Gripping Books About Cults

When 14-year-old Evie befriends a group of girls she meets in a park, she is soon pulled into their isolated ranch community, which revolves around one charismatic leader. Driven by the intensity of her relationship with an older girl named Suzanne, Evie doesn’t realize how far she is falling to the whims of this Manson-like cult.

Starting with the murder of a woman and her infant child, Krakauer meticulously examines the origins and intricacies of a Fundamentalist and polygamist community that continues to exist in large numbers today. Shocking and compelling, this one is a must-read.

In February 1974, 19-year old Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, was kidnapped by a group calling itself Symbionese Liberation Army. Several months later, she came forward saying she had joined the group, then spent the next year on the run as she became complicit with the SLA’s crimes. Now, New Yorker writer and bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin records this bizarre and fascinating chapter in American history, from the kidnapping to the dramatic trial following Hearst’s arrest to the media frenzy that captured it all.

Held for questioning by the police, Clara Lawson is forced to examine every facet of her life as she slowly comes to terms with the truth behind her upbringing and her beloved husband’s secretive business. Told through a split narrative of “Then” and “Now”, the unraveling of Clara’s life is a psychological thriller you won’t want to miss.

The title of Arthur Goldwag’s anthology says it all; this book is perfect for readers looking to learn about a breadth of cults, conspiracies, and secret societies across history, including the Freemasons, the mafia, the Kennedy assassination, and of course, the Illuminati.

Seventeen-year-old Minnow is imprisoned in a juvenile detention center for a crime she committed after her escape from the tyrannical Kevinian cult, at whose authority she lost everything—including her own hands. In this dark work of fiction, Minnow must be willing to admit what she knows about the cult’s demise in order to reclaim her life.

Jayanti Tamm not just born into a cult, with parents who were avid followers of the spiritual guru Sri Chinmoy—she was born as the “Chosen One”, handpicked by Guru to be set apart. In this insightful memoir, Tamm reflects on her unusual upbringing and her ultimate decision to break free.