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Finding Grace: Captured by a Cult
The chilling new drama from Warren Adler, the bestselling author of The War of the Roses, gets to the heart of brainwashing and its power to corrupt and control.
A father. A mother. A daughter. A cult.
When their twenty-three-year-old daughter goes missing, divorcees Harry and Paulie are forced to leave behind their newly constructed lives to track Grace down. But Grace isn’t lost, not physically at least. They find her seemingly unharmed in California on a sunny farm the other residents call “Camp Star.” But nothing is as it seems…
Sinister motives lurk behind the smiles of those at the camp and the two soon learn that Grace is in the clutches of a notorious cult. Under the spell of mind control, she denies Harry and Paulie as her family and shuns their love, leaving them to search for answers in the most desperate of places.
Scrambling to piece together their shattered lives, Harry and Paulie race against the clock to bring Grace back home – but will she ever be able to return? How do you help someone who doesn’t know they’re lost?
A father. A mother. A daughter. A cult.
When their twenty-three-year-old daughter goes missing, divorcees Harry and Paulie are forced to leave behind their newly constructed lives to track Grace down. But Grace isn’t lost, not physically at least. They find her seemingly unharmed in California on a sunny farm the other residents call “Camp Star.” But nothing is as it seems…
Sinister motives lurk behind the smiles of those at the camp and the two soon learn that Grace is in the clutches of a notorious cult. Under the spell of mind control, she denies Harry and Paulie as her family and shuns their love, leaving them to search for answers in the most desperate of places.
Scrambling to piece together their shattered lives, Harry and Paulie race against the clock to bring Grace back home – but will she ever be able to return? How do you help someone who doesn’t know they’re lost?
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 6, 2017
About the author
Warren Adler
97 books86 followersAcclaimed author, playwright, poet, and essayist Warren Adler is best known for The War of the Roses, his masterpiece fictionalization of a macabre divorce that was adapted into the iconic dark comedy that starred Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. Following the success of his The War of the Roses, Adler went on to option and sell film rights to more than a dozen of his novels and short stories to Hollywood and major television networks. Random Hearts, The Sunset Gang, Private Lies, Funny Boys, Madeline’s Miracles, Trans-Siberian Express and his Fiona Fitzgerald mystery series are only a few titles that have forever left Adler’s mark on contemporary American authorship from page to stage to screen.
Adler illuminates the intricacies of the modern American family through wit and realism, a trademark that has earned him the moniker ‘master of dysfunction’. On the other hand, he navigates the turbulent waters of the American political and social scene with unsurpassed authenticity; his political thrillers such as The Henderson Equation, The Casanova Embrace, and American Quartet - a ‘New York Times notable crime book’ are born from his experiences as a former White House correspondent, and co-owner of Washington Dossier Magazine, chronicling the social history of the nation’s capital from 1975-1991. He was also a businessman and once campaign strategist to President Richard Nixon. With over 40 years of an insider’s view of the exclusive domain of the nation’s political elite, Adler writes with a unique insight and command rendering him an invaluable voice in the evolving American experience, and a trademark in American literature.
Adler illuminates the intricacies of the modern American family through wit and realism, a trademark that has earned him the moniker ‘master of dysfunction’. On the other hand, he navigates the turbulent waters of the American political and social scene with unsurpassed authenticity; his political thrillers such as The Henderson Equation, The Casanova Embrace, and American Quartet - a ‘New York Times notable crime book’ are born from his experiences as a former White House correspondent, and co-owner of Washington Dossier Magazine, chronicling the social history of the nation’s capital from 1975-1991. He was also a businessman and once campaign strategist to President Richard Nixon. With over 40 years of an insider’s view of the exclusive domain of the nation’s political elite, Adler writes with a unique insight and command rendering him an invaluable voice in the evolving American experience, and a trademark in American literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 17, 2017
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.
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.
June 5, 2022
Such a debilitating feeling for Harry and Paulie that their beloved daughter Grace has joined Camp Star which is a Cult that has brainwashed her. They have lost all control of their loving daughter.
