Mystery Cults

As the news of the international movie star's gruesome murder spreads, the world holds its breath in terror. Detective Botti of the Clearwater police department is tasked with finding the killer, but what seems like a routine investigation takes a dark turn when clues point to a well-known musician. As Botti delves deeper into the case, he finds himself drawn into a sinister web of deceit and betrayal. But the stakes are raised even higher when Botti discovers that the murder has ties to one of the largest Scientology churches in the city of Clearwater. With tensions running high and the ...

Having just graduated from college, Jason and Eddie are ready to let loose and embark on a cross-country road trip. After some killer partying at a rock music festival in Nevada, they head out into the desert with girls and adventure on their minds. Their situation takes a dark turn, however, when they lose direction and find themselves at the entrance of a ghost town in the bowels of the sprawling desert. The residents turn out to be . . . a little off.

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...

The FBI calls on former agent Jessica Blackwood to look at a puzzling crime. A wildlife officer has found the body of a popular YouTuber encased in an obelisk made of salt in a remote refuge. When the agency is tipped off to a second body, that of a TikTok star chained to the bottom of Nevada’s Pyramid Lake—her hands clasped in prayer—Jessica recruits a trusted colleague of her own: Floridian underwater investigator Sloan McPherson.

Visit Ashok's official website meakalpa.com to read an exclusive excerpt from The Bombay Lovecraft Society! Membership comes at a price... From Bram Stoker and CWA nominated and Utopiales Nantes Award-winning author Ashok Banker comes a chilling new novel of occult horror set in 1980s Bombay A masterful fusion of Lovecraftian terror and Indian Gothic that will haunt your dreams long after you've turned the final page. In the shadows of 1980s Bombay lurks an ancient evil that makes the notorious Rockman serial killings pale in comparison. When a struggling artist is lured into the mysterious...

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.

Barbaric India, land of languor, intrigue, strange appetites, exotic women, cruel and scheming men! It was in this India that the woman of Kali spun her silken web. She was Sharita, high priestess of the cult of death, mistress of forbidden rites, who used her strange powers in a plot to seize the throne of this great Eastern empire and destroy the foreign invaders. Then she met the tall, blond Pritchard, captain of the Madras Light Horse, whose great strength and fame as a soldier had traveled the length and breadth of India. In her pagan temple, with every wile of the Orient, Sharita ...

Carpenter, the Paterson, N.J., lawyer whose wealth allows him to work as seldom as he chooses, is recovering from the loss of the love of his life, Laurie Collins, who has moved home to Findlay, Wis., to become the acting chief of police. When Laurie calls Andy for help after arresting 21-year-old Jeremy Davidson for murders that she thinks he didn't commit, Andy can't resist heading off to Findlay with his faithful dog, Tara.

What she discovers in the woods will change her life—and her marriage—forever. Sophie’s life is unraveling in ways she can’t explain. Since her thirtieth birthday, a recurring nightmare has taken root—an eerie vision of a strange rock buried deep in the woods. When her husband, Alex, vanishes without a trace, Sophie is left clinging to the frayed threads of her sanity. In search of answers, she turns to her therapist, Carla, whose quiet presence becomes her only lifeline. But the visions intensify. The birds arrive—relentless, uncanny, hurling themselves at her windows like ...

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.

Take an annual Pumpkin Event at a ghost town. An isolated motel. A Home invasion. Two trouble Detectives And a Cult and what do you get? Detective Adam Potter and his assistant never thought taking a case for a missing person named, Waldo would lead them down a rabbit hole of madness. Adam has to risk everything to save the man he loves. All in time for Halloween.

They Never Left When disgraced journalist Rex Mallory returns to the small town of Whisper Ridge, he expects rust, rumors, and a few ghosts from his past. What he doesn’t expect is a missing woman, a mutilated corpse, and the burned remains of a notebook that points to decades of disappearances. As Mallory digs deeper, he uncovers chilling whispers of an abandoned asylum, a preacher with too many secrets, and a sheriff who doesn’t take kindly to questions. Every lead pulls him closer to a horrifying truth buried beneath the town’s sleepy surface—one the townspeople are willing to ...

Something terrible has happened in the snowbound village of Kingdom Come, Wyoming, where 12 eerily identical houses stand dark and abandoned. Meals remain untouched on dining room tables, cars are still in garages, and the town's residents have vanished into thin air. This is the disturbing setting where vacationing medical examiner Maura Isles and her traveling companions find themselves trapped during a ferocious snowstorm.

"... a hard-to-put-down psychological thriller..." -Library Journal Starred Review "Pressure at work and home unexpectedly conjoin, driving emotionally fragile Amanda to the brink as the book builds to its melodramatic finish." -Publisher's Weekly: Unlikely allies drive a story in which Rendahl never lets her heroine escape her past." -Kirkus Reviews Rendahl’s writing is light and sharp, perfect for a story that moves quickly—from initial crime to deep investigation—while handling intense subject material." -ForeWord Reviews Old Wounds Run Deep Amanda escaped the cult that killed her ...

The Lillian Carey Mysteries - Book One When a priceless ancient Egyptian artefact is stolen from a secluded museum and the curator is found dead, mysteriously covered in insect bites, private detective Lillian Carey is summoned to uncover the truth. Specialising in cases that flirt with the supernatural and the occult, Lillian is drawn into a world of dark rituals and shadowy figures. Her investigation leads her to a clandestine cult with nefarious plans for the stolen casket and the deadly curse it harbours. As Lillian delves deeper, she must navigate the treacherous terrain of a night ...

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.

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.

A ritual killer returns. A broken detective is the key. Haunted by an unsolved case, Casey Shaw is pulled back when the murders begin again - marked by symbols only he understands. As reality fractures, one truth emerges: the final pattern was never about the victims. A gripping psychological thriller of memory and madness.

Hunter of the Light Series: Book 4 of 15 Is Rachel losing control? Rachel is worried her new abilities have a stronger hold over her than she wants to admit. After finding herself standing over another body, holding a knife again, Rachel begins to worry that she is losing control. New alliances and new dreams lead Adam and Rachel on a quest to rescue a group of people. They find tunnels and chains, but they also find something more daring. They find guilt, grief and betrayal.

“You’re going to get us killed, Rachel.” Although life has been quiet for months now, both Rachel and Adam struggle with allowing themselves to feel happy. Feelings other than fear and guilt start to surface, and their relationship begins to change. Do they deserve happiness with all they have been through? Maya feels frustrated and beaten down by her life with Alexander until an unlikely ally gives her a glimmer of hope. But after trying to escape again and her many tantrums and outbursts, Alexander’s demeanour changes, and Maya starts to see him for who he truly is. Will she be ...