i love a good cult story so i was really excited for this one, especially since later in the book we get to read from the perspective of the cult leader through flashbacks which isn’t something i’ve seen before. unfortunately, i don’t feel like any of the characters were realistic and i found all their actions to be incredibly annoying and frustrating.
backing up, our main character claire is the soul survivor of a mass cult killing 10+ years prior and she clearly has not grown or developed in that time. what i personally find interesting about cult stories taking place several years later is seeing the main character regress with the memories resurfacing and how they have to navigate that with their new lives. except in this case, claire’s life is nearly identical to that before joining the cult, it boggles my mind why she would be living in the same small town where she is endlessly ridiculed for her involvement in the cult, she is a dull and uninteresting character who has no reasoning for her actions and the same could be said for every character.
i’m hurt a little extra by this book because i feel as though the beginning was very promising but the characters just leave so much to be desired. going back to the cult leader dom’s chapters, i never found him remotely charming or charismatic, i was just being told that he was so of course he’d have this cult fawning over him. if the reader is actually going to get his inner monologue we have to be convinced as well, being told by the other characters involved is just not enough.
all this to say the premise was interesting but i don’t think this is worth the read.

I was drawn to this book by the cult aspect. I haven’t read many thrillers that are cult related. Claire is the sole survivor and podcaster Arlo comes sniffing around 10 years late trying to get answers to their deaths. Claire doesn’t have all the answers either, but between the two of them they’re determined to find them.

I enjoyed the multiple narrators in this audio version. It made the past POV more realistic, and I always enjoy both male and female narrators when there are both POVs in the story.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for my copy of this book.

This audiobook kept me interested… until it didn’t. The ending felt a bit rushed. Still a great premise! If you like cult thrillers with a podcast element, this might be for you.

Whilst I felt like the podcast element of the story was underutilised, overall I found this to be an intriguing story as we are trying to unravel the events surrounding the deaths of Laurel and then the rest of the cult. I enjoyed that this story was told through multiple POV so we got a really good insight into different characters' thoughts and feelings throughout all of the events. There were a couple of times where it felt as though the reveals were out of order as one character would realise something for the next POV to confirm this realisation.

I don't think this book was doing anything new or revolutionary however it was an enjoyable read that kept me guessing and intrigued from start to finish. I would have liked it if the reveal of Laurel's killer had been integrated a bit more smoothly as they seemed to be somewhat random which leads to a bit of an unsatisfying experience as a reader. The reveal also felt a bit abrupt so I felt as though I was trying to place catch-up in figuring out who exactly they were and understanding how they related to other characters we had learnt about.

There is a strange subplot of Claire's husband wanting to have a baby and, rather than express that this wasn't something she was interested in, she repeatedly mentioned that she had birth control hidden in the bathroom. This was a plot line that didn't particularly go anywhere but it was maddening to read about as this is such a fundamental difference in what they want from life and they just. weren't. communicating. Her husband also got a bit weird around Claire wanting to uncover what memories she may have lost around her cult days and accusing her of "sneaking around" which just felt a bit out of pocket.

Overall, this was a very serviceable read and I enjoyed my time with it however I definitely was not a fan of the ending as it left me with more questions than answers,

This was quite a twisty ride, which I love! I didn't see that last twist coming and that is my favorite thing! This was my 1st book by Kate Robards but will not be my last!

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Claire, surrounded by bad relationships, joined a cult. Now it's a decade later, the rest of the cult is dead, and she is still surrounded with bad relationships. Claire is insufferable and inconsistent in her recollection and actions. I didn't care what happened to her. The cult leader, Dominic, is whiny and mentally unstable and I'm not sure why anyone would ever follow him. The only interesting character was Lilly, and she was already dead, telling her story from a past point of view. Robards is a good writer, but this story fell flat for me. 2.5 ⭐ rounding up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and the author for my copy of this audiobook.