The story begins when Grace has not shown up for her job in Washington, DC which her mother knows is not like her at all. It’s Paulie’s birthday and Grace does not call her. This is also very unusual. She knows her daughter, and she tells her husband, Julian she is certain something is wrong. She is right, Grace calls a couple of days later and tells her Mom everything is fine. She is staying at a farm in California.
Paulie had divorced Harry fifteen years ago, but they had an intense all encompassing life before that. Grace became part of their insular world until she was 8 and the marriage fell apart. At this point, the plot made sense that both parents would be extremely unnerved and want to do something to try and reach Grace and convince her to leave Camp Star.
However, the way Harry describes different events is always a bit disturbing. He speaks in a crass manner about his current wife. His descriptions of his attraction and sexual liaisons with Paulie are also overdone. This style of writing did not appeal to me. There is also an idea that if you truly love someone, you would be willing to die for them.
Still, it made sense that Harry and Paulie get professional advice on how to get Grace out of the cult. They do fly to California and meet up with Grace to try to talk to reason with you and use techniques they’ve been advised to do to reach her.
Beyond this point, I thought the plot and ending were way off. The story is never really about Grace. Very little information is given about her beyond childhood. So, you don’t get to know Grace at all, except when she is altered by her cults thinking. You never get to understand her or connect with her in any way. Harry and Paulie are obsessed with each other. The decisions they make did not resonate with me in anyway except to say they were very selfish and self-absorbed people. This veers off into a possible reconciliation of them as a family again that would include Grace if they can just get her to come back to them. Even then, she is not too involved in the story. What happens beyond that I just could not absorb as realistic or even moral. This book did not work for me.
Thank you NetGalley, Warren Adler, and Stonehouse Press for a copy of this book. I am always happy to leave a review.
The story begins when Grace has not shown up for her job in Washington, DC which her mother knows is not like her at all. It’s Paulie’s birthday and Grace does not call her. This is also very unusual. She knows her daughter, and she tells her husband, Julian she is certain something is wrong. She is right, Grace calls a couple of days later and tells her Mom everything is fine. She is staying at a farm in California.
Paulie had divorced Harry fifteen years ago, but they had an intense all encompassing life before that. Grace became part of their insular world until she was 8 and the marriage fell apart. At this point, the plot made sense that both parents would be extremely unnerved and want to do something to try and reach Grace and convince her to leave Camp Star.
However, the way Harry describes different events is always a bit disturbing. He speaks in a crass manner about his current wife. His descriptions of his attraction and sexual liaisons with Paulie are also overdone. This style of writing did not appeal to me. There is also an idea that if you truly love someone, you would be willing to die for them.
Still, it made sense that Harry and Paulie get professional advice on how to get Grace out of the cult. They do fly to California and meet up with Grace to try to talk to reason with you and use techniques they’ve been advised to do to reach her.
Beyond this point, I thought the plot and ending were way off. The story is never really about Grace. Very little information is given about her beyond childhood. So, you don’t get to know Grace at all, except when she is altered by her cults thinking. You never get to understand her or connect with her in any way. Harry and Paulie are obsessed with each other. The decisions they make did not resonate with me in anyway except to say they were very selfish and self-absorbed people. This veers off into a possible reconciliation of them as a family again that would include Grace if they can just get her to come back to them. Even then, she is not too involved in the story. What happens beyond that I just could not absorb as realistic or even moral. This book did not work for me.
Thank you NetGalley, Warren Adler, and Stonehouse Press for a copy of this book. I am always happy to leave a review.
October 13, 2017
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
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
September 16, 2017
The high-quality writing and emotional sensitivity made me want to try other books by this prolific author, but the direction of the plot disappointed me and there were some missed opportunities to give the story more depth.
