Mystery Cults

Kate Bennett vanished from a parking lot eleven years ago, leaving behind her husband and young daughter. When she shows up at a Montana gas station, clutching an infant and screaming for help, investigators believe she may have been abducted by a cult. Kate’s return flips her family’s world upside down—her husband is remarried, and her daughter barely remembers her. Kate herself doesn’t look or act like she did before.

Retired marine and Ghost hunter, Shane Ryan, is no stranger to betrayal. A lifetime of battling supernatural evil has left him bitter and scarred. But when a former ally, Connor Loughlin, reveals the true depths of his depravity, Shane is determined to put him down once and for all... Tracking the conniving businessman to a shadowy medical clinic, Shane is shocked to discover the true purpose of this blood-drenched laboratory—the harvesting of tormented souls, for profit and power. Forced to battle a horde of wrathful spirits, Shane barely manages to escape with his life.

Ghost hunter and retired Marine, Shane Ryan, is on a mission. One by one, he has faced the ringleaders of the Endless Night. Now, the trail of carnage has led to Devil Rock… A hidden vault, buried deep within the bowels of the earth. A terrible secret lurks within the dark shadows of this abandoned facility. But to reveal the depth of the cult’s evil machinations, Shane must face an army of deadly spirits, each more powerful than the last. And to fight these diabolical wraiths, even Shane Ryan will need a little help.

New York Times best-selling author Nevada Barr continues her award-winning Anna Pigeon series with this riveting mystery that features the puzzling plot twists, deft characterizations, and sparkling dialogue that have become Barr's trademarks, and which her ever-growing fan base can't get enough of.

I thought I had a perfect life with a loving husband until… He joined a cult. I wake in the middle of a nightmare, alone in a room I don’t recognize. Far from my perfect life. And I realize my husband is not only my enemy, he’s also the worst villain in my life. He’s the reason I’m here. He brought me to this place because I refuse to follow the rules. His rules. He demands I have a son as our first child, and when the doctor announces we’re expecting a daughter, my husband accuses me of going against God’s vision for us. He thinks The Farm will put me on my path to God. And I...

An escaped convict with a false passport, Lin flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of Bombay, where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter the city’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.

As a secular exorcist, Rachel H. Stavis has cleansed thousands of tormented people, from small children and Hollywood moguls to stay-at-home moms and politicians. But for many years, the horror screenwriter and novelist denied her gift. As a little girl, she began to see "monsters" floating around her bedroom or attached to other children. Told it was only her imagination, Rachel learned to ignore the things she saw. But a series of events in adulthood forced her to acknowledge her unique ability and embrace her power to heal.

In a cave near Weston, potholers discover what they think are human remains. The bones are identified as belonging to Hugo Latchford, a boy who went missing a decade ago, and whose parents belonged to a quasi-religious cult masquerading as environmental activists. It’s not long before rumours that he was sacrificed in a midsummer ritual resurface. Returning to duty from maternity leave, DI Louise Blackwell finds herself leading the investigation, soon discovering that Hugo’s parents are still alive and the cult very much still active.

Ghost hunter Shane Ryan has cheated death countless times. But death has a funny way of collecting what it’s owed. And when James Moran asks Shane to retrieve a group of deadly spirits and their haunted items, the retired Marine finds himself wading into battle with supernatural evil once more.

In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that, one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in the house, but the property - complete with boathouse and swimming pool - and the price were too good to pass up. This is the shocking true story of an American dream that turned into a nightmare beyond imagining for the Lutz family, who were forced to flee their new home in terror.

Shane Ryan has faced supernatural evil beyond imagination. As a ghost hunter and retired Marine, Shane is no stranger to violence. But when his own home is invaded by a sinister force, it sets him off on a path straight into the heart of darkness itself… Following the lead of an old fortune teller, Shane discovers that a powerful ghost named Thomas Coulson was responsible for desecrating his home. And this spirit has left a trail of clues, leading Shane on a breathless cross-country chase.

Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.

Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain. Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff’s The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense. It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States.

One-on-one with Satan. A chilling and highly convincing account of possession and exorcism in modern America, hailed by NBC Radio as "one of the most stirring books on the contemporary scene."

Solstice Winters never expected her job as a photojournalist would involve stopping a death god. She’s only ever wanted the same things as anyone else—a nice career, a safe place to call home, and no magical assassins trying to kill her. Alas, there’s nothing like an unexpected dimensional misalignment to ruin plans. The rapid flood of magic into the world changed her from simple reporter to secret agent in mere months. It also revealed the truth of her being an elf. Her investigation into who wants her dead stalls when a paranormal entity shows up in her apartment pleading for help. ...

In the quiet coastal town of Weston-super-Mare, a body is discovered at the foot of a cliff just months after a near-identical tragedy - and Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell can't believe it could be a coincidence. Next to the body, she discovers a note that echoes one found beside the first: Death is not the end. Louise is certain that behind these desperate acts someone is pulling the strings, but how many more will plunge to their demise before she can find out who - and why?

It stalks the shadowy tunnels beneath the city. It strikes without warning. It kills without a sound. But someone has come to end it… Ghost hunter and retired Marine, Shane Ryan. When a contact from a previous case reaches out for help, Shane soon finds himself searching the tent cities and homeless encampments of the sprawling city, hot on the trail of a merciless killer. What he finds is an animalistic spirit, driven into a frenzy by bloodlust.

In the grisly aftermath of a botched bank heist, career criminal Anne Heller has no choice but to return to her family’s cabin–a secluded shack in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, and the site of her mother’s untimely death. Along for the ride are Jessup, Anne’s badly wounded partner, and Dutch, the police officer she’s taken hostage. As they wait for help, Anne discovers strange relics from her mother’s past and begins to unfold the mystery of her childhood at the cabin.

An indispensable guide, Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies connects the dots and sets the record straight on a host of greedy gurus and murderous messiahs, crepuscular cabals, and suspicious coincidences. Some topics are familiar - the Kennedy assassinations, the Bilderberg Group, the Illuminati, the People's Temple and Heaven's Gate - and some surprising, like Oulipo, a select group of intellectuals who created wild formulas for creating literary masterpieces, and the Chauffeurs, an 18th-century society of French home invaders, who set fire to their victims' feet.

Lay provost Eldon Fochs is a happily married father of four. Based on his disturbing dreams, he may also be a sex criminal. His therapist isn’t sure, and his church is determined to protect its reputation. Written from the perspectives of Fochs, his analyst Dr. Alexander Feshtig, and the letters exchanged between Feshtig and his superiors in the church, Father of Lies is Brian Evenson’s fable of power, paranoia, and the dangers of blind obedience. It offers a terrifying vision of how far institutions will go to protect themselves from the innocents who may be their victims.