Something is rotten in the state of Minnesota. Del thought she'd left her small-town church—and its powerful preacher—behind for good. But when the man she once thought she'd marry is found dead, she's pulled back into it...and only now is she realizing just how deep the rot goes.

I've been reading a lot about conservative religion lately, to the extent that my s.o. heaves a tired sigh when I tell him about a new is-it-a-cult book. He looked mildly interested when I said I was reading a murder mystery—until I asked him to guess its themes. He thought for a second, and then his shoulders drooped and he sighed. "Is there a cult?"

So, uh, yes. That's where I went in. At the core of this story is Eve—Eve, one of Del's best friends when they were younger; Eve, who tempted Lars away from Delilah; Eve, who is partially responsible for the stratospheric rise of the local preacher. She's been writing a blog since her teenage years, one in which she writes passionately about the messages of purity and being a "Noble Wife" that the preacher spouts. The basic message is clear: if you are good and pure and perfect, your (future) husband will cherish you, and God will smile upon you. The messages that go unsaid, though...

Without getting into a lot of detail about the plot (keep the mystery a mystery and all), I'll say that I flew right though this. Clarke does an excellent job of dropping crumbs that you don't fully register until after the fact, and the creepy religion feels more accurate than you might think. If I'd read this five years ago, I might have thought the Noble Wife blog was over the top, but I've done something of a broad swim through the weirdness that is American Christian fundamentalism since then, and...folks? If you think it's unrealistic? There are popular, real-life social media accounts doing just about the exact same thing. (There are some places in which I wondered whether Clarke has been reading the same sources I have.)

I do wish there'd been a little more open discussion of forgiveness, or maybe more to the point forgiving and forgetting, and what that means. With some key exceptions, the vibe of the end of the book suggests that there will be quite a lot of water sent under the bridge, and relationships healed to an extent that I'm not sure is realistic—there's a lot of hurt to go around through the course of the book, and the events that precede it. And...I wonder how many of these relationships can really be built or rebuilt to full strength after all that. That said, "Lay Your Body Down" exceeded my expectations and hit at that perfect balance of murder mystery and critical look at conservative religion...even if my s.o. would have preferred that I brought more murder and less cult to the dinner table.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

This book did amazing at creating such an eerie atmosphere in the Messiah community. Every time the main character Del wanted to run out of the town, I wanted to run away with her.
I was instantly captivated by both Del's past trauma and Eve's nobel wife blog on being a good holy girl for men, those were some of my favorite parts of this book if only for the sheer underlying horror that came with every blog post. Del's investigation skills were weak it got a little repetitive in the second half because she just kept making the same dumb mistakes/choices every time she had a new theory, I think this book really did well at giving a captivating story of religious trauma and watching Del work through that and growing from it, while also giving a larger message about cult like religion, while also still feeling like a good thriller/suspense novel on its own.

Did someone say cult? Cult-like? That’s pretty much all you have to say to get me all the way in. Lay Your Body Down was instantly immersive and I needed to know what was going to happen next. I found the writing to be smooth and easy, getting lost in the story. I could feel Del’s reluctance coming up off the page. I really enjoyed this!

Yesssss! Where do I even begin?

This is an incredibly well written story. There are many aspects that several people will be able to relate to while reading. Del's character is so relatable, likable, everything. I found myself breathing heavily in many instances throughout the book. I had a guess of who killed Lars from the very beginning, and while I was correct, the twists and turns that led us there were unforeseeable. I was so happy for it to all be over because it had at last been resolved. However, I was also extremely sad because my journey with Del had come to an end.

I'm also a huge fan of when an author very delicately places the title of the book somewhere within the text!

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers, and especially Amy Suiter Clarke for allowing me this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5/5 stars (rounded up to 5 on here)

Thank you NetGalley and ThrillerBookLoversPromotion for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is my first book by Amy Suiter Clark and will definitely not be my last! I absolutely loved how she delved into the world of cults and religious zealotry. I feel like she did such a delicate job with this to show that religion isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but that sometimes we need to be weary to blindly follow a leader. I think that this was definitely shown through Del and how even though she left the Mess, she was still working on finding her own church family and didn’t allow the Mess to poison her own faith and what she believed in.