What I did like: writing that managed to be both poetic and fast-paced. Adler can reveal the romantic vulnerabilities of a character who at first seems unlikeable, such as our protagonist Harry, a self-absorbed Hollywood screenwriter with two failed marriages. With psychological nuance, the author gives us first Harry's point of view, then that of Paulie, his first wife, so that neither one is truly the villain in their breakup. She has since remarried to a devoted but not very exciting older man who bankrolled her fashion label. When their daughter Grace, a political staffer in her early 20s, gets sucked into a cult not-so-loosely based on the Unification Church (the Moonies), Harry and Paulie try to rescue her and in the process discover that they still have feelings for each other.
Even before it's revealed that the book is set in the 1980s, it had a retro feel to it that I enjoyed. Hard to pinpoint how that was conveyed; maybe a world without constant intrusive communications technology has a flavor all its own, slower-paced and with more space for introspective interior monologue and attention to one's physical environment.
Why only three stars? Because:
The Harry/Paulie romance completely took over the plot, with no development of secondary characters, and only the most superficial understanding of cult techniques and members' motivations. The situation with Paulie's new husband was tied up in an unconvincingly quick way. Because all the action was seen through Harry's or Paulie's third-person-close POV, there were no scenes set in the cult community, and thus no opportunity for the reader to gain insight into the cult's attraction for seemingly smart and well-adjusted young people.
The book was supposedly about Grace, but she remains a cipher throughout. She is either the idealized devoted successful daughter that her parents thought she was, or the brainwashed and hostile zombie they encounter afterward. I desperately wanted to hear her side of the story.
There was a real missed opportunity here to look critically at the similarities between romantic love and religious cults. I thought the book was going there in the beginning, but by the end, the balance has tipped too far in favor of Harry's belief that romantic enmeshment is the highest good. He was a total love addict! There seemed no place for Paulie's feminist resistance to losing her identity in a man. A mature second-time-around would have incorporated her wisdom as well as his idealism, in my view. Perhaps Grace joined a cult, not because her parents divorced, but because she too wanted the kind of intense and borderline-unhealthy loss of self that Harry and Paulie called LOVE?
I assume that cult leader "Father Star" is a nod to Rev. Sun Myung Moon, but in a book with no other people of color, it was a bit problematic to make him a "sinister" Asian man, and completely gratuitous for Harry to call him a "Jap" in an early interior monologue. Ditto for the fat-shaming of the cult-sympathizing nurse when Harry is in the hospital. Really, I expect a 21st-century editor to catch such things.
What I did like: writing that managed to be both poetic and fast-paced. Adler can reveal the romantic vulnerabilities of a character who at first seems unlikeable, such as our protagonist Harry, a self-absorbed Hollywood screenwriter with two failed marriages. With psychological nuance, the author gives us first Harry's point of view, then that of Paulie, his first wife, so that neither one is truly the villain in their breakup. She has since remarried to a devoted but not very exciting older man who bankrolled her fashion label. When their daughter Grace, a political staffer in her early 20s, gets sucked into a cult not-so-loosely based on the Unification Church (the Moonies), Harry and Paulie try to rescue her and in the process discover that they still have feelings for each other.
Even before it's revealed that the book is set in the 1980s, it had a retro feel to it that I enjoyed. Hard to pinpoint how that was conveyed; maybe a world without constant intrusive communications technology has a flavor all its own, slower-paced and with more space for introspective interior monologue and attention to one's physical environment.
Why only three stars? Because:
The Harry/Paulie romance completely took over the plot, with no development of secondary characters, and only the most superficial understanding of cult techniques and members' motivations. The situation with Paulie's new husband was tied up in an unconvincingly quick way. Because all the action was seen through Harry's or Paulie's third-person-close POV, there were no scenes set in the cult community, and thus no opportunity for the reader to gain insight into the cult's attraction for seemingly smart and well-adjusted young people.
The book was supposedly about Grace, but she remains a cipher throughout. She is either the idealized devoted successful daughter that her parents thought she was, or the brainwashed and hostile zombie they encounter afterward. I desperately wanted to hear her side of the story.
