Mystery Cults

Mystery cults are one of the most intriguing areas of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically reenacted the story of Demeter's loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in the Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honor Dionysus; in the mysteries of Mithras, men came to understand the nature of the universe and their place within it through frightening initiation ceremonies and astrological teachings.

A distraught mother seeks her kidnapped child. A young boy languishes in jail, facing a trial that could change his life forever. The 3M Detective Agency has been nearly dismantled by sudden death and an unrelenting campaign by an out-of-control district attorney. How will Natalie McMasters and the fam fight against overwhelming odds to keep from being destroyed for good? Cult! is a story that spans the U.S.A., as Nattie infiltrates a soul-sucking cult trying to take over Los Angeles to hunt for her newly discovered sister and her missing newborn son, while a couple of ancient Tai Chi ...

In 1632, an entire convent in the small French village of Loudun was apparently possessed by the devil. After a sensational and celebrated trial, the convent's charismatic priest Urban Grandier - accused of spiritually and sexually seducing the nuns in his charge - was convicted of being in league with Satan. Then he was burned at the stake for witchcraft. A remarkable true story of religious and sexual obsession, The Devils of Loudun is considered by many to be Brave New World author Aldous Huxley's nonfiction masterpiece.

In the early Roman Empire, as Christianity struggled to gain a foothold and survive in the polytheistic pool of Roman theology, its greatest rivals weren't the Caesars or the Roman aristocracy but rather the faith and devotion of the common Roman legionary. The faith of these men was centered on the god Mithras, who, they believed, led them to victory upon the field of battle and had done so for nearly four centuries.

Tribulation is a twisted mystery about an end-of-days religious cult manipulating space and traveling across planes of existence on electricity and radio signals. Cult members willingly accept seven brutal years of torture, known as their “tribulation,” to atone for their earthly sins and come out on the other side saved (or thoroughly brainwashed?). The hero of this thriller, Stacy Carlson, must uncover the mystery of the Tribulation cult after her husband Greg is kidnapped by its leader, Brother Elijah (Josh Charles), through a bizarre AM radio broadcast.

Halley James knows her marriage is over. But she’s not prepared for the rest of her life to fall apart too. She just lost her job at the forensics lab. Her dad needs emergency surgery. But the biggest blow comes back home in Marchburg, Virginia, where she discovers her mother didn’t actually die in a car crash. Her mom was murdered—and her father lied about it all these years.

Africa may have given rise to the first human beings, and Egypt probably gave rise to the first great civilizations, which continue to fascinate modern societies across the globe nearly 5,000 years later. From the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria to the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Ancient Egyptians produced several wonders of the world, revolutionized architecture and construction, created some of the world’s first systems of mathematics and medicine, and established language and art that spread across the known world.

When Riley Matthews (niece of Daniel Matthews from the book Without Warning in the Elite Guardians series) heads to North Carolina to rescue her best friend from the Swiss Saints cult, she quickly runs into trouble. Steve Patterson, home from Afghanistan and ready to adjust to civilian life, wants that life to include Riley Matthews. But first, he has to find her, help her rescue her friend--and convince her that he's a changed man. Only Riley's not so sure she believes him. Truthfully, her heart wants to say all is forgiven, but her head won't let her forget the pain he caused her when he ...

Historians Cameron Thorne and Amanda Spencer-Gunn discover a fourteenth-century journal which confirms a long-rumored historical heresy: The medieval Church outlawed the Knights Templar because the warrior monks were secretly worshiping the ancient Goddess. The journal also sucks Cam and Amanda into the orbit of a ruthless cabal of modern-day pagans intent on pushing America into the loving arms of the Goddess—whether America wants succor there or not.

My name is Mac Brennan, and that's the only thing I can remember about myself. Not why I woke up in a dumpster. Not why my right arm is as black as pitch and covered in glowing red tattoos, and certainly not why a vicious death cult is after me. Actually, that last part isn't true. I know why the death cult is after me. It's because I saved that damned girl from them. I didn't know who she was at the time, but I'd have done it anyway. I just don't like it when girls get beat up; call me old fashioned.

Demons, jinn, possession, sinister artifacts, and gruesome archaeological discoveries haunt this new book by Dr. Heather Lynn. Evil Archaeology investigates the archaeological record for artifacts and evidence of evil entities, revealing how demons from the ancient world may be dwelling among us. It also looks at the history and lore behind real relics believed to be haunted and includes historical accounts of demonic possession that go as far back as King Solomon invoking demons to help him build his famed temple.

