When She Returned

Kate vanished from a parking lot eleven years ago, leaving behind her husband and young daughter. When she shows up at a Montana gas station, clutching an infant and screaming for help, investigators believe she may have been abducted by a cult. Kate’s return flips her family’s world upside down—her husband is remarried, and her daughter barely remembers her. As the family unravels what happened to Kate, a series of shocking revelations shows that Kate’s return is more sinister than any of them could have imagined. "When She Returned" presents a compelling and refreshing narrative centered on a mother's disappearance and the subsequent events following her escape from a cult ten years later. Lucinda's impeccable storytelling presents multiple perspectives, specifically those of Kate, her daughter Abbi, and Meredith, the stepmother. The chapters also gracefully transition between past and present, from Kate's time in The Love Unconditional cult to her reunion with her family. Every interaction was quite captivating, and it became even more so as Kate shared her journey within the cult. The brainwashing perpetrated by the leader were incredibly wild. I despised this monster and couldn't believe the control he had over his followers. It is truly remarkable how Lucinda skillfully depicted the undeniable truth about cults and their misdeeds of using scriptures as a deceptive tool to manipulate the mind. Although I never truly warmed to any of the characters besides Abbi, I found myself entranced by the unfolding drama in both timelines. Each personality evoked some emotion from me, whether it be sympathy or frustration. By the conclusion, what in the actual F! I was utterly stunned and speechless at how things turned out. If you're looking for a cult-themed thriller that will have you intensely flipping pages, "When She Returned" is a must-read! Lucinda, you are the queen of thrillers. Period.

I loved this book, and I highly recommend for a page turning, can’t put down psychological thriller. Lucinda Berry is a master at this genre and she again hit the target. While I felt the ending was rushed and left some “hanging chads,” I enjoyed the story. It captures creepy, uncomfortable psychological mind control and abuse well. While the characters weren’t completely likable, there were well developed. Again, I would have liked to see the book longer and more complete, but over all I recommend. It is a multiple POV, with a nonlinear timeline. I don’t enjoy readying books like that, but it seems that is the popular way to write these days. I am now going to look for any other Lucinda Berry books that I haven’t read.

I absolutely loved this book. It was a page turner from beginning to end. I found myself wanting to read this more than do anything else. When I tell people I enjoy reading it’s because of books similar to this. The entire book was written with care. On to the story. I love how it started and how it ended. It was wrapped up well. My only complaint (and it is minor) I would have love to know Scott’s (the husband’s) true perspective. We heard from Abbi, Kate and Meredith the main women in his life, but not him. Abbi was the daughter of a missing parent. Scott was the husband of a missing wife and poor Meredith. She was Scott’s new wife. Kate was the missing wife. Kate was missing since Abbi was preschool age so it was interesting to read Abbi’s thoughts on her mom’s return. Scott never had the chance to truly grieve his wife and although he didn’t want to move on he did with Meredith or at least tried to. Meredith she was a good egg, but she gave me insecure vibes a bit. Regardless she was smart to always trust her own instincts and for that she gets the favorite character of the book award. 🥇 Anyways read the book it’s worth the read bookbabe! -Noir 🌻

It was ok- not great but not terrible. It’s one of those books that could’ve been really good, but the author seemed to afraid/timid to take it to the level it needed to be at to be really good. It needed to really hit harder with the experiences that makes a person become a brainwashed victim. Without that you feel less empathy for the character(s) which is the opposite of what a book like this should make you feel thus diminishing it. Despite that the story was still engaging the writing style is still good. It just needed to be more. It’s a book that takes a subject matter that should be raw and painful and polishes it up to be a PG rating. Which isn’t a terrible thing if marketed for younger adults; it’s a better warning story and book for younger readers- maybe 13-16 years of age and not quite as suitable for an adult. The subject matter is depressing and it makes you think but not think and feel as deeply as we should at an adult level. I’d rate it 3.5 stars if it were marketed for the reading level it is written at, 2.5-3 stars because it’s not sold as that.

