A letdown for sure, "The Vicious Circle" lacks the fun, soapy goodness of Katherine St. John’s second novel, "The Siren."

When Sveta learns she’s inherited a multi-million dollar wellness estate from her deceased uncle, the leader of a self-help spiritual group, she travels to the Mexican jungle to pay her respects and make peace with his wife, Kali. What she finds at Xanadu, however, is more cultish than self-help – brainwashed people devoted to Kali, who, as the new group leader, promises an eternal utopia alongside a dangerous belief system.

I thought St. John had a strong handle on cult dynamics at the start. She had my attention with the intrigue of the story and the exotic locale, and I enjoyed the weird vibes of Kali and the other Xanadu residents. Initial signs pointed towards St. John offering up a thoughtful examination of the persuasive control a cult leader exerts over their followers.

But it soon falls apart. St. John leaves all seriousness behind in the second half and resorts to typical thriller theatrics: dumb decisions made by the protagonist, predictability, convenient plot turns, and absurdity.

It’s not her best. She can do better.


My sincerest appreciation to Katherine St. John, William Morrow, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

Loved the fast pace of this book. The plot felt a bit predictable but I am a huge fan of thrillers and read quite a bit so that is more of a problem with me. I still really enjoyed reading this. The exotic setting is perfect and added a different vibe to most of the thrillers I have read lately. I also really enjoyed the cult aspect of the plot and thought that St. John did a really great job of adding this element to the book.

Svetlana Bentzen, Sveta to friends, is headed to Mexico. After a big fight with her fiancé on New Year’s Eve, she had been staying with friends, and that was where she was when she got the call. Her uncle had died. Her uncle was self-help author Paul Bentzen, whose books had become bestsellers. After an incident at the California retreat center, he had closed it, mortified that anyone had a bad experience while trying to heal there, and moved to the jungles of Chiapas, Mexico.

It was in Mexico that he opened a retreat and named it Xanadu. He and his partner Kali ran a healing center there for a small group of followers. They called themselves the Mandala. This is where Sveta is headed, by plane, helicopter, and boat, to find out more about her uncle’s death and all of his wealth that she is now inheriting. But she’s not alone. She’s accompanied by her uncle’s lawyer and her one-time boyfriend Lucas.

Once there, they are asked to give up their electronics (there isn’t much of a connection anyway), and wear the clothes of the Mandala while they’re there. Even though Svetla and Lucas only plan to stay overnight, Kali explains that some there are recovering addicts and even seeing street clothes or a cell phone could set their recovery back. Svetla wants to believe her, and Lucas was raised in a commune, so they understand and try to comply. They are just there for Paul’s funeral, and for Lucas to make sure the death certificate gets filed with the proper authorities, and then they are heading back to the states.

But it’s not that easy. Kali is reluctant to file the death certificate, and there are issues with their transportation back to the airport. Svetla and Lucas have to stay longer, and they have no way of contacting anyone at home to let them know the situation. While there are no direct threats toward Svetla or Lucas, Svetla feels more and more uneasy at Xanadu. Kali keeps a couple of jaguars as pets, and Svetla starts to wonder if the food and drink there is drugged. And the nearby jungle is filled with natural predators like snakes and human ones that guard the nearby fields for the local drug lords.

Days go by, and Svetla is still in Mexico. She knows that Kali must be unhappy that Paul had left everything he owned to Svetla, and it feels like Kali’s keeping her there for a reason. But as family secrets come to light and Svetla learns more about Lucas, she starts to wonder who it is she can trust. Will she ever get back to the states, to the fiancé who is waiting for her in New York? Will she even make it out of the Mexican jungle alive?

Katherine St. John has crafted a twisty, culty thriller in The Vicious Circle, where layers of secrets and lies keep you guessing over and over. It’s a blend of wealthy families and beautiful models with an isolated group of people living from the land and adhering to spiritual principles. Of course, there is also a leader who demands obedience and rules absolutely. This is a crazy story that took me in loops before I found a way back from Xanadu.

I listened to the audio book for The Vicious Circle, narrated by Christine Lakin. I thought she did a beautiful job with this story. But I did think this story was a little scattered. It’s like there was one story in New York, and there was another in Mexico. St. John does a good job of pulling the two stories together into one, but I think I would have preferred it getting one novel set in New York, about the modeling and upcoming marriage and another about a woman chasing down her uncle’s legacy in the jungles of Mexico. But this was still a great story, with lots of twists and mind-bending surprises.

Egalleys for The Vicious Circle were provided by William Morrow through NetGalley, but I bought the audio book myself through Chirp.