Big messages come from the smallest things There’s new trouble in River Bend. When Gabby receives a strange package in the mail, she has no idea what chain of events will be set into motion. The coins in the package hold a dark secret that only she can see. Someone is targeting Gabby, sucking her into a sinister plot. She will need all her psychic powers to survive. Lucas and Dustin are desperate to save her by solving a murder. There are few clues and it will take the whole family, but will they reach her in time? Book 8 in the Messages of Murder Series Book 1- Message in the Bones Book ...

A beautiful young woman’s mutilated body is found in the sand near the breaking waves of the Pacific Ocean. When Detective Kaitlyn Carr is called to the scene, she discovers that it belongs to Emilia Cruz, an actress on a popular Netflix show, who had just attended the Screen Actors Guild Awards and is still wearing her gown from the night before. As Kaitlyn begins her relentless pursuit of the truth, she uncovers a shocking secret: Emilia had recently joined a wellness cult led by an enigmatic figure who promises enlightenment through unconventional methods. The cult's obsession with ...

She came to heal. What she uncovered might just destroy her instead. Tessa Rowan checked into Eversage Ridge hoping to heal. What she found was something far more insidious. Behind the tranquil façade of the exclusive wellness retreat were secrets, surveillance, and a carefully curated web of psychological manipulation. As the staff peeled back her layers, Tessa began to question everything—her memories, her sanity, even her own guilt. But the deeper she dug, the more dangerous the truth became. And when she finally uncovered the real reason she was brought to Eversage, Tessa was forced ...

Ricky Rice is a middling hustler with a lingering junk habit, a bum knee, and a haunted mind. A survivor of a suicide cult, he scrapes by as a porter at a bus depot in Utica, New York, until one day a mysterious letter arrives, summoning him to enlist in a band of paranormal investigators comprised of former addicts and petty criminals, all of whom had at some point in their wasted lives heard what may have been the voice of God.

Danger the likes Boone McCreery has never seen is brewing in the Black Hills. Fresh in from Santa Fe, he’s returned to Deadwood to seek justice for his uncle - and maybe to see about a girl. Little did he know his search for justice would have him stumbling into a hornets’ nest beyond his worst nightmare. One thing is for certain: The trouble he and his compadres chance upon deep in the trees is a long way from ordinary.

The Black Death is only the beginning of Aethelburg’s nightmare. When Dr. Alaric Kael investigates the disappearance of a noble girl, he unearths the horrifying agenda of the Brethren of the Second Dawn, a zealous death cult. They preach that the plague is not a curse, but a "Great Transformation" – a holy fire meant to dissolve individual minds into a terrifying hive consciousness via a heretical text called the Codex Anima. Caught between a ruthless lord who wants to weaponize the disease for control and a fanatic who seeks to erase humanity itself, Alaric must confront a madness more...

What do you do when you finally have the one person you've always wanted, but everything else is falling apart around you? Jane Durant's entire world has collapsed at the hands of a powerful secret society and she is now on the run with James Donovan, a handsome, enigmatic billionaire on a mission to dismantle the very organization he worked for most of his life. Will they be able to stop their enemies before it is too late? And can their desire overcome the many obstacles? In this second book in the Society Series, passions run high and the stakes are raised. Check out book one of the ...

They entered the Gate, and never came back. A girl vanishes from a Seoul parish. A priest begins to ask questions no one dares to answer. What begins as a search for a missing college student quickly spirals into something darker—whispers of a secretive cult, a billion-dollar cryptocurrency breach, and an underground network of silence, faith, and blood. At the center of it all stands Father Antonio Han: young, idealistic, and increasingly troubled by what is done in the name of the faith he’s devoted his life to. As he pulls at the threads of truth, Antonio finds himself caught between...

In the hunt for justice, FBI Agent Fallon Baxter unravels the deadliest mysteries. Believe. Obey. Survive. Welcome to Paradise where faith meets fear, and salvation is written in blood. Clean language and heart-stopping twists that keep you glued to the edge of your seat until the very last page. When FBI Agent Fallon Baxter returns to her hometown of Pine Ridge Falls to join the local field office, she expects a fresh start and a chance to mend her broken past. Instead, she’s thrust into the heart of darkness when a string of brutal murders shakes the quiet community. The victims, found ...