Review of eBook

After several intense years of marriage, want-to-be scriptwriter Harry and want-to-be fashion designer Pauline [Paulie] decide to divorce. Their daughter, Grace, is eight. In the intervening years, each marries again, Paulie to Julian, an older man, and Harry to Helen, an aspiring actress. Each has met success with their careers; Paulie and Julian remain married while Helen and Harry have separated. Throughout the years, however, both Harry and Paulie have been staunch in their love and support of Grace who, at the age of twenty-three, has earned a degree in political science and now holds a job in the office of a congressman representing California.

But when Grace doesn’t return Harry’s call, he becomes concerned. And her late-in-the-evening birthday call to her mother leaves Paulie worried. Grace, it seems, is in California, staying at a farm called Camp Star. It isn’t long before Harry and Paulie discover that the camp is part of the Shining Star cult . . . and a brainwashed Grace plans to give up everything to do the work of Father Star.

Can Harry and Paulie find a way to rescue their daughter or will she be lost to them forever?

The story, told alternately by Harry and Paulie, wanders back and forth in time to give readers backstories for both parents. Despite their divorce, Harry and Paulie remain obsessed with each other.

Although they each love Grace unreservedly, both Harry and Paulie are completely self-absorbed and are thoroughly unlikable characters. Far less developed, Grace remains an enigma and, as a result, readers are left wondering how this young woman, who in the opening chapters is, to all appearances, thoughtful, capable, and responsible, was so easily pulled into this cult and brainwashed.

With so much of the telling of the tale taken up with the parents’ musings and remembrances, the narrative’s focus returns again and again to the rambling thoughts of Harry and Paulie, leaving Grace’s situation largely an afterthought and the actual telling of the story of the cult and Grace’s involvement with it ultimately takes short shrift.

Although readers find a surprise or two in the rambling narrative, they are likely to be less than satisfied with the denouement in this ultimately disappointing tale that leaves them with far too many unanswered questions about Grace.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Stonehouse Press and NetGalley
#FindingGrace #NetGalley ( )

I received a free advance e-copy of this book and have chosen to write an honest and unbiased review. I have no personal affiliation with the author. A divorced couple try to rescue their adult daughter from a cult after she disappears. They finally take drastic measures. Both parents seem to be very self-absorbed in themselves and each other and the daughter, Grace, appears to be sort of a third wheel even though they both love her very much. Their relationships are complicated. Harry is an amazing character in that he is able to think up amazing scenarios the he uses to reason with Grace and the members of the cult in order to convince her to leave and for them to let her go. After all they go through there finally is sort of a happy ending. This is an intriguing story and well worth the read. I look forward to reading more from Warren Adler in the future. ( )

Finding Grace by Warren Adler is a 2017 publication.

Do you believe strange religious cults are a thing of the past? Think again…

Grace, a beautiful, young political intern, has joined an odd cult and is completely under their spell. The cult’s goal is to take over the world, starting with America. They are totally right-wing, fascist types, but spout all the usual cult rhetoric and use commonly known methods of brainwashing and persuasion to entice and hold their followers.

Henry and Paulie divorced when Grace was a child, both remarried, but Henry is separated from his wife, while Pauley is rather content in her second marriage, despite it lacking the passion she shared with Henry. Although the couple have been divorced for fifteen years, they swiftly discover the bond they once shared, the bond that still binds them through their daughter, is still quite strong.

As Henry and Paulie work to free their daughter, they rediscover the passion and love that brought them together in the first place and must face a plethora of complications as their lives turn on a dime.

This book is set back in the late eighties or early nineties, so you’ll want to keep that in mind. There are phone booths, and landlines and the mention of Pan Am, so it obviously takes place a few decades ago, and is NOT a current day scenario.

Still, by that time, cults were beginning to lose ground, disperse, and no longer showed up regularly in the news. But, as we know, they didn’t go away entirely.

Paulie and Henry were blindsided by the revelation their smart, seemingly well-adjusted daughter fell prey to such manipulations. Their work to free her becomes an obsession, as they both reflect on their past life together, how or if they had unwittingly let their daughter down, blaming themselves for their self- absorptions, and remembering the intense feelings they once shared.

It may seem like an odd time to publish a book with this particular theme, since we seldom think of cults like the one described here in modern times. But, the topic did make me wonder about that, so I did a quick internet search and was shocked to discover how many cults are still quite active, and boasts incredibly large numbers of followers. Spooky.

But, the story also offered a couple of chilling remarks that reminded me of what uncharacteristic, complete and total loyalty can mean. So, from that angle, it seems like a bit of a cautionary tale, a warning that it still might not be safe to go back into the water, so don’t let your guard down.

Yet, after having said all that, the story doesn’t appear to be about Grace, per se. We only get a very tiny glimpse of the type of person she was prior to her cult conversion. Once she was immersed in that setting, she became almost a parody of the typical, brainwashed cult member. Her role in the story seems to serve more as a catalyst from which Henry and Paulie are forced to pull the focus off of themselves and onto a common goal, leading to an in -depth examination of their relationship, both past and present, and what that might mean for their future. In a weird way, it’s almost like a very quirky love story- a second chance at love trope, told within a very strange context.

All in all, this is a very offbeat story, strangely absorbing, fast paced, and easily read in one sitting. It lingered around in my mind for a while, as I puzzled over and searched for some missed hidden message or allegory, but I never could come up with anything solid on that front.

It’s an interesting read, perhaps a little shallow in places, predictable in others, but sinister and thought provoking all the same.

I’m waffling with the rating- it falls between 3 and 4- which means the dreaded 3.5 rating- but I’m feeling generous enough today to round it up. ( )

What would you do if your loveable child is in the clutches of a notorious cult? Would you question yourself: where did we go wrong, was our child unhappy, did our chattered life had a terrible effect on her…etc. a million questions and very few answers….The novel gets to the heart of brainwashing and its power to control. It also highlights how far parents will go to get their child back, even if that child is an adult.

Mr. Adler is a master in creating drama with visual scenes and building upon relationships. At first blush, the book seemed to be of Grace and the parental attempts to find her but it soon morphed into an overwhelming sexual obsession between two self-centered characters: Harry and Paulie, Grace divorced parents. The story jumps back and forth from the present and go back in time as the characters often reminisce about their life together. At one point, their romance is rekindled and this completely takes over the plot. These two characters did not fully won my heart… but their quest and the drastic measures taken to turn Grace around and bring her home is where this story excels in delivering its message.

This easy and fast read set some decades ago moderately dabbles into the cult mindset and their persuasion techniques. Although the premise is more about the efforts and courage needed to find and bring Grace back home we nevertheless have a look at this young woman who has been sucked into a cult and is now under their firm grasp.

As with all of Mr. Adler’s work, the narration flows smoothly and his powerful prose leaves a whirlwind of emotions. After-all having your child under the spell of mind control who shuns your love can only be but devastating.

An emotional read ( )