I absolutely loved the suspense of this novel and how it kept me turning the pages. I also loved how she incorporated Eve’s blog writings on becoming the ‘Noble wife’ because I feel like reading those posts really showed you how the philosophies could really evolved in the church. Definitely one I would recommend!
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This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

Sometimes the line between religion and cult is too easily erased.

Lay Your Body Down centers on an evangelical church that crossed the line and became a cult. But of course its members, as true believers, wore blinders, at least until the body count started to rise.

We explore herd mentality, religious zealotry, and the kind of mind control at which cult leaders excel. Parts, particularly in the middle, dragged a little, but pacing is mostly steady overall.

I think it’s important to note that this story is not contemptuous of religion. This is more of a cautionary tale serving as a reminder that spiritual blind faith should never be extended to a human leader.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy. This book follows a young woman named Delilah, who returns to a hometown full of secrets to attend the funeral of her old boyfriend. It doesn't take long for her to become suspicious of the circumstances of his death and decide to stay and learn the truth, but some aren't happy about her asking questions. Especially the powerful church pastor that seems to have his hands in everything. There is a good amount of suspense, lots of twists and turns, and I found it hard to put down. I hope to read more by this author in the future.

Lay Your Body down follows Delilah (Del) Walker as she reluctantly returns to her hometown of Bower, MN and tries to solve the murder of her college boyfriend…a murder that her former best friend and Lars’ widow, Eve, might have committed. As a thriller, I enjoyed this book. I wanted Del to have some kind of justice and closure, and I really loved the ending. There were a few twists that surprised me, though the main villain was IMO easy to identify.

Where the novel didn’t quite work for me was as a critique of evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity. While I can tell from the author’s note that Suiter Clarke is writing in part from her own experience, a lot of the religious rhetoric just seemed cartoonishly over the top. I say this as an exvangelical and someone who has done plenty of reading and thinking on this issue. I couldn’t quite place what the Mess was supposed to be—a megachurch with subtly misogynistic rhetoric and a trendy appeal to newcomers (the coffee bar, the worship songs)? Or a more fundamentalist approach (the Noble Wife “training”, the girls acting as servants at meals)? I love the idea of critiquing tradwife rhetoric and the misogynistic theology that endorses it. I just didn’t think this was a very nuanced or subtle approach to it. Books on the topic I did feel were more nuanced include Alison Wisdom’s The Burning Season and Kelsey McKinney’s God Spare the Girls.

So, as a thriller this was 5 stars for me and as a cultural critique maybe a 3–I settled on 4 stars overall and I would recommend this book as long as you go in with appropriate expectations.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

Really enjoyed the content of the book—religious trauma and religion transitioning into a cult are both subjects of great interest to me. I particularly found reading the “Noble Wife” blog posts fascinating—if at times a bit hard to read given just how backwards they were.

I did not find the writing particularly compelling. Lots of show not tell. I also would have loved a bit more delving into Pastor Franklin. He is obviously the villain, but it felt almost cartoonish in its simplicity. I would have appreciated a bit more.

When Del Walker left her hometown years ago, she promised herself she would never return. The church she had grown up in was stifling, and the man she loved, Lars, left her to marry her best friend Eve. Eve was a big deal to the church, helping spread the church’s “noble wife” philosophy, that placed heavy focus on women being submissive to their husbands. When Lars dies suddenly in a hunting innocent, Del becomes convinced it wasn’t an accident and returns home to try to find out the truth.

I found this to be an interesting concept for a book. I have read quite a few books with cults at the center, but this was a dual perspective through Del’s experience and also through Eve’s blog writings - both her posts and drafts as she grew and started thinking about things for herself. I appreciated how this story focused on children raised with this particular church’s philosophies finding themselves when they grew up. Some stayed, some strayed. It was frighteningly easy to see how scripture could be manipulated to fit the narrative of a man who was pushing his own agenda. I also really appreciated how throughout the story, Del still believed in God. She didn’t allow Pastor Rick to poison her own faith, although it was different from what she grew up with.

Also, I think this may be the most I have ever highlighted a kindle book! The author had SO many amazing scripture verses and quotes that Pastor Rick manipulated for his own purpose.