There was a real missed opportunity here to look critically at the similarities between romantic love and religious cults. I thought the book was going there in the beginning, but by the end, the balance has tipped too far in favor of Harry's belief that romantic enmeshment is the highest good. He was a total love addict! There seemed no place for Paulie's feminist resistance to losing her identity in a man. A mature second-time-around would have incorporated her wisdom as well as his idealism, in my view. Perhaps Grace joined a cult, not because her parents divorced, but because she too wanted the kind of intense and borderline-unhealthy loss of self that Harry and Paulie called LOVE?
I assume that cult leader "Father Star" is a nod to Rev. Sun Myung Moon, but in a book with no other people of color, it was a bit problematic to make him a "sinister" Asian man, and completely gratuitous for Harry to call him a "Jap" in an early interior monologue. Ditto for the fat-shaming of the cult-sympathizing nurse when Harry is in the hospital. Really, I expect a 21st-century editor to catch such things.
September 12, 2017
Thank you so much to Warren Adler for the ARC of this book. I really thought this book was going to be about cults and a focus on trying to get the main character, Grace, out of a cult--which it was to some extent. However, it was more of a love story, a beautiful love story about a family full of love for each other. Pauline and Harry were so in love when they married and had their daughter Grace. They showered her with love as she grew up. Harry, a screen writer, got a job on the West Coast and moved for it. Paulie didn't want to leave so eventually they split up with Grace staying in NYC visiting Harry when she could. They all remained close in spite of the divorce even as Harry and Pauly married other people. Grace is living in DC and happy, working in politics and on her own. Suddenly she just kind of disappears and her parents immediately worry because Grace is rarely out of touch. They join together in search of Grace who seems to have abandoned her life and joined a cult in California. The cult part of the story is shocking and difficult to read but probably extremely realistic in showing how cults operate. Pauly and Harry desperately try to get Grace out of the clutches of the cult even though she already appears to be completely brainwashed and says she is happy. They try everything, including some very drastic measures, to rescue Grace. During the process of trying to get Grace back, they fall in love again. The love between them is absolutely beautiful and my favorite part of the story. This book was an unexpected love story that unfolded during the battle to save a woman from a life in service to a leader who thinks he should rule the world. Sad but probably true in the real world. Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. It was intriguing. Absolutely worth reading! My first Warren Adler book but definitely not my last.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2017
I didn't enjoy this very much. The Cult stuff seems an afterthought with the main story bordering on Paulie and Harry's relationship. Grace's character wasn't fully developed and I felt no empathy.
September 23, 2017
I found this story to be bland. The premise of divorced parents coming together to save their only daughter peeked my attention. However, the characters were very under developed that it was cringe-worthy to read. The main protagonist is clearly Harry given how much insight we have into his though process.
Harry thinks very highly of himself and is set with the job of saving his daughter using his creative, imaginative, and romantic mind. When Harry is not clearly sharing this view of himself within his inner monologuing, it is vocalized by Paulie his ex-wife who is still in love with him. This mixed with how clearly the female characters are so clearly submissive was enough for me to hurl my tablet at the wall. Harry thought woman should be submissive, Paulie was horrible for ending her marriage and not giving into her submissive desire - it was nauseating.
Grace, herself seemed to be an enigma as much as a character. She had as much personality as a spoon.
The story's main objective seemed to have Harry and Pauline, Grace's parents come together to rekindle their lost love. While they are successful in this, they do seem to completely fail their daughter and give up on her entirely.
Harry thinks very highly of himself and is set with the job of saving his daughter using his creative, imaginative, and romantic mind. When Harry is not clearly sharing this view of himself within his inner monologuing, it is vocalized by Paulie his ex-wife who is still in love with him. This mixed with how clearly the female characters are so clearly submissive was enough for me to hurl my tablet at the wall. Harry thought woman should be submissive, Paulie was horrible for ending her marriage and not giving into her submissive desire - it was nauseating.
Grace, herself seemed to be an enigma as much as a character. She had as much personality as a spoon.
