This intriguing cult-thriller is narrated by multiple POVs in various time periods and walks you through how a single person survived the cult while 14 others perished. Claire, the only survivor of Dominic Bragg/cult leader, doesn’t remember much of what happened during her time in the cult, “the Flock”. She pivots between current time and ten years prior when she walked away from her family and joined The Flock in Bird Haven.

All of her repressed past comes to life when a podcaster comes to town to investigate what happened a decade prior. Though she had attempted to stay out of the limelight, this new energy and interest in the case uncovers secrets and exposes what really happened while under the influence of “Dom”. As her past and present merge together, Claire starts looking for anything that can connect the dots and explain how one of her friends from Bird Haven was murdered.

I found the premise of “Only The Guilty Survive” interesting and was excited to read this ARC through NetGalley. The author did an amazing job of building up how the cult started, how members joined, and ultimately how the leader, “Dom”, was able to take control of the members to bend at his will.

I was hoping for so much more from this book. The beginning was so intriguing and developed so well. I struggled to find interest in the “present day” chapters as it was mundane in comparison to the other timeline. I felt like so much time was spent understanding the cult and all the ins and outs, that the ending fell flat. I LOVED the last page and look forward to a sequel hopefully. I would be interested in the author taking the information from this book and bringing it up to date with the current time period to create a second book with the same characters.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to others. 3/5 stars. As always, thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read and review this ARC!

I'm a sucker for the podcast theme and cult stories usually get my attention also, sooooo........ yaaayy for me! I really liked this one. Laurel, a local beauty queen is kidnapped and found strangled. Oh yeah, she also belonged to the town cult and 14 of those members commit suicide. Well, 10 years later we have Claire, a survivor, trying to get on with her life and Arlo, a pesky podcaster, turns up to drag it all up again. Overall, a really good story, although Claire was annoying. Just a bit helpless. She really doesn't remember much about "that" day. Nice twist at the end. I recommend this and look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Karen Robards and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication.

This book renders what seems like an authentic description of the experience of being a cult member. The methods used by Dominic Bragg to maintain control over his followers in the book is as horrifying as it is likely to be realistic, given that he draws on many of the "greats" such as Jim Jones, David Koresh and Charles Manson.

As the sole survivor of the mass suicide carried out by The Flock, as Bragg's followers were known, Claire Kettler is still struggling to come to terms with what happened, not least the prior disappearance of her friend and fellow cult member Laurel (aka Lollie) - which seems to have been the beginning of the end for The Flock - and the subsequent disappearance of the cult leader himself, whose whereabouts currently remain unknown.

But there is more to Laurel's story than meets the eye. And there is more to
Claire too. And the arrival of a podcaster bench on steering up the past is likely to unleash demons that have been kept in check for years...

A compelling, visceral read about what people will do for love - and the price they are willing to pay to find a place where they feel they can belong.

Only the Guilty Survive is a fast-paced, cult-based thriller in which a podcaster comes to a small northern Michigan town in the hopes of solving a long-ignored cult mass suicide and murder of a beauty queen. Claire, the sole survivor of the cult mass death, has now moved on in her life and would love nothing more than to never think of that tragic time again; however, the podcaster has a different agenda. Now, in order to save herself, Claire must face her darkest memories.

Only the Guilty Survive keeps the reader at the edge of their seat. For anyone who is interested in cults, this book does a great job of describing the peer pressure, the manipulation, the vulnerabilities, the innocence, and the desire involved. I love well-written, unreliable narrators (again, they really have to be done right). Kate Robards does a fantastic job telling the story through multiple unreliable POVs in a dual timeline. The story is told through the POVs of Laurel, in the past, and Claire, in the present, with a few chapters from Dom's perspective. The author had me not believing I could trust any of the POVs, which kept me on my toes throughout the book. I'll be honest, there really aren't any overly likable characters throughout the book. However, the mystery of what happened to Laurel and why the Flock killed themselves keeps the reader turning page after page. I absolutely loved and hated the ending at the same time. It was honestly perfect for this book. I will be recommending Only the Guilty Survive.

I love podcast-driven thrillers and the premise of Only the Guilty Survive is really interesting. Unfortunately, it was not a fit for me. The multiple POVs and Claire's choppy narration really slowed the pacing. While I DNF'd this book, other reviewers seem to love the twist, so I'm sure it will find an audience with other readers.

I had the best time reading Only The Guilty Survive by Kate Robards. I enjoyed falling down this culty and twisty rabbit hole. I couldn’t put this fast-paced thriller down and had to know all the things.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange of my honest review.

Amazing thriller that kept me on my toes. I had to stop reading for a while in the middle of this and I was counting the seconds until I could get back to it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Cults and beauty queens? Sign me up. This was so good. I couldn’t put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was an interesting concept. Didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would as a true crime podcast lover, but still a good read! Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the advanced copy! Publication date August 6, 2024.

I feel like the synopsis made this book sound more interesting than it was. I thought it was depressing, knowing right away that Laurel/Lollie is dead and Claire seems so pathetic still.

I liked the ending and finding out what happened (which I felt like the author owed me by that point) and I liked the title and cover art.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy listening to podcasts and watching documentaries on cults so this book really piqued my interests and had me captivated right away, I would recommended this to anyone with similar interests to me.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

Only the Guilty Survive follows Claire, one of the only surviving cult members of The Flock. Shortly after the disappearance and murder of cult member, Laurel “Lollie”, the rest of The Flock turn up dead with the leader missing. Claire struggles to understand what happened and why she wasn’t a part of their grand exit- especially because her PTSD from the experience means she doesn’t remember much of what happened before the deaths. Here enters Arlo, a podcaster who comes to town to tell the story of The Flock in his search to uncover the truth. Claire must race to figure out the past before the blame is placed on her.