“The Bible does tell wives to submit to their husbands, but it also says men should lay down their lives for their spouse.”

Brilliant executed. Thank you to Amy Suiter Clarke, Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC! “Lay Your Body Down” releases June 27th. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Del returns to her hometown for a friend's funeral. She believes the local church could have something to do. I liked this book.

I loved the way this story was presented. The inclusion of blog posts and diary entries in the book helped me connect with the main character and fully immerse myself into the storyline really early on.

There’s really nothing more eerie than a small town, cult-like church- and this book does a fantastic job painting that picture with Messiah and the Noble Wife Movement. I was equally as interested in learning about all the ins and outs of this fictional religion, as I was with the suspense and mystery going on in the main plot!

I loved the beginning and end of this one, but found the middle to be a bit repetitive and almost wanted to skim to the end. I also didn’t really connect with any of the characters except Delilah, but overall enjoyed the book and twists !

Thank you to @williammorrow and @netgalley for my e-ARC of this novel to read and honestly review!

A searing mystery where Del digs into the death of her former college love. Her community has allowed religion to become almost cult-like where church members don't question church authority, potentially allowing and covering multiple crimes. It's a brave, timely story with themes of finding your own power.

This is a well written and chilling book centered around the effects of being raised in a cult-like church atmosphere. The main character, Del, was able to finally break away when she attended college, but the violent death of her first love brings her back for his funeral. Was it an accident as reported by the police? Part of the book is narrated by Del, and follows her investigation, as well as her past within the church and its powerful leader, who controls not only the church but the town itself. The other part of the book is narrated by Eve, through her blog on how to become a "noble wife" as the Church teaches its followers. I found the style of writing used by Amy Suiter Clarke, to be unique and compelling as it slowly revealed the truth behind the death and how the influence of a charismatic, controlling leader can influence followers in a devastating and catastrophic way. This is definitely a mystery with numerous plot twists and turns and quite a few surprises! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book. The opinions in the review are my own.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

This is the story of Del who left her hometown and the church when she went to college. She has not talked to her parents in years. When she discovers an old boyfriend Lars was found dead she goes home for the funeral. When she is there she learns that there may be more to the death than indicated in the beginning.

As she gets more involved in trying to figure out what happened to Lars, she begins to receive threats and folks are trying to get her to leave town. She discovers so much more that has been going on in the church.

I enjoyed this book, while I knew who the real murderer was from very early on, it was still a good read.

I devoured this book and absolutely loved the storyline and characters ! This was my first time reading a book by Amy Suiter Clarke and I plan on reading her other book ASAP. I really enjoyed reading Eve’s blog and her transformation during the story and how she comes to understand the evils of the Messiah and tries to make it right and take responsibility for her part in helping spread the word about “Noble Wives”. This book is hard to put down and I highly recommend reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book enormously, but I struggled with how to rate it because the things that didn't work for me really didn't work for me. I think, ultimately, it's 3.5 stars rounded up.

Huge trigger warning for religious abuse and religious trauma, and like...coercion, maybe? There's a horrible pastor doing gross and horrible things, which isn't a spoiler because it's happening from day 1 and it's very clear that it's happening and who's doing it. It's difficult to categorize all the things he does, but none of it is physical abuse. It's all mental/emotional.

There should probably also be a trigger warning for something I don't know a succinct term for. A boy taking topless photos of a girl without her consent and then distributing them around to other people. It's tied up with the religious abuse, but it's also its own separate thing. This book is a lot, y'all.

My favorite thing about the story, aside from the truly hatable pastor and the lingering aftereffects of trauma, are the excerpts of Eve's blog sprinkled throughout. There are also excerpts of Del's diaries over the years, and I liked those too, but Eve's blog was fascinating to me. Seeing a 14-year-old girl, just coming into her sexuality and her conception of herself as a budding woman, being taught such horrible things about what it means to be a noble wife according to mistranslations of scripture, and then bringing those lessons to the wider world, was a whole journey. The way she helped the pastor to become internationally known and a best-selling author, having to live with that afterward when she started to see the damage his teachings were doing. I loved the accountability in that. And it was just interesting to see how her thoughts and feelings evolved over time, since her blog spanned at least a decade of her life if not more. Obviously we didn't see every post, but it was enough to get an idea of how she got hooked by what she was promised and how it played out for her. The excerpts also kind of related to the chapters they preceded.