The story's main objective seemed to have Harry and Pauline, Grace's parents come together to rekindle their lost love. While they are successful in this, they do seem to completely fail their daughter and give up on her entirely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2017
I was intrigued initially by the premise of this book. I thought reading about a girl taken in by a cult and her parents struggles to get her back would be an excellent read and it would have been had this book actually been about cults and parental love. Unfortunately, Finding Grace was more about her divorced parents and their bizarre, obsessive love for each other and how their relationship came about and then fell apart.
I found all of the characters to be immature, self absorbed and truly unlikable. I forced myself to read about sixty percent of this book before I gave up hoping that the story would actually turn into what I thought it was going to be, it never did. This was a DNF (Did Not Finish) for me!
http://stephsbookramblings.blogspot.c...
I found all of the characters to be immature, self absorbed and truly unlikable. I forced myself to read about sixty percent of this book before I gave up hoping that the story would actually turn into what I thought it was going to be, it never did. This was a DNF (Did Not Finish) for me!
http://stephsbookramblings.blogspot.c...
November 26, 2017
Harry and Paulie met in the late 1960s and immediately fell deeply in love. Their all-consuming relationship led to marriage, the birth of their beautiful daughter Grace, and eventually to a break-up. Paulie felt like she was losing a part of herself to the intensity of the relationship, and she stepped back to regain her autonomy, invest in her career path, and eventually to remarry a kind and generous man, Julian.
Now Grace is 23, and she's not answering her phone calls. Harry, whose second marriage has just ended, is in England trying to regain his footing. Paulie is celebrating her birthday in New York with Julian and expecting Grace for dinner, but her daughter never shows. Calls to her home go to her answering machine, and calls to her office offer no answers either.
Finally, Paulie gets a late-night call wishing her a happy birthday, but Paulie can tell that something is wrong with Grace. She feels as if her daughter has someone in the room with her, someone who is directing what she says. Paulie is worried but keeps calling the number she has for Grace. One day, a young man named Hal answered and told Paulie that he didn't know Grace but that he was at Camp Star, the only information she could get before he hung up.
A frenzy of phone calls to law enforcement finally yielded an answer: Camp Star was a plot of private property in California where Father Star and his followers, Shining Stars, lived. Although the officer wouldn't use call them a cult himself, he said that others people did consider it a cult and had tried to rescue their family members from the camp. Paulie panics, and she and Harry meet in California to try to come up with a way to get their daughter back.
Finding Grace is a novel of a family torn apart. Author William Adler, most famously of The War of the Roses, that went on to be a film with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Finding Grace is the story of the lengths to which parents will go to protect their children and the choices that we all have to make on our journey to self-discovery and self-actualization.
While the characters in Finding Grace are well fleshed out, I did find the prose a little flowery at times. And while the information on cults rings true to the setting of the novel--the 1980s--it seemed like the understanding we have now about not just cults but also controlling interpersonal relationships would add an informed dimension to the relationships in this novel, particularly to the one between Harry and Paulie, that would have made the overall novel richer. However, it was a very interesting study of the family and marital relationships and expectations of the late 20th century.
Galleys for Finding Grace were provided by The Warren Adler Team through Instafreebie.
Now Grace is 23, and she's not answering her phone calls. Harry, whose second marriage has just ended, is in England trying to regain his footing. Paulie is celebrating her birthday in New York with Julian and expecting Grace for dinner, but her daughter never shows. Calls to her home go to her answering machine, and calls to her office offer no answers either.
Finally, Paulie gets a late-night call wishing her a happy birthday, but Paulie can tell that something is wrong with Grace. She feels as if her daughter has someone in the room with her, someone who is directing what she says. Paulie is worried but keeps calling the number she has for Grace. One day, a young man named Hal answered and told Paulie that he didn't know Grace but that he was at Camp Star, the only information she could get before he hung up.
A frenzy of phone calls to law enforcement finally yielded an answer: Camp Star was a plot of private property in California where Father Star and his followers, Shining Stars, lived. Although the officer wouldn't use call them a cult himself, he said that others people did consider it a cult and had tried to rescue their family members from the camp. Paulie panics, and she and Harry meet in California to try to come up with a way to get their daughter back.
