Anne Waverly is a professor of religion who occasionally goes undercover for the FBI within communities suspected of developing into dangerous cults. Her background as a member of one such commune with a disastrous end makes her particularly useful; her guilt and grief over the deaths of her own husband and daughter at the hands of a zealot pushes her to continue accepting these assignments even once she has begun to settle into a new life of comparative emotional stability. The novel takes us with Anne as she assumes a new identity to investigate a group calling themselves Change, with a compound in the Arizona desert. Change seems to have nothing to hide; they comply with government regulations and educational standards for the children, welcome routine inspections by Children and Youth and other social welfare agencies, allow members to come and go with relative freedom, and operate a gift shop in the nearby town. The group also takes in, through appropriate channels, "troubled" youth whose needs the beaucratic system has so far failed. Nevertheless, Anne's FBI contact, Agent Glen McCarthy, has heard some disturbing reports about the group's other outposts, and needs an inside source of information. Glen and Anne have a "history" of their own, and it's not an especially healthy one. This novel has the feel of a Daphne DuMaurier story, although with the suspense rendered in a lower key. Not a true "gothic" story, but some of the elements are definitely there---a woman in unfamiliar surroundings trying to sort out what the secrets are, and whom to trust; charismatic men in authority; innocents in need of rescue; a slam-bam ending where the reader can't be certain of anything until the very last word. ( )

Intriguing premie but not memorable. ( )

Exciting, tense and a fascinating look into the workings of cults. ( )

Not nearly as good as the Mary Russell series. I was really drawn into the protagonist's role in infiltrating a religious cult and was expecting a lot more out of the experience. I thought the book wrapped up too soon and too abruptly without resolution for the two children that Anne became attached to. Perhaps this opens the door to a series for Anne Waverly? I'd give it a chance if so. ( )

A thoroughly engaging story. ( )