A Deadly Influence
From bestselling author Mike Omer comes the first in a new series full of the psychological twists and police procedural turns that his fans have come to know and love.
Lieutenant Abby Mullen is no stranger to crisis. As the hostage negotiation instructor for the NYPD, she deals with worst-case scenarios every day. Nothing fazes her anymore.
That all changes when she gets a call from Eden Fletcher, a fellow survivor of the infamous Wilcox cult. The two haven't spoken since the night of a tragic, fiery massacre, when their paths diverged. But now Eden needs Abby's help: someone has kidnapped her son and is demanding a $5 million ransom. As Abby throws herself into the case, she can't help but wonder why the kidnapper has targeted Eden. But Eden refuses to talk. She's silent about the relics of their shared past hanging on her walls. About the kidnapper's possible motives. About what's happened in the years since she and Abby parted ways.
As the truth closes in, Abby realizes that her past may not be as far behind as she thought...and it's come home to collect.
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Community Reviews
I've mentioned before that a huge pet peeve of mine in thrillers, is when someone is considered a “specialist” in a behavioral science position within a police force or the FBI, and they don't clearly explain their methods. This book does it in such a great way. I’m also a fan of Mike Omer’s Zoey Bentley series, in which he does the saw thorough explanations with behavioral profiling.
I loved that this book dives into the thought process of what it’s all to be recruited for a cult. They main character, Abby Mullen, is an expert in hostage negotiations and an expert in cults and how people within cults, think. I've never been able to understand how someone’s mind can be reprogrammed into believing some crazy beliefs. However, this book did a great job of explaining that foreign concept to the reader. I also enjoyed the descriptions and talk-through on how to “deprogram” someone who has been in a cult and the difference between “brainwashing” and someone’s mind being “programmed” to think a different way. Before this book, I thought they were synonyms for one another.
From this review, it sounds like I must love this books, right? Well, yes and no. I loved the psychology behind the main character’s thought process and I enjoyed most of the plot. My problem? I'm not really interested in plots that center around cults.
Also, as I was listening to the book, I kept forgetting what book I was listening to. It's usually easy for me to distinguish book plots from my audiobooks, but I struggled with this one.
However, as I’m writing this review, I think I’ve talked myself into giving it a four-star rating.
Just because a cult centered plot isn't for me, that's a me problem, not the book’s.
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