Finding Grace is a novel of a family torn apart. Author William Adler, most famously of The War of the Roses, that went on to be a film with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Finding Grace is the story of the lengths to which parents will go to protect their children and the choices that we all have to make on our journey to self-discovery and self-actualization.
While the characters in Finding Grace are well fleshed out, I did find the prose a little flowery at times. And while the information on cults rings true to the setting of the novel--the 1980s--it seemed like the understanding we have now about not just cults but also controlling interpersonal relationships would add an informed dimension to the relationships in this novel, particularly to the one between Harry and Paulie, that would have made the overall novel richer. However, it was a very interesting study of the family and marital relationships and expectations of the late 20th century.
Galleys for Finding Grace were provided by The Warren Adler Team through Instafreebie.
August 29, 2021
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
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
October 3, 2017
"We are living in a movie."
Mr.Adler is masterful in his ability to paint a very visual picture and capture personalities on the page and this is apparent in his treatment of the two main protagonists.. Now middle-aged, Harry and Paulie were once in an obsessive love relationship from which neither has fully recovered, despite the passing of many years and both of them subsequently remarrying. And there was a daughter, Grace, now in her twenties. When they learn of her leaving her good job and comfortable life to join a cult, they come together again in a joint attempt to extricate her from it, restoring her to the world she had left behind.
Whilst ostensibly about the cult and the parental attempts to 'save' Grace, and, indeed, much is written about this, the book is really a romance, an overwhelming, almost suffocating, exclusion of the rest of the world by two egocentric figures about whom everything revolves and anything else is secondary. Grace is there, but hardly exists, except as the 'third person in the marriage'.
As with all of Adler's work, the text flows easily and this is a quick book to read. But the impact lingers and, for days after completion, this reader at least four herself drawn back into thinking about the powerful relationships presented. And the total condemnation of a cult for entrapping someone has toe balanced against that entrapment of another type of 'cult' .
This was a book unlike that which I had expected. But why was I surprised when Mr.Adler has already written a more conventional adventure thriller (yes, entitled Cult) with this subject at it's centre? With this author, the unexpected should be anticipated.
Mr.Adler is masterful in his ability to paint a very visual picture and capture personalities on the page and this is apparent in his treatment of the two main protagonists.. Now middle-aged, Harry and Paulie were once in an obsessive love relationship from which neither has fully recovered, despite the passing of many years and both of them subsequently remarrying. And there was a daughter, Grace, now in her twenties. When they learn of her leaving her good job and comfortable life to join a cult, they come together again in a joint attempt to extricate her from it, restoring her to the world she had left behind.
Whilst ostensibly about the cult and the parental attempts to 'save' Grace, and, indeed, much is written about this, the book is really a romance, an overwhelming, almost suffocating, exclusion of the rest of the world by two egocentric figures about whom everything revolves and anything else is secondary. Grace is there, but hardly exists, except as the 'third person in the marriage'.
As with all of Adler's work, the text flows easily and this is a quick book to read. But the impact lingers and, for days after completion, this reader at least four herself drawn back into thinking about the powerful relationships presented. And the total condemnation of a cult for entrapping someone has toe balanced against that entrapment of another type of 'cult' .
This was a book unlike that which I had expected. But why was I surprised when Mr.Adler has already written a more conventional adventure thriller (yes, entitled Cult) with this subject at it's centre? With this author, the unexpected should be anticipated.
December 29, 2017
Harry and Paulie share a story of unusually, intense love, so intense that it was difficult to maintain. Their marriage was an all consuming relationship. Their often suffocating passion caused them to sacrifice peace and serenity. This led to a heartbreaking divorce and new, but far less passionate marriages for each of them.
Grace is in her early twenties and is their only daughter.
What makes someone susceptible to cults and their ways of living? Grace is a perfect target as a young person living an outwardly appearing successful life, but with no strong anchors to a stable family life, no real purpose in life and a lack of spiritual faith.
