3.5 stars if I could do half stars.

I read this yesterday, and now for the life of me, I can't remember what exactly it was that kept this from being 4 stars. (Getting old is not for the faint of heart.)

This is the second book in the Tim Rackley series. I didn't read the first one, and thankfully, this book didn't make me feel I was missing significant back story in order to understand.

This was a look into 'cult life'. The author painted a vivid picture of the mind control. The conflict was well developed. He can do suspense. I also really d the MC and I loved this wife, even though her role was minor. I hope she is utilized in future books. I look forward to reading more by this author and in this series.crime-mystery8 s Sarah277 30

Hurwitz writes very satisfying thrillers. This one is about a cult, how they recruit and keep members. While his good guy characters are rather mythic and very macho, he books are great to listen to during the daily commute.5 s Mike813 9

Rackley, who's been ex-communicated from the Justice Dept, is asked by a well-to-do couple to look for their young daughter. She's been absorbed into a self-help cult, who has isolated her from the world, insinuated itself into her finances and does her thinking for her.

Tim, along with his deputy wife, is still coming to terms with the death of his young daughter, and this may be a bit of redemption.

I was enthralled by the cunning of the cultists, who use a mind-shattering agenda to make their prey pliable and dependent.4 s LenaAuthor 1 book383

The Program tells the story of a disgraced cop who redeems himself by infiltrating a dangerous cult to rescue a vulnerable young woman. Hurwitz has done his research and writes with convincing detail about the methodology behind aggressive recruitment techniques, offshore financial shenanigans, and some of the more insidious kinds of mind-control. At the same time, however, the cult he writes about is so extreme as to border on caricature. Most of the members of his group are very one-dimensional, and the leader, a sort of personal growth guru gone VERY bad, is clearly a scam artist. That said, as a thriller, The Program is well-crafted and a seductive read.

fiction4 s Kristen2,087 148

If you love intense thrillers, you'll enjoy the Progrmam by Gregg Hurwitz. Tim Rackley have been recruited by Will Henning to extradite his step-daughter Leah from a cult, once he gets his badge back from the US Marshals. With no information to go on, he looks for clues, past cult members, and members, to get his ticket in. Under a new persona, he goes to the Program, a mind-control colloquium, when he sees Leah. From there, he finds his way to talk to her and to get her out, while now winds up with a special VIP ticket. From there, he convinces Leah proof of what the Teacher does, and finds a way out, after he does an intervention. From there, things go awry, when his cover is blown, and she's in danger. In the end, he brings it all down and Leah safe. What amn enjoyable thrill ride.12-09 2011 series-thriller3 s Garlan ?515 19

I'm a fan of Hurwitz' "Orphan X" series, and picked this one up based on that fact. This is an earlier book by the author, and while the writing was tight, the story line just didn't appeal to me at all. It took me a LONG time to get through this one, and I was close to giving up on it many times. I did that several times with books last year, so I'm going to try and finish all the ones I start this year.
Anyway, the writing is good, the main character is pretty well rounded out, but the villains are fairly cliched, and the story just wasn't interesting to me. Maybe a 2 1/2 star..2021-reads books-i-own espionage-spy-type3 s Jim1,106 16

Extraordinary and explosive, author Gregg Hurwitz', "The Program", is far superior to the first book in his Tim Rackley series, ("The Kill Clause"). I was a bit worried getting into second book of this series after first book really didn't sit very well with me. However, Gregg Hurwitz is an intense story teller and his other books have been really good. "The Program" has Tim Rackley trying to bring back the daughter of a major Hollywood producer from a mind control cult. Terrance Donald "TD" Betters, consummate con man lures the weak into his strange cult in order to rob them blind and force his pawns into a type of slavery. Ultra rich Will Hennings wants to hire Tim Rackley to rescue his step-daughter from cult and return her home. Leah, 19 disappeared three months ago from Pepperdine University's campus without a trace. Henning is so powerful he can force Tim's former boss with the U.S. Marshals to get a reinstatement for this mission. The disgraced Rackley currently a lowly security guard at an industrial complex agrees to find Leah. Still suffering greatly from the murder of his daughter Ginny, Rackley needs a chance to put some good on positive side of the ledger. It takes Rackley awhile to find out what the name of the cult is and how to make contact. His best idea is to be uncover and join cult to then rescue Leah. With a fake background and alias "Tom Altman" wishes to join the cult and be relieved of his "$70 Million dollar" fortune. TD Betters sees an easy fish to catch in Altman. In a plot that moves at 100 MPH and non stop action this read is very enjoyable. Hurwitz creates some really odd ball cult members in addition to his regulars from first book in series. Tim and wife Andrea "Dray" come across far better in this book as they grieve on following the loss of their daughter. Their pain is felt on the pages as Tim fights through cult craziness and Dray's fear. I was glad this second book in this series was much better. Reading the third book in the not too far off future for sure. Author Gregg Hurwitz is a very strong thriller writer that drops his readers right inside the plot, and allows us to struggle along with the Rackley's. I'm going with five stars out of a possible five stars for, "The Program", by Gregg Hurwitz. This is certainly a do not miss book ,especially if readers d first book of series. I'm really glad I went to second book without question.20172 s Abibliofob1,262 80