This book is told in past and present chapters in Laurel and Claire’s point of view. I enjoyed getting both of their perspectives and having the story unfold in this way. The book had me hooked and I did enjoy it, but I don’t think I understood the ending. I felt something must have gone over my head so I’m looking forward to when others read when it comes out so I can discuss!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC!

Kept my interest, book about the before and after of a cult survivor, whose fellow members didn’t make it out. Throw in the kidnapping and murder of her friend, and it was a solid mystery. I think the ending was sort of thrown together, but a good solid cult story.

I thought this book was great. The twists and turns were amazing, and I loved how it ended in that it made you rethink the entire story.

I had a good time with Only the Guilty Survive by Kate Robards. We follow the only surviving member of a cult, Claire, 10 years after her best friend, Laurel, was killed and her other fellow cult members died in seemingly ritual manner. A podcaster has come to town to unearth the truth about what happened back then and learn where the cult leader disappeared to. Only Claire suffers from PTSD surrounding her time and can't remember the details of the deaths. So we're faced with an unreliable main character right from the start, which lends nicely to the underlying unsettling feeling running through the story. We get chapters from Claire's current POV, dealing with being a pariah in the town due to her cult involvement and trying to navigate the new podcast, plus flashback chapters from Laurel from the days leading up to her murder. The story was easy to follow though and never felt slow or repetitive. I read in quickly because I was invested in finding out the truth.

If you liked Bright Young Women, this has similar vibes. No spoilers but a star off because I didn't love the ending.

The Flock was a cult led by Dominic Bragg in the small town of Iola, Michigan. Just a few weeks after one of their members Laurel “Lollie” Tai, a local pageant queen was kidnapped and found strangled the fourteen members of the cult committed mass suicide, except for Bragg, who was never found and Laurel’s best friend Claire Kettler, daughter of the local medical examiner and professor at the library Val college.

Ten years later Claire is a pariah is Iola and can’t understand what really happened. Now a podcaster, Arlo Stone has come to town to investigate the cult and Laurel’s murder. Claire is drawn back into the story and feels she is in a race against time to find answers.

The story is told in “then” and “now” chapters narrated by Laurel and Claire, with a few from Dominic’s point of view. I’m a big fan of any type of cult story, so I enjoyed those aspects of the book, and I like that parts of Dominic were true believer, parts pure user….most people have both sides, I think. The Claire of today frustrated me a lot as she appeared to have so little agency, and the end, which was, admittedly, a nice twist, was one I didn’t entirely grasp in context, I think. Overall a decent story, though.

“Only the Guilty Survive: a Thriller” by Kate Robards follows the story of Claire, a former member of a cult named The Flock that turned suicidal. The book switches back and forth between present day Claire, struggling to wrestle with her past and to clear her name as suspicion grows, and in the past Lollie, Claire’s friend in The Flock that was murdered.

I am no expert on cults and their leaders, but I felt through reading this book that it is evident that Robards did her research. The dynamics of The Flock were perfectly crafted. It was clearly demonstrated why the members became members. Aspects like how they were recruited and how they were kept under the leader’s control were discussed at length. I really appreciated that the story did not look down about the people in the Flock.

Robards crafted an immersive story with complex characters. I could imagine myself at the Bird Haven. The storyline flowed well, even though there were multiple point of views. I particularly enjoyed Robards’ characterization of the main character Claire. Her struggles with PTSD and conflicting emotions regarding her past were well done.

MAJOR SPOILERS OF ENDING BELOW!!!!!





My least favorite part of this story was the ending. It did not seem to necessarily coincide with Claire throughout the rest of the story. It also seemed like it was just done for shock factor. I wish the story had just ended with the sentence ““Birds of a Feather” followers are left wondering why, out of everyone, I lived, and where is Dominic Bragg?”.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A thriller involving a murder mystery and a cult? Sign me up. So seriously, this book was great. I enjoyed it a ton and it really hooked me in. This will be out in August and it should definitely be on your TBR!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for this ARC!

When I saw this book recommended for fans of Riley Sager I knew I had to read immediately! This is my first Kate Robards book and it didn’t disappoint, I found the storyline to be interesting and captivating, a page turner that kept me reading to find out the mysterious of the past.

“Only the guilty survive” follow present day Claire, the sole survivor of a cult called “the flock” that came to an abrupt end in 2014 when the other members acted out a mass suicide. She has attempted to move on with her life, yet shoulder the blame and harsh judgements of her small town.

The only issue is, she remembers very little about her time in the cult, and has no idea why she was the only one left out.

The POV swap between hers, and that of another member “Lollie”. In Lollies POV we are taken back to the past in the weeks leading up to the death of the cult, as we watch events unfold from a first hand account.

I enjoyed the two POV, as well as both of the main characters. I felt so bad for both of them knowing their dire situations. Usually I’m not a fan of cult fiction as I find it to be repetitive and boring, however this story brought to life new ideas from a fresh perspective and kept me entertained throughout.

Thank you to the author, Crooked lane books and NetGalley for the arc.

publish date: Aug 6th 2024