The building blocks of cults are layers of deceit and slick, repetitive and effective mind control. Vulnerable young people give up control of their own minds and their potential, also their hopes and desires to deceitful cult leaders who do not care at all for their many, mindless followers. A parents' nightmare.
As Grace fell victim to a powerful cult, Harry and Paulie were once again on the same team, fighting to save their only daughter.
Will they rekindle their passionate romance? Will they be able to rescue Grace? Read this book to find the answers.
Grace is in her early twenties and is their only daughter.
What makes someone susceptible to cults and their ways of living? Grace is a perfect target as a young person living an outwardly appearing successful life, but with no strong anchors to a stable family life, no real purpose in life and a lack of spiritual faith.
The building blocks of cults are layers of deceit and slick, repetitive and effective mind control. Vulnerable young people give up control of their own minds and their potential, also their hopes and desires to deceitful cult leaders who do not care at all for their many, mindless followers. A parents' nightmare.
As Grace fell victim to a powerful cult, Harry and Paulie were once again on the same team, fighting to save their only daughter.
Will they rekindle their passionate romance? Will they be able to rescue Grace? Read this book to find the answers.
May 20, 2018
If you are parents or grandparents, I have news for you: You will never experience a deeper fear about someone kidnapping your children than when you read Warren Adler’s “Finding Grace.”
By now you should have realized that Adler has been one of my favorite authors since “War of the Roses” was turned into a movie that kept me on the edge of my seat…but lacked something…and it made me turn to the book. I haven’t trusted another book-based movie since.
There is a new quality to this Adler book. The style is proper of the Great American Novel. The plot itself may seem overused, but not quite. There have been novels about young adults kidnapped by a California cult; mainly in the 70s. This one is rather different. The parents are divorced and living far away. The kidnapped daughter works for a politician. The father has recently dumped or been dumped by wife number two. And there is an angel; a flesh and blood angel who’s child was also kidnapped and prepares the parents for what’s to come. The plot is tight so, were I to give you more details, I would certainly spoil the surprise developments and ending.
Read this novel. You’ll adore it.
Four Stars for the new Warren Adler novel.
By now you should have realized that Adler has been one of my favorite authors since “War of the Roses” was turned into a movie that kept me on the edge of my seat…but lacked something…and it made me turn to the book. I haven’t trusted another book-based movie since.
There is a new quality to this Adler book. The style is proper of the Great American Novel. The plot itself may seem overused, but not quite. There have been novels about young adults kidnapped by a California cult; mainly in the 70s. This one is rather different. The parents are divorced and living far away. The kidnapped daughter works for a politician. The father has recently dumped or been dumped by wife number two. And there is an angel; a flesh and blood angel who’s child was also kidnapped and prepares the parents for what’s to come. The plot is tight so, were I to give you more details, I would certainly spoil the surprise developments and ending.
Read this novel. You’ll adore it.
Four Stars for the new Warren Adler novel.
February 13, 2024
I admit, I struggled some with Finding Grace. I enjoy reading books about cults, because the social and psychological impact of them fascinates me. Unfortunately, I don't think Finding Grace by Warren Adler quite hit the mark.
When I found Cult and Finding Grace by Warren Adler, I expected stories about the cults themselves, and how people either left them, or found peace, or whatever. I wasn't expecting a story about someone trying to deprogram someone who had been brainwashed by a cult. It just seemed a little more depressing than what I enjoy reading most of the time.
I think what bothered me most, was the lack of hope in the book. I'm a fairly positive person, and I love reading stories with a hopeful tone. While I get that deprogramming someone from a cult isn't always a hopeful experience, it bothered me that the book felt like one negative experience after another.
While I didn't hate Cult or Finding Grace, I doubt I will read anything else by Warren Adler, simply because I prefer stories with more hopeful vibes, and I just didn't find those in the books I've read by this author. That's not to say someone else won't enjoy them, so I won't say unequivocally that I don't recommend this book or others by this author. I will simply say they weren't for me.