An interesting look at a cult and its lasting impact on several members. Well-narrated with nicely drawn and intriguing characters. The story is not particularly fast-paced but it is always intriguing with many layers and several points of view. I liked the audiobook narration a lot; good voice acting which added to the suspense. A worthy way to spend your time. I'd be interested in reading more from this author.

Culllllts!

10 years ago 14 cult members are dead, their leader has disappeared. Only Claire survives. Before the cult deaths, member Laurel is kidnapped and murdered. The timelines follow both Laurel and Claire.

What I liked about this book is that the cult felt real. It's a creepy psychopath convincing young women to sleep with him on a dilapidated compound. I also liked that Claire and Laurel join the cult on their own will. I feel like a lot of the cult books I read are about children born into the cult. It was interesting to see why these young women would join such a cult.

In the current timeline it is clear how Claire was impacted by her time in the cult. She very dependent on her husband and father and only has a part time library job to keep her occupied. She has been stripped of all self esteem and self worth. She takes some power back by trying to put together the pieces of her past.

Overall this was an entertaining listen. The narrators do a great job.

Only the Guilty Survive by Kate Robards and narrated by Beth Hicks; Leanne Woodward; Graham Halstead is a whirlwind of a psychological thriller, following Arlo Stone, a podcaster who delves deep into a Cult callled the flock, their apparent mass unaliving by choice and the sole survivor, Claire Kettler

Not usually a fan of multi-narrator audiobooks, this one was a game changer as it suited the different timelines perfectly with well-chosed voice actors, each putting in a powerful performance that matched the narrative and characters well

Ostracised by the community, Claire Kettler also wants to find out exacty what happened after she escaped the Flock and clear her name before it happens again

An intense thriller that had me literally rapt, not doing anything else as I sat, mesmerised by the incredible writing and twists and turns. Absolutely recommend

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the author and narrators for this fantastic ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I enjoyed Only the Guilty Survive, espesially on audiobook! It was well paced, and worked well listening to it. I listened through quickly, and wanted to know what was happening next. As a mystery/crime/thriller lover, I enjoyed this book, and thought it was well written. I also really liked the narration.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for providing a copy to review.

The mass suicide of a cult known as The Flock sent shockwaves through the small rural town of Iola, Michigan. The deaths came just weeks after one of their members, Laurel Tai, a local pageant queen, was abducted. The town turned its blame and fear onto the sole survivor, Claire Kettler—Laurel’s best friend. When podcaster Arlo Stone begins poking around ten years later, determined to uncover the truth about the cult and Laurel’s murder, Claire is propelled back into action.

I wanted to love this story so much, but in the end I didn’t connect with it as much as I would’ve liked. At the end of the book, I felt like it brought me to the same point as I was at the start of the story and there wasn’t much development.

One thing that worked well for me was the audiobook performance. The story was quite easy to follow and didn’t take much effort to get into. I kept wondering how much of unreliable narrators Claire and Laurel were.

All in all, a good story that could’ve been developed so much more IMHO.

I so desperately wanted to love this one because I’m such a big fan of books surrounding cults, but unfortunately, Only the Guilty Survive didn’t work for me. It wasn’t necessarily a bad listen; however, it took me two attempts to finish it. I’m not sure if it was a me problem (hello, massive reading slump!) or if it was because of the book itself, but I just found it really hard to pay attention.  

Kate Robards does have a gift for research! It was clear from the beginning that she understood how most cults seem to work, and the aftermath felt pretty believable. I also liked her writing style, and the characters were interesting! (Which does lead me to wonder if it truly was the fault of my reading slump.)

All in all, while Only the Guilty Survive might not have been for me, I would gladly read another book by Robards! If you’re interested in thrillers or mysteries surrounding cults, do give this one a try. You might enjoy it more than I did!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Robards, and Dreamscape Media for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While I'm not an expert on cults, it's clear from this book that Robards conducted thorough research. The dynamics of The Flock are intricately portrayed, showing why members joined and how they were controlled. I appreciated the respectful approach to depicting the people involved.

Despite multiple perspectives, the storyline flows smoothly. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of Claire, the main character, whose struggles with PTSD and emotional conflicts are handled with depth and sensitivity.