This book was pretty good. The writing of the characters was a little “goody goody” in a way. Perfect 16 yr old daughter who doesn’t do anything wrong, good father who is super loving & caring and thoughtful and the newer wife Meredith who was incredibly patient, supportive, loving and kind even after she gets pushed aside. That was really my only complaint. It was too Leave It To Beaver feeling. Not as realistic. Especially for Meredith. What happened to the first wife, Kate is a little more believable. Kate escaped the cult Love International that she had been a disciple of for 11 years. She left her husband Scott - whose she’s known since she was 9 yrs old, and her daughter who was only 5. She was a journalist getting back into the swing of working again. One day she was requested by Love International to do a story on them to prove they were an asset to the small CA community and not a cult poaching college students to do their bidding. When she first arrives at their building to interview the head guy Ray, she is somewhat nervous. Ray can sense that and immediately turns the interview around on her leaving her with little to no info for an article. He invites her to attend one of their worship days and she is impressed. There were members of all backgrounds and she felt empowered by the preaching Ray did. She then meets him on a regular basis and begins going away on their weekend prayer excursion’s. She asks her husband to attend as families are welcome but he is not interested. She is beginning to feel differently, more detached from her husband and daughter and regular life and begins to believe she is meant for a higher spiritual purpose. One day she’s there the next she’s gone, only to return 11 years later looking nothing like the woman her family recognized and with a newborn baby. She’s kept in the hospital as she’s extremely malnourished as is the baby. The hard part is they bring her back to live in the house that was once hers but is now Meredith’s. She stays in the guest room. Mind you she doesn’t seem at all interested in Scott. No love lost there for her. Meredith is the only one not emotionally attached to Kate so she can notice things that the others can’t. She tries so hard to get Kate to be comfortable with her, she helps in any way she can only to go completely unnoticed by her husband. She’s beginning to believe she should leave Scott and her stepdaughter so they can resume life with Kate. However, Kate never seems interested her old life, she’s only interested in her daughter Abbie. Abbie loves having her mom back and creating a bond with her. The thing is, her mom may have fled the cult but the cult didn’t flee her. She gets caught making sneaky phone calls in the middle of the night but won’t say to whom. Meredith tries to tell her husband what she caught Kate doing but he blows off Meredith’s suspicions thinking she’s being too controlling of “poor Kate”. Who would a person whose been in a cult in the backwoods somewhere be calling?? What Kate went through to be brainwashed was disturbing to say the least. It truly reminded me of the masses of people today who are obsessed with identity politics and protesting causes that have nothing to do with their lives. At any rate this book kept me interested. Wish the end would’ve been more it felt undone. One more chapter of an update, especially of the cult leader and Kate would’ve been satisfying.

I read this book in 3 days! It’s addictive from the beginning leaving you not knowing what’s going to happen next. The ending was a bit abrupt but not terrible. Your questions while reading this book will be answered.

This book is one of the best books I’ve ever read! I was hooked from page 1! I feel like I need time to process what I just read because my emotions are everywhere! The way this author weaves the story is beyond words. As I read, I was saddened by the events that transpired and at the same time appalled at how easily people are able to manipulate others. I work in law enforcement and I have trust issues so it’s hard to understand how people can allow themselves to be manipulated, abused and mistreated so deeply. This is a devastatingly, heavy story but absolutely worth reading! Kudos to this author because she is one of the BEST AUTHORS I’ve ever read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ whewwwwww this book grabbed me by the throat and would not let go 😮‍💨 i’m not usually a thriller girlie—like at all—but lucinda berry may have just converted me because WHAT was this roller coaster of tension, secrets, and cult chaos!? right off the bat, i was obsessed with the writing style. lucinda knows how to build tension without overwhelming you, and i found myself flying through the chapters like my life depended on it. the dual timelines + povs were done so well, and i felt like each character had their own distinct voice (even if i wanted to throw scott into the sea a few times 😤). meredith was definitely a standout for me—her perspective felt the most grounded. the actual plot?? wild. disturbing. fascinating. i literally could not look away. you could feel the influence of lucinda’s psych background all over this story—it made the cult dynamics feel terrifyingly real. now. let’s talk about the ending. i knew something was coming and i did kind of predict the general twist, but i was still hoping for a little more. it felt a bit rushed, and i lowkey wanted the tension to simmer just a bit longer before everything exploded. like… gimme 50 more pages of stress, please?? 😂 but overall—loved. i’m so glad this was my intro to lucinda berry’s books because i’m now diving headfirst into her entire backlist. i can absolutely see why she’s so hyped in the thriller world and i will be grabbing another one immediately. would definitely recommend to anyone who loves: 🔪 cult-centered thrillers 🧠 psychological trauma done right 💥 fast pacing + short punchy chapters 👀 twists you think you see coming… until you don’t final verdict: dark, twisted, disturbing, and honestly?? kind of unputdownable.

Very different story ... extremely interesting... and wow you just cannot make out whats going to happen till the end.. outstanding... must read

Met my expectations, different povs made an fast real, I enjoyed it.

The cult theme of the book appealed to me, and the author gave an interesting insight into the way they are able to brainwash and take complete control of another person. However the way Kate returned home after being missing for 11 years was much less believable. Basically she just comes back to live with her husband and his new wife - thinking her dead he has remarried - and nobody gives a thought about the implications of this? Not credible in my opinion. The end was disappointing and rushed, there was so much potential to develop the story and characters.

Dramatisch bis zum Schluss. Man weiß nie, wem man vertrauen kann.

Didn't want to put it down, finished it in 24 hours. There is a lot of cult talk, which bothered some readers, but I found very interesting. Would recommend 😊