Tim Rackley, somtimes a US Marshall is one of my new heroes. The Program By Gregg Hurwitz is the second book in this series and in this one he faces the troubles that comes with cults. A man wants his help getting his daughter out from a group and then the troubles really start. How do you go about getting someone out of the clutches of brainwashing and money grabbing cults? Rackley has no idea. But it will get him back as a Marshall and he thinks how hard can it be? I feel the characters and setting in this series is very realistic compared to Hurwitz more famous Orphan X. I can only recommend that you read this series and I am glad that I finally found the time for it. Great books.2 s Art the Turtle of Amazing Girth372 20

The beginning was awesome, and there were parts throughout that kept my mind racing

However, Wayyyy too much of the actual cult proceedings,

And then that ending, it's as if a complete chapter is just missing!

We don't get a follow up on Reggie, or Leah, and we don't get to see if Tim is welcomed back into the fold, or anything.

It just.......stops

I was ready to read book 1, until that ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review2 s Steve403 8

In this gripping follow-up to his action-packed thriller “The Kill Clause,” Gregg Hurwitz takes us on a heart-pounding journey into the dark corners of the human mind. Meet Tim Rackley, a U.S. Marshal driven by honor, morality, and justice.

**Plot Summary:
Tim Rackley is called back into service by the U.S. Marshals to retrieve Leah Henning, the daughter of a powerful Hollywood producer. Leah has fallen under the sway of a mind-control cult known as "The Program." As Tim goes deep undercover, he confronts a brand of manipulation beyond his worst expectations. The charismatic leader, T. D. Betters, pulls the strings, and Tim becomes enmeshed with a diverse cast of characters, including a cult reject burnout and the highly vulnerable Leah herself. The stakes? Innocent minds—maybe even Tim's own.

**Review:
“The Program” is a psychological thriller that delves into the murky territory of cults, brainwashing, and the battle for control over vulnerable souls. Hurwitz's meticulous research shines through, creating a believable landscape where reality blurs with mind-warping manipulation. The tension builds relentlessly as Tim races against time to save Leah and unravel the secrets of The Program.

Dylan Baker's narration is superb. His voice captures the urgency, fear, and determination of Tim Rackley. Each character comes alive, adding depth to the story. The pacing keeps you on the edge, and Baker's performance enhances the suspense.

The writing is sharp, the dialogue crisp, and the plot twists unpredictable. Hurwitz masterfully explores the human psyche, raising questions about identity, free will, and the lengths we'll go to protect those we love. The cult's allure is both chilling and fascinating, drawing you deeper into its web.

“The Program” is more than a thriller; it's a thought-provoking exploration of vulnerability, manipulation, and the battle between good and evil. Hurwitz's storytelling prowess shines, leaving you haunted by the lingering question: What if our minds aren't as free as we believe?1 Christian27

Zu Beginn ein bisschen langsam, nimmt die Geschichte immer mehr an Fahrt auf. Zum Ende möchte man das Buch gar nicht mehr weglegen, da man unbedingt erfahren möchte, wie es nun ausgeht.
Zudem bietet es einen interessanten und erschreckenden Einblick in die Welt und Funktionsweise vom Sekten. Empfehlenswert.1 Andy Martin6

The cool thing about this Hurwitz is that, on the one hand, it is an actioner, but on the other hand our hero, "Rack", is prevented from doing what he would to do - go in there all guns blazing - and forced to exercise his persuasive powers. It's a more meditative approach to the thriller. Mind control is at the core.1 Deb Mj453 15

Excellent book. A really chilling depiction of a psychological cult. I to read my serial books in order and didn't realize this was a follow-up to Kill Clause with the Tim Rackley character. I'll definitely look for that as well as any additional books in the Rackley series.