In the depths of the Mexican jungle, a New York model finds herself entangled in a battle with a cult leader over her inheritance—an estate left to her by her enigmatic uncle. Paul Bentzen's Xanadu retreat center, inspired by Kubla Khan's pleasure-dome, holds secrets tied to a drug lord's former villa and a mass killing that ended his reign. Svetlana Bentzen, estranged from her uncle but unexpectedly named his sole heir, must navigate a web of deception and danger alongside a handsome lawyer as they uncover unsettling truths about her uncle's death and the sinister activities at Xanadu. Despite addressing intriguing themes such as spiritual faddism and cultural appropriation, the novel lacks the satirical punch of its predecessor and suffers from convoluted plot twists with rushed resolutions, missing the mark on delivering the enjoyable absurdity found in thrillers.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a bit predictable, but the plot moved quickly. There were a lot of characters to keep track of. It was an enjoyable read.

Ok, I loved this one! Something about Kat St. John’s writing really works for me! Her books are fun; they’re a little soapy, suspenseful, and always have some good subtle twists thrown in. I def got Nine Perfect Strangers vibes from this! It was really atmospheric and was the perfect escapist book. The setting is at a wellness retreat in Mexico called Xanadu, lol. Plus, who doesn’t want to read about rich people behaving badly?🙃

Rating: 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5).

Thanks so much, NetGalley and William Morrow, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I found this book to be a fast-paced and engaging read. While the plot was somewhat predictable, the well-developed characters kept me invested in the storyline. I was particularly intrigued by Sveta's fate and eagerly followed her journey to see if she would escape unscathed.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #WilliamMorrow for letting me read this book.A perfect paradise? Or a perfect nightmare?I didn’t give it five stars because it was a little too predictable, and the protagonist was annoyingly gullible. There was also more focus on the protagonist’s romantic relationships than I think was necessary.

Now this is a great summer read! It's a cult mystery that takes place at this wellness center in the middle of the jungle. Our main character Sveta is a former model living in New York who is married to a man whose family really doesn’t like her which is frustrating to witness. Suddenly Sveta gets informed that her estranged uncle has died and has left her with a 180 million dollar inheritance plus his huge manor house compound that’s in the middle of the Guatemala jungle which she has to travel to for his funeral and to sign papers and whatnot but her uncle had a wife who is very strange and she seems to have taken over his estate with a group of people who seem to worship her so things are very weird. This book really surprised me. It’s a dark mystery where basically the characters are locked inside this place surrounded by foliage, bugs and exotic animals, a scary religious leader that reminded me of Joseph Seed from Far Cry 5. If you love thrillers, I would definitly check this one out.
Full review on my YouTube channel.

I heard this book was about a fictional sex cult in the Mexican jungle and I was in. Honestly, I will read anything about cults, real or fictional, because they fascinate me. While The Vicious Circle kept my attention and managed to surprise me at certain points, it just wasn’t that great. If you want to read something from St. John, go with her debut novel: The Lion’s Den.

Sveta was raised by her poor immigrant mother after her fathers death. Her uncle was always good to her and a part of her life growing up.. While her father struggled a bit, his brother always seemed to have it together and ultimately became a famous self help guru, and best selling author. Sveta is engaged to Chase who comes from a wealthy family, who doesn’t really accept Sveta and feels she’s out for Chase’s money. Sveta gets word that her uncle died from an old acquaintance whose family was her uncles legal counsel. Sveta soon learns she has inherited all of her uncles assets. As her relationship is falling apart Sveta decides to attend her uncles services on his remote island Xanadu, since she now owns everything. Being awarded the sole beneficiary is shocking to Sveta as her uncle has been married to Kali for years, and Sveta just assumed everything would be left to her.
When Sveta arrives in Xanadu it looks like a beautiful remote island retreat, however things aren’t always what they seem and the more time she spends there the more things seems to be strange and cult like. Sveta begins questioning if her uncles death was really due to an illness or something else sinister was going on. Soon Sveta realizes as her uncles heir, she may be in danger and the only person who may be able to help her is the person she trusts the least.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for this ARC

For an honest review, I received an ARC.

Going in I had no idea what this book was about. Honestly, I just really liked the cover.
The beginning brought in some story building about elite, snobby family members which led me to think the story was going to be all about the main character trying to fit in a prove to fiancé's family that she was worthy. That did not happen.
As the main character learns about her uncle's death, the story becomes a whodunnit and the previous idea was never mentioned again until the end.
There were some twists but nothing really surprising. I don't know that I will recommend this book but it wasn't bad.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC for an honest review. I'm always drawn to a good "cult-like" story, and this one fit the bill. Really kept me on the edge of my seat.

