Review: Scary and All Too Plausible!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 28, 2013
The Prophet Motive: A Cult Thriller, a debut book by Eric Christopherson, grabbed me from the first page and didn't let me go until I finished it.The book stars John RIchetti, a police investigator who, as a child, lost his parents and nearly his life in the Jonestown mass suicide at the People's Temple in Guyana back in 1978. More than 30 years later, he's investigating the strange suicide of a woman who appears to be connected to a cult named Earthbound.  Richetti's "partner" is police psychologist and cult expert Marilyn Michaelsen. Together, they infiltrate Earthbound and meet the charismatic and enigmatic leader, L. Ron Piper.The author obviously put in more than a little research into cult dynamics, which gave this book enough authenticity to be uncomfortably realistic. As John and Marilyn are initiated into the cult, they undergo a series of challenges designed to brainwash them into obedience and submissiveness. Despite their mission to infiltrate and uncover the truth behind the cult, both of them become compromised as they are deprived of sleep and forced into altered states of consciousness, their defenses broken down. It soon becomes apparent that L. Ron Piper may have the upper hand in this cat-and-mouse thriller.The character development of Richetti, Michaelson and Piper was excellent. Even better was the description of Earthbound. Have you ever wondered how a thousand innocent souls could have voluntarily ended their lives at the People's Temple? This book does an outstanding job of telling us what goes on behind the scenes, what motivates people to join cults and believe in them to the point of their unhesitating willingness to die at the whim of their leader.This book was written very professionally and well edited, with almost no typos or grammatical errors. The plot was well thought-out, the story was focused and, well, it was a darn good read!  Obviously, the subject matter is disturbing and at times, very violent, so this book is certainly not for everybody. I give it a full 5 stars.