Honestly, if it had just been a whole book about the church and how it grew to be the cult it eventually became, how it got its hooks into the whole town and how hardly anyone ever left, and how Del was forced to return after years away and decided to take down the pastor, I would have been so into it. I did feel like the murder mystery aspect was a little unnecessary, and it was secondary to the things I thought the book did excellently and that I wanted to read more of. It's not that it wasn't compelling, it's just that it wasn't *as* compelling, and parts of it stretched my suspension of disbelief nearly to its breaking point.. I can't really talk about most of what I didn't love without giving massive spoilers, so forgive me if this review seems to criticize without fully backing itself up.

One thing I think I can say, though, is that Eve didn't get nearly enough comeuppance for stealing the love of Del's life. This isn't a spoiler because it happens so early in the book and also might even be in the synopsis, I can't remember. I understand some of the reason why she did it, the entitlement she felt to getting her perfect husband so she could be the noble wife he deserved, and the belief that God would show her who he was and then how can you go against God? But it felt wild to me that it was a conflict until it suddenly just...wasn't. I wanted some consequences beyond, oh, he's dead now, guess that whole reward system didn't work out after all. At the very least, I wanted a conversation where she apologized and said that what she did was wrong. It's a relatively small thing in the grand scheme of the book, but it bothered me.

Otherwise, it's a solid read with a lot to say about Christianity and the church and the ways we allow those in power to remain there and, in fact, continue to gather even more power. I feel like a lot of people I know would really relate to it, but I also worry that they wouldn't be able to read it because it would be too triggering for them. Which is a strength, I think. You get the sense while reading it that the author intimately understands her subject matter and she's very good at translating it into text. I haven't experienced anything like this and even I had to take some deep breaths at certain points. My complaints are pretty minor and I think they might also be specific to me and what I want from stories. If this sounds like something you'd be into, definitely give it a read when it's released. It's worth your time and consideration.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me an advance copy of this book for review purposes.
I enjoyed this book enormously, but I struggled with how to rate it because the things that didn't work for me really didn't work for me. I think, ultimately, it's 3.5 stars rounded up.<br /><br />Huge trigger warning for religious abuse and religious trauma, and like...coercion, maybe? There's a horrible pastor doing gross and horrible things, which isn't a spoiler because it's happening from day 1 and it's very clear that it's happening and who's doing it. It's difficult to categorize all the things he does, but none of it is physical abuse. It's all mental/emotional.<br /><br />There should probably also be a trigger warning for something I don't know a succinct term for. A boy taking topless photos of a girl without her consent and then distributing them around to other people. It's tied up with the religious abuse, but it's also its own separate thing. This book is a lot, y'all.<br /><br />My favorite thing about the story, aside from the truly hatable pastor and the lingering aftereffects of trauma, are the excerpts of Eve's blog sprinkled throughout. There are also excerpts of Del's diaries over the years, and I liked those too, but Eve's blog was fascinating to me. Seeing a 14-year-old girl, just coming into her sexuality and her conception of herself as a budding woman, being taught such horrible things about what it means to be a noble wife according to mistranslations of scripture, and then bringing those lessons to the wider world, was a whole journey. The way she helped the pastor to become internationally known and a best-selling author, having to live with that afterward when she started to see the damage his teachings were doing. I loved the accountability in that. And it was just interesting to see how her thoughts and feelings evolved over time, since her blog spanned at least a decade of her life if not more. Obviously we didn't see every post, but it was enough to get an idea of how she got hooked by what she was promised and how it played out for her. The excerpts also kind of related to the chapters they preceded.<br /><br />Honestly, if it had just been a whole book about the church and how it grew to be the cult it eventually became, how it got its hooks into the whole town and how hardly anyone ever left, and how Del was forced to return after years away and decided to take down the pastor, I would have been so into it. I did feel like the murder mystery aspect was a little unnecessary, and it was secondary to the things I thought the book did excellently and that I wanted to read more of. It's not that it wasn't compelling, it's just that it wasn't *as* compelling, and parts of it stretched my suspension of disbelief nearly to its breaking point.. I can't really talk about most of what I didn't love without giving massive spoilers, so forgive me if this review seems to criticize without fully backing itself up.<br /><br />One thing I think I can say, though, is that Eve didn't get nearly enough comeuppance for stealing the love of Del's life. This isn't a spoiler because it happens so early in the book and also might even be in the synopsis, I can't remember. I understand some of the reason why she did it, the entitlement she felt to getting her perfect husband so she could be the noble wife he deserved, and the belief that God would show her who he was and then how can you go against God? But it felt wild to me that it was a conflict until it suddenly just...wasn't. I wanted some consequences beyond, oh, he's dead now, guess that whole reward system didn't work out after all. At the very least, I wanted a conversation where she apologized and said that what she did was wrong. It's a relatively small thing in the grand scheme of the book, but it bothered me.<br /><br />Otherwise, it's a solid read with a lot to say about Christianity and the church and the ways we allow those in power to remain there and, in fact, continue to gather even more power. I feel like a lot of people I know would really relate to it, but I also worry that they wouldn't be able to read it because it would be too triggering for them. Which is a strength, I think. You get the sense while reading it that the author intimately understands her subject matter and she's very good at translating it into text. I haven't experienced anything like this and even I had to take some deep breaths at certain points. My complaints are pretty minor and I think they might also be specific to me and what I want from stories. If this sounds like something you'd be into, definitely give it a read when it's released. It's worth your time and consideration.<br /><br />Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me an advance copy of this book for review purposes.

