The Program: A Page-Turning Psychological Thriller – U.S. Marshal Goes Deep Undercover in a Mind Control Cult (Tim Rackley Novels)

I am kind of new to Mr. Hurwitz. I have read the first two books of the Tim Rackley novels and his latest novel, Trust No One, which I really liked. I thought this book, The Program was so good. Really creepy, with the infiltrating of the cult, and what went on in the cult. I was on the edge of my seat during the whole book. Mr. Hurwitz is not a quick read necessarily, like so many authors in his genre. He is very detailed, and really goes deep into his stories, but that is what makes him so good. Well worth the time it takes to delve into his Tim Rackley novels. I love the Tim Rackley character, and I am going to move on to the next in the series right away. I noticed there are a couple of other stand alone novels, not in the Rackley series, I will pick those up as well. I have one waiting for me on my Kindle.I'm glad I discovered him, even if I am coming to him later than a lot of his other fans!!

Good plot and well drawn characters but it really needed to be tightened up. It could have been about 25% shorter without the excessive descriptive details (I don't want to read 3 paragraphs explaining to me what a room looks like). The author clearly did extensive research on cults and I enjoyed finding out about the many subtle techniques they have for breaking down resistance. But he incorporates too many examples throughout the book that don't move the story along - it reads like they were added only to show how well the author knew the subject. I also would have liked an epilogue to give me an idea of how the main characters adjusted after the events described in the story. Overall a good book but some great editing would have taken it to the next level.

This book is a definite must read. Tim Rackley is back, after his initial introduction in The Kill Clause. He had gone through a terrible year after his 7 year old daughter was murdered and his subsequent decision to leave the U.S. Marshal Service. He gets hired by a wealthy Hollywood producer to find his daughter, Leah, who had joined a cult. The only way he could do this was to be back with the Service, which was worked out by the producer's influence. Tim infiltrated the cult by pretending to be someone interested in the group. It was there that he met the Teacher, a scary guy named TD. I have known men like TD - not as bad as he was, but a few different men who have had some aspects of his personality, who were in positions of leadership. I find this sort of situation very disturbing, especially watching the way many of their followers are totally controlled by them. Hurwitz created the perfect cult leader in TD, describing his complete control of his followers in a very convincing and creepy way. Tim, a very strong person both physically and in personality, managed to impersonate someone who was open to this control, but not so easily as to raise suspicion. Reading about his time with the group gave me such a sense of panic and claustrophobia that I actually had a nightmare about it. The limitations of the legal system were well described and very frustrating, but the way they got around all of that was very clever. This is a not missable must read book. I have read several of Hurwitz' books and have enjoyed all of them. I just ordered all of the rest and pre-ordered his upcoming book. He is truly a gifted author.

Excellent reading, really heart pounding at the end. It is hard to put down, you want to know how it ends.

Well managed, keeping high level of suspense, well managed personalities! A good read! It’s not the Orphan X but it’s a close cousin!

This is the first book I've read by this author. I thought it was entertaining, but not great. There was a lot of unnecessary repetition and the sheer number of characters was a little confusing. I didn't feel an attachment to the main character, which I feel is necessary to make it a page turner. The end was definitely more exciting than the beginning. I never got a clear picture in my mind of the characters which makes me feel like there wasn't enough development of them. But overall it was a good read and an interesting insight into mind control and cults.

Very well-written and obviously well-researched. Cults have been around since time immemorial, but we are facing more sophisticated ones today that specifically target people who see no issue with parting with money they never actually earned themselves. The insidious methods used by recruiters are so subtle that by the time someone may start to question the true intent of the cult, they have already abandoned the belief system that grew up in and willingly ignore the red flags. This was a little different from the typical spy/black ops/thrillers that I normally read, but it gets you hooked and provides insight to hidden societies that prey upon people by isolating them and convincing them this is what they want. The creativity used to weave important puzzle pieces into the story is excellent. Again, one of those books you can’t put down once you get into it.

You need patience to stay with this book. I almost put it down as the first half was slow and kind of a downer. It seemed to be going in a well worn direction. Tim Rackley, after being thrown out of the Federal Marshalls ranks, is reduced to night watchman's job. He's called back to do a special job for his old boss, find and rescue a young woman who has been taken in by a mind control cult. Where this book deviates from the usual smash, grab and deprogram methods is when it gets interesting. To tell more would be to spoil the book for others. Suffice to say the story plays out in an unusual and satisfying way with plenty of suspense and excitement.

I wasn't sure what to expect as the story slowly evolved. Then the last half came on strong and exciting. Great ending and good to see the bad guys get their due.

I've never read a book quite like this as substantial parts of it are less like a fictional novel than like a manual setting out how cults get to grow, snaring people in their traps and powering the ego and life style of messianic leaders.It was utterly fascinating and horrifying at the same time. All novels seek to hook the reader, drawing you into the story so that you really care about the main characters and, with Tim Rackley (the hero) and Leah (damsel in distress) and even with TD (evil villain), you really do care. As with other Gregg Hurwtz novels, some of the peripheral characters are a little 'cartoon' and shallow but there are also characters who are presented in one light at the beginning of the book and are, slowly, revealed to be quite different characters by the end. The nature of this story; a fanatical 'self-help' cult, means that there are more characters to keep track of than might be the case for other plot lines but Mr Hurwitz manages to express these with sufficient clarity to allow the reader to keep the 'who's who' straight. The portrayal of the main villain, TD, is masterful; no cartoon Bond villain this but a complex, intelligent, resourceful character whom the reader has no problem at all seeing able to control the wills of hundreds of people. Seeing the periodic news stories, over the years, about these cults (mainly in America and, as is acknowledged in this book) often in California), I've always wondered at how stupid must people be to allow someone to take such control over you, but, while reading The Program, I increasingly had to ask myself if I would act any differently than these 'cult fodder' were I in their situation. Scary. This is my fifth Gregg Hurwitz and the best proof of my admiration is that I've already bought my sixth, to read as soon as I finish this review. Some other reviewers have said that they preferred the first of the Rackley novels, 'The Kill Clause' but, for me, this second outing is quite a bit better; not many novels change the way the reader thinks about the world in which we live but this one changed mine. While both of the 'Evan Smoat' novels ('Orphan X' and 'The Nowhere Man') were superb and very different to the Rackley books, I enjoyed 'The Surviver' a little less but, hey, four, storming, hits out of five is score any author would be proud of. There are plenty of Gregg Hurwitz novels for me to get into yet and, I assure you, I will!

Though American English but understandable with a little effort. Plot of the book is timely. Main character Rackley is portrayed as too honest and having the highest of moral character which is a little too irksome and incredible while working in police department.

Great book.

just starting reading hurwitz new character we will see how it turns out