Having just finished Hurwitz's Minutes to Burn and being less than impressed, I was thrilled to enjoy this one as much as I did. Great character development across the board. Really hard to put down; in fact I awoke at 4 this morning to finish it because I couldn't get it out of my head.1 Lee844 38

No sophomore slump here in his second Tim Rackley suspense/thriller.
When he goes under cover looking for an eighteen year old that has decided "The Program" is for her, he never imagined the power one man can have over a large group of people. With Hurwitz's description and painting a good picture of what was going on, it's a disturbing revelation. Hard to fathom what people will do under mind-control of a greedy, sick SOB. Recommend this series, and I have two more to go.tim-rackley1 Alicat352

This is a pretty good book. I the characters and the pacing is great. I did not give it four stars however because the sessions of the mind control meetings were endless and did not add that much to the story. They could've been considerably shorter to have made the point of how insidious the methods were and to convince you that this stuff is possible.
Don't let that deter you from reading this book. Just flip through the pages that can be easily skipped1 Skip3,367 529

Former US Marshall Tim Rackley is now a security guard, but is redeputized to help locate a political donor's step daughter, who has joined a cult. Rackley goes undercover and gets in deep. Crisply written, terrifying look into brainwashing and cults. Along with wife Dray and a cult escapee, Tim heroically rescues the college-age girl.crime-detective1 Garry Thompson698

I almost gave up on this novel -- even at 80%, I considered dropping the book. If it was my first book by this author, it would have been the last... I am not sure if it was the subject or the writing, but I really struggled. I have placed several of Gregg Hurwitz books in the four star class, but this one is a two star. 1 Larry431 2

The second book in the Tim Rackley series. I wasnÂ’t crazy about the mind control cult theme, but I stuck with it. The story was rather slow to develop and didnÂ’t get suspenseful until the last 25%. The ending was pretty predictable and there seemed to be a lot of convenient coincidences. Hoping the 3rd book saves the series. 1 Phillip Cooper72

It's a pretty good story if you can get past the first half of the book. If you aren't careful, (or into this kind of story) it will mess with your mind a bit. I found it a challenge to get to to the halfway point, and almost gave up on it, but right about half way through it began to get more interesting and less mind bending. The story ended in a positive fashion. 1 Holly Morey701 3

I enjoyed this book more than the first book in this series. Tim is hired to find a young woman involved in a cult, With the help of his friend, Bear, Tim finds out the name of the cult and enters the program. The Marshall Service helps him with his undercover work. I enjoyed learning the ins and outs of this cult and the book was enlightening. 1 Kelle272

This one took a while to get through just because the material was so upsetting. Having had a glimpse into Scientology, and being a student of psychology, this stuff frightens the hell out of me. We are constantly bombarded with subtle influencing...just by advertisers. Powerful book. I would not want to live in Mr. Hurwitz's mind. 1 Andy NAuthor 39 books7

(A audio version of this book review will appear on readinginbed.bandcamp.com from the start of September.)

Blurb:

In this powerful follow-up to his action-packed thriller The Kill Clause, Gregg Hurwitz, the new maestro of pulse-pounding suspense, ratchets up the excitement with another sensational page-turner featuring Tim Rackley, a driven lawman motivated by honor, morality, and a deep sense of justice.

Called back into the fold of the U.S. Marshals Service, Tim is tasked with retrieving Leah Henning, the daughter of a powerful Hollywood producer, from a mind-control cult. As Tim wends his way deep undercover into an insidious operation called The Program, he confronts a brand of mind-warping manipulation beyond his worst expectations.

Tim becomes enmeshed with a diverse band of characters—from the charismatic, messianic leader T. D. Betters to a cult reject burnout to the intelligent yet highly vulnerable Leah herself—and finds himself caught in a shadowy landscape of lies, manipulation, and terror. At stake: innocent minds—maybe even his own. 

Strengths:

The book focuses on Tim Rackley who in the first book of this series was a member of the Justice Dept who was ex-communicated after his daughter was killed and he went on the rampage.

IÂ’ve not read the first book in this series but one of the strengths of this book was the fact it was very easy to get into with no notice of the first book, as it was touched on but not rammed in your face.

The Program itself is the story of what happens next when Rackley is offered redemption by a very rich couple to infiltrate a dangerous cult to rescue a vulnerable young woman.

From reading this, it certainly appears that Hurwitz has done his research with this cult and writes with a frightening level of detail about the methodology behind aggressive recruitment techniques, financial corruptions and mind control and the book is very well paced set up into four parts usually all at around the spot on point needed.

Rackley is a well wrote troubled hero who I never felt was never in any danger of being converted into joining the cult but was presented just flawed to show what damage it did cause after the events of the death of his daughter.

The main villian “Terrance Donald "TD" Betters” if I am honest really stole the book from Rackley as I did enjoy the fact you could see he was a scam artist very, very quickly and some of the control elements he did on people such as his Lillies was really, really creepy.

Weakness:

At 460 pages or so, it did seem somewhat long and in the middle the pace did flag somewhat and the ending did seem a bit rushed / cutting off quickly.

I was very uncomfortable with the way Rackley didnÂ’t get involved trying to stop the murder of one of the women in the cult and a number of the cult characters were a little bit too roughly sketched out for my personal tastes.

Rackley was a decent enough hero, but I would have loved to have seen Evan Smoak from the Nowhere Man let loose in this kind of setting as I got the feeling he would have being a lot more direct than Rackley and perhaps that is what was needed with this book. It was a very well wrote book however and considering it was wrote in 2006, didnÂ’t feel too far away in places in style from his nowhere man series.