This book follows our mc Del, who travels back to her small religious town she swore she would never return to after her ex-boyfriend Lars tragically dies in a hunting accident. Deal starts to question if it really was an accident or not.
Del’s childhood was spent in the church The Messiah, and throughout the novel we learn about many of her memories spent there, both the good and the bad.
I really appreciated how the septum of spirituality was portrayed. We got to see characters who were extremely religious, others who have turned their backs on faith altogether, and then some who fell somewhere in between. I felt it was very important to see the in between.
The ending still leaves me with a mixed feeling because it wasn’t a complete shock but I was still shocked??
If you love cult vibes & a small-town mystery vibe then I think you’ll be a fan of this one.

Wow! This was intense! Del is a young woman who returns to to her small town in Minnesota for an ex-boyfriend, Lars funeral. It’s been several years since she’s been back as a result of an incident in her youth that drove her away. When she moved to college she felt she escaped the watchful and judging eye of a mega-church community. As Del had taken a step back she realizes the church more like a cult versus a place of connection and familial love.

At the funeral she realizes things aren’t as they seem and the church is still guiding behaviors similar to what she experienced in the past. This time however things seem more sinister. Del is determined to find out what really happened to Lars and dig deep in the belly of the church’s dealings.

Thoughts: I was easily drawn into the mystery and interworking of this small town drama. I am drawn to stories of people who can manipulate and use power in a way in which the people or persons being manipulated don’t even realize it. Clearly we see this happen in real life and recent history and it’s quite a frightening scenario which naturally makes me want to read it. 😂

This story covers the super religious viewpoint where people don’t question the extreme beliefs besides what is being taught (very 1950s housewife mentality) all the way to people that don’t believe in the church or have become so frustrated they have pushed beliefs away all together. I mention that as some of the religious beliefs in this book may bother people but I found it refreshing to show multiple perspectives. Nothing really phases me (I’m apparently dead inside) and I certainly appreciated the variety of perspectives. I felt very satisfied with the multiple layers in general this author wrote into the characters actions and motivations. If you’re looking for a small town, cult driven, shocking story grab yourself a copy of this one!

What I enjoyed most about this book was the very accurate portrayal of a very cultish church that weaponizes faith and uses people for the benefit of the few. I know this world, and the writing was very authentic in this portrayal.

I didn’t think Del was a very believable character, however. Of course, this is my own subjective opinion.

I think there is a lot to like about this book, but it wasn’t necessarily a hit for me I’m sorry to say.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.