read.

Well done Abby, you've done it again!!

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @Abby13Richards and @HarperCollinsUK for this advanced copy of The Cult in return for an honest review.

Description 🔖

In the middle of the English countryside, a man going by the name of Uncle Saviour starts a community that is supposed to promote purity, peace and a harmonious way of living. What started off as a paradise and place of love soon turned into living hell.

Thirty years later, two children have gone missing and have left very little trail behind them. Their parents are falling apart and the police are at a loss. The only clue that DI Ottoline has is a mask that was left in the woods. Could looking back at events that took place thirty years ago give them the leads that they need?

General Thoughts 🤔

It’s pretty clear from the title what this book is about and I was prepared for that but I wasn’t as prepared for just how dark it was going to get. I have a bit of a thing for cults, I find them so fascinating. Most of the time I get interested in the concept of everyone falling for some weird theory and becoming completely engrossed in that theory. What this book added was that the “community” started with what seemed like good intentions. I wasn’t quite able to pinpoint when it all went south, but it definitely did. It was at that point in the book that I continued to read with a “wtf” face and the tension was turned up.

As enthralled as I was with the cult aspect of this story, I was still interested in the children that went missing in the present day and for some reason, I don’t feel like as much attention was given to this side of the storyline. I wanted to feel immense empathy for the parents and be holding back my own tears as they searched for their kids, but I felt a little bit disconnected from them for some reason. I’d be really interested to know how other people got on with these chapters of the book.

Characters 👭👬👫

There were quite a few characters to keep up with in this story. What I found difficult to begin with was that a lot of the characters had very unusual names so I struggled to keep on track with who was who. I got over this pretty quickly though and got to grips with it.

I liked Pearline as an investigating officer. I thought that she was very human which isn’t something that I feel from a lot of characters like her in thrillers. A lot of them are written to seem invincible and almost a bit robotic but I felt the emotion from Pearline and felt her fears for the children. However when it came to the investigation and in front of everyone that mattered, she was straight down the line and all about business.

Love was a complex character and a woman who needed help. She’d been with the community since she was a small child; she didn’t know any different. She was so conditioned that even her own mother who took her there couldn’t change her mind. I felt sorry for her for some of the book but there was a point when that definitely changed.

Writing Style ✍️

I loved that the book was written via two different timelines. This is one of my favourite structures and I think that Abby Davies did it well. I was clear about which timeline I was reading and didn’t ever feel confused; trust me I have read some books that have done this really badly.

I think that there was a huge amount of tension in the writing and the pacing of the book was matched perfectly to that. I wasn’t surprised about how the two timelines came together but I wasn’t mad about that. The two stories were chilling enough on their own, I didn’t need another big surprise.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I really enjoyed reading this book. I feel like it’s been a while since I read something that truly made me feel sick (unless I’ve erased it from my memory) so this felt particularly creepy. I see that Abby Davies has a book that she wrote before this one and I will definitely be adding that to my TBR list. If you’re going to read this book, be prepared to want to binge the whole thing.

This book has everything I look for in a book, creepy vibes, good characters and crime investigation.

The perspective of a cult member who was all in was really interesting and the way the characters are written in relation to the missing children is brilliant and really allows you to understand them.