I may read the other books but that will be after Nowhere Man 7 next year which I am looking forward more.

8/10

wally2,765 5

finished 8th march 2023 good read three stars i d it kindle library loaner have read the orphan stories probably all that are available this one tim rackley #2 and was afraid it was going to be a cliff-hanger was not all to the good. cult. somewhat depressing read for part, long slog through the process at rackley infiltrates looking for a young woman captivated by the cult. also enlightening, if there is truth to the tale, as to what is legal and what is not. if someone is willing to do this that the other there's no legal recourse. and if i hadn't attended two entertainment hypnosis offerings from the same hypnotist some of the telling would have seemed over the top...as well as coming into personal contact with a...protracted...at the time...outfit subject to the cult misnomer. i'd hazard a border line...as does the bad man in this one...far as answering what a cult is is not. anyway...the hypnotist called volunteers up...and a year or two later visited the same show...he called volunteers up and one had volunteered at the previous session...hypnotist put him to sleep...again...with the cue sleep. some are more susceptible i take it. hurwitz XOX443 16

Tim is back to get a woman out of a cult

Tim is back to work. A man in position is asking the Marshall service to get her daughter out.

Leah is in a cult. The book go through the strategy of recruitment and how they attacked a person self-esteem.

The scary part is that I have similar experienced in an Evangelical church before when I was still in university. Religion and cult is the same thing if they are trying to control human behavior and bring down a person esteem to worship a monster as deity. The "Life Boat" exercise echoed my experience for being put down and pressured into joining.

The rest is pretty good. How Tim is being turned into a mark and joining the retreat. How the "Teacher" has all the power and sexual abuse young women.

I stayed up for this. Read too fast as I wanted so much to read the ending. This is going to be re-read and enjoyed again.

Dray is there and very supportive. Tim is not really having a lot of character developments in this one beside being protective and could endure physical attacks.

Nicely done. 4.5 stars.
Wayne611 10

Tim Rackley is back with the US Marshals service after having been suspended in The Kill Clause. In The Program he has been asked to find the daughter of a famed Hollywood producer. She is believed to be involved in a cult.
This novel caused me a great deal of anxiety. The workings of a cult (The Program) are dealt with in graphic detail. It is obvious Gregg Hurwitz had done a lot of research on these groups. It is disturbing and almost unbelievable the control cult leaders have of their . It is upsetting!
As disagreeable as this subject is, I totally immersed myself in this story. It is a nail-biting, psychological thriller...yet another from this author.
Gregg Hurwitz' characters are well-defined. This is the 2nd novel featuring Tim Rackley and his wife, Dray. There are 2 more novels in this series; and, although not necessary, it is helpful to read them in order. Cindy Parish29 1 follower

The first in this series was good, this one was excellent. The characters are well developed, the storyline keeps you moving as all the parts start fitting into place, the pacing of the story does not let you stand in place. I the resilience of the main character , he just keeps getting back up, I don't believe I've ever read a character who gets knocked down so much and yet the story moves forward. Excellent action without drawing out fight scenes to nauseam, I being invested in the characters and the story as well as the characters is very believable as we've seen some examples in our own headlines, the author put in just the right amount of research to give you a good overview of how these type of cults operate without boggling you down with boring statistics. We'll done. Darius Cross27

A Genuinely Fantastic Read!

I must admit, this book was a difficult read in the middle. Mr. Hurwitz composed it in such a way that it was hard to envision how the bad guys were going to get their just desserts. If you find your stomach roiling with acid toward the middle, take some Pepto and persevere because the last several chapters are far and away the best of the book! The way the ending plays out is nothing short of masterful! Gave it five stars...only because I couldn't give more. Koen Wellens133 6

Tim Rackley, who has been mind-controlled in killing people in the previous instalment of the series, mentions that heÂ’s had military training to not subdue to mind-control. I was Â… What? Seriously. The arrogance of the character was so frustrating.

Then I read the rest of the book. It made up for the arrogance. Even though the novel is kind of predictable, I was glad with the outcome and happy to have read it.

Read the full review at my blog.2017 Adam271 5

Another great novel. This time Tim gets asked to help locate a missing daughter, a girl that ran off and joined a cult. And most cults, you don't ever get to leave. Not ever, unless you're dead. But a job's a job and Tim has no idea how or what's going to happen, but to get her out, he has to go in. And once he's in, there's no way out.

What I find so fascinating with Gregg's stories are the amount of information researched and brought to life in these novels. Here we get a crazy look at cults and the lengths they go to brain wash people into believing only what they hear from the leader. It's a fascinating look at isolationism, depravity and the willingness of people to give everything up for a sense of belonging. Joan3,512 12

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