This exotic cult thriller is set deep in the Mexican jungle.

It opens on ex-model Sveta Bentzen, traveling by canoe with attorney Lucas Baranquilla to her uncle's palatial estate and wellness center, Xanadu. Her uncle, self-help guru Paul Bentzen (known to his millions of followers as Shiva) was partnered with Kali, and has died leaving millions to Sveta.

Kali leads a cult and has no intention of giving it all up. Tension and violence escalate to an action-packed conclusion.

This is a difficult review to pen because this was one of my most anticipated thrillers of the year as I had enjoyed the authors previous books immensely.

This one ultimately fell flat for me. I did not connect with the characters nor did I feel the chemistry that was supposed to be between them.

The plot is exactly what you think it's gonna be and there is only one or two twists but they are very guessable if you pay attention.

I did still enjoy her writing so hopefully the next book is more agreeable for me.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

This book is so much more than I thought it would be. It is an amazingly entertaining book that readers will race through because it is that good!!!!!!! Another exciting, amazing, keep you up through the night from Katherine St. John

Sveta is quite surprised when her uncle Paul passes away and leaves his Mexican villa Xanadu to her instead of his wife, Kali. It's been a while since Sveta and Paul were in touch, and Paul was a wealthy self-help guru known for his famous videos and teachings. Sveta accompanies Paul's lawyer to Xanadu, where she finds Kali and a group of Paul's faithful followers. At first, she finds the group inspirational, but soon she starts to see a dark side to their teachings. Trapped in the jungle with no escape, Sveta starts to question why she inherited Xanadu--and what lengths those around her will go to stop her.

Ugh, this book just didn't work for me. It featured an overdone cult plot that brought nothing new: a tale of a current cult mixed with the tale of an old cult. Sveta inherits this exotic place from her uncle and is fascinated by it at first, but soon realizes it's a scary cult led by his creepy wife. By now she's trapped in the jungle with no way out--shocking. No real surprises occur, and I kept waiting for something, anything to happen other than for Sveta to sneak around and get spooked by the folks at Xanadu. The lush setting is exotic, sure, but that's about all this book has going for it. There's a weird side plot involving Sveta and whether she's sticking with her boyfriend that adds nothing. Honestly, everything in CIRCLE just seemed over the top and weird. Still, many others enjoyed it, so hopefully you'll like it more than me!

What a great book! I love everything by this author and this book was no different! I couldn't put this down and was up all night waiting to see how it ended!

I really have no idea why I skipped over The Lion's Den and The Siren and instead started with The Vicious Circle (all titles start with 'the' and I somehow just noticed this) but I have no regrets. The majority of this novel is a really slow burn with not a ton of action, but I thought it got better and better as it went on and it ended with quite the bang! I loved that the setting was in a jungle, and it made this a very atmospheric read with Katherine St. John providing plenty of description of the vegetation and animals to make it feel very real and vibrant. Even though our MC Sveta wasn't quite sure if she was dealing with a cult, it was visible to me from the moment she set foot at the wellness center. I thought this religious cult was reminiscent of things I have read before, so it wasn’t completely original, but the setting sure was and for that, I was very happy! And the fact that The Mandala kept jaguars and regulated phones and computers just made everything feel that much more ominous.

I also really enjoyed the blend between what was going on with the cult as well as Sveta dealing with her uncle’s death and some trouble in her love life. The plot was intriguing to me, and I liked how all of these different aspects came together, even the dash of romance! I got to listen to The Vicious Circle, and I would highly recommend it on audiobook. Not only was the narrator Christine Lakin fantastic, but even though it is a slow burn I felt like it flew by on audio. It is somewhere in the middle as far as length goes, with the audiobook being about ten and a half hours long, but it honestly felt like a fraction of that to me. I could have listened to a lot more of Lakin and I thought her narration was spot-on the entire way through. Sveta isn’t the smartest character I have ever read, but somehow that didn’t bother me, and this still ended up being a great book for me. I have nothing to compare it to really, but I would say if you like stories with cults and don’t mind a somewhat naïve protagonist, you should give The Vicious Circle a shot!

Thank you to the publishers for my complimentary listening and reader copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

This was a really fun book to read. Anything with cults is a huge draw to me and this is a really good addition to the trope. It’s chilling at times and has great suspense. I did not guess the twists and appreciated the unpredictability!