Was this a groundbreaking thriller? No, not really. But I love a good cult plotline and this one kept me guessing.

"Only the Guilty Survive" was an enjoyable cult thriller. The cult itself was interesting, and I liked the different perspectives. The twist came out of nowhere, and I'm not sure if it's in a good way. The storytelling was very good, and I liked how the author built the characters. I would definitely read more from her.

Only The Guilty Survive by Kate Robards

An intense journey into the depths of a cult and its members. What makes it possible? How do we go from being a daughter, a friend, a wife; to a cult member caught in a web of lies?

Kate Robards presents us with a highly sensitive topic and it’s is certainly well explored. This is not only a story of a cult leader and it’s Flock, this is the path that every one of them, including the leader; took to get there.

In general terms, as it’s explained in the novel, cult leader lies, manipulates, exploits and deceits its followers. They study their vulnerabilities, body language and simply explore those dark areas to present them with new ideas of awakening and transcendence.

Some of them come from dark places, running away from a past no longer serves their purpose of living; while others may come from complex families trying to find a new meaning to their lives. It doesn’t really matter the case, as they both get trapped in a web specially designed to get them and make them believe that each one of them actually chose that life.

This novel explores the psyche of the cult leader as well, which I found extremely useful and well written. As the reader gets a peek inside Don’s mind, we learn about his past, about his own demons and his dreams of grandiosity.

It is my belief that it does not matter if the leader is mentally ill, if only wants money and power or if he simply wants his name written on the news, they are real people. Like you and me. They live among us and they take us and our loved ones.

As it happened with one of the members of the Flock, she got brainwashed, love bombed, suffered from isolation and was starved or joined fasting to purify herself. But she got there and stayed there. So, what’s going on with the world outside that a complete and charismatic person can come and change our set of values and principles and take us away from our families and friends? What is going so wrong that in order to escape our realities we drink sand instead of water?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for this free ALC in exchange for an honest review.

For a novel that seemed to have taken a lot of inspiration from real life events with the cults, this was a little too far from the mark for me. It was clear that the author had watched a lot of documentaries or listened to a lot of podcasts and had amalgamated different aspects of different cults to create Dom's Flock. This left a ragged, unfinished feel to it all that removed a level of engagement for me.

The characters were very two-dimensional and the buzz words used did little to pull the reader in.

Unfortunately, this could have been a 5 star had the author actually created a succinct, well rounded cult rather than the patchwork one the story is centred around.

Very fast paced. The characters draw you in immediately. Love love love! Can’t wait to read more from this author. The twist kept me guessing!

10 years after a mass suicide at a cult , the lone survivor struggles to remember what happened. This was an interesting mystery told in multiple voices, but the ending left me completely unsatisfied.. I did like the narrator, though.
I was given an ARC of Only the Lonely Survive by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Only the Guilty Survive by Kate Robards is an electrifying psychological thriller that expertly weaves together true crime intrigue with dark, small-town secrets.
The story is centered around the mysterious mass suicide of the Flock, a cult led by the enigmatic Dominic Bragg, which left the town of Iola, Michigan, reeling in shock. Robards brilliantly sets the stage with the chilling details of the cult’s demise, especially the haunting connection to the abduction and murder of Laurel Tai, a local beauty queen. The tension only deepens with the presence of Claire Kettler, the sole survivor and best friend of Laurel, who has been living in the shadow of these horrific events for a decade.
Robards excels in creating complex, flawed characters. The arrival of Arlo Stone, a tenacious podcaster determined to uncover the truth, adds a fresh layer of suspense. As Arlo starts digging into the past, the narrative takes on a pulse-pounding intensity, driving Claire to confront her darkest memories and secrets.
The novel is filled with twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end. Robards plays with the reader’s expectations, unraveling the mystery piece by piece while maintaining an atmosphere of dread and anticipation. The dual timelines, shifting between the present investigation and the events leading up to the cult’s demise, are seamlessly intertwined, adding depth to the story and making the final revelations all the more shocking.