When I found Cult and Finding Grace by Warren Adler, I expected stories about the cults themselves, and how people either left them, or found peace, or whatever. I wasn't expecting a story about someone trying to deprogram someone who had been brainwashed by a cult. It just seemed a little more depressing than what I enjoy reading most of the time.
I think what bothered me most, was the lack of hope in the book. I'm a fairly positive person, and I love reading stories with a hopeful tone. While I get that deprogramming someone from a cult isn't always a hopeful experience, it bothered me that the book felt like one negative experience after another.
While I didn't hate Cult or Finding Grace, I doubt I will read anything else by Warren Adler, simply because I prefer stories with more hopeful vibes, and I just didn't find those in the books I've read by this author. That's not to say someone else won't enjoy them, so I won't say unequivocally that I don't recommend this book or others by this author. I will simply say they weren't for me.
September 16, 2021
Thank you NetGalley, author Warren Adler, and Stonehouse Press Publishing for giving me a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
4 stars
Trigger warnings: Attempted death by suicide, cheating with an ex
What lengths would you go to go rescue your loved one from a cult?
This book will have you flipping pages late into the night wondering what will be the outcome of two parents trying to rescue their daughter from a cult.
The beginning starts out a little slow but really picks up and remains fast paced until the very end. The author did a great job creating relatable characters that are not all good nor all bad, but in states of gray. The writing flowed well to create a sense of high intensity and hopelessness! The ending wrapped up well but left it open ended about the future. Overall, if you are looking for a creepy book about those who deal with a cult, this book is for you! I can't wait for another new release by this author!
4 stars
Trigger warnings: Attempted death by suicide, cheating with an ex
What lengths would you go to go rescue your loved one from a cult?
This book will have you flipping pages late into the night wondering what will be the outcome of two parents trying to rescue their daughter from a cult.
The beginning starts out a little slow but really picks up and remains fast paced until the very end. The author did a great job creating relatable characters that are not all good nor all bad, but in states of gray. The writing flowed well to create a sense of high intensity and hopelessness! The ending wrapped up well but left it open ended about the future. Overall, if you are looking for a creepy book about those who deal with a cult, this book is for you! I can't wait for another new release by this author!
September 16, 2017
I saw this being offered as an ARC and the summary intrigued me so I took up the offer. Thank you for this opportunity.
I'll attempt to avoid dropping any spoilers.
In the beginning, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about the story. The charcaters came across a bit dry. After the plot took off and the situation with Grace escalated, I finally felt as if the parental characters had come ALIVE. In retrospect, that may possibly have been a deliberate move on the author's part.
The writing style itself was descriptive while still remaining bare bones, which is a great feat in my opinion. It was fascinating to have such a fresh insight into the cult mindset despite the setting being a few decades ago.
While the story didn't steal my breath or leave me on the edge of my seat, I left it with a sense of satisfaction.
I'll attempt to avoid dropping any spoilers.
In the beginning, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about the story. The charcaters came across a bit dry. After the plot took off and the situation with Grace escalated, I finally felt as if the parental characters had come ALIVE. In retrospect, that may possibly have been a deliberate move on the author's part.
The writing style itself was descriptive while still remaining bare bones, which is a great feat in my opinion. It was fascinating to have such a fresh insight into the cult mindset despite the setting being a few decades ago.
While the story didn't steal my breath or leave me on the edge of my seat, I left it with a sense of satisfaction.
November 26, 2017
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.
September 24, 2017
FINDING GRACE: CAPTURED BY A CULT is a fictionalized account of a couple whose adult daughter Grace joins a cult and their efforts to rescue her. While it’s an easy read, I wish more time had been taken to develop Grace’s character so that we are more emphatic to her situation. Also, Paulie’s (Grace’s mother) and first husband Harry’s (Grace’s father) obsession with each other is almost cult like in nature so is it any wonder that their daughter sought her own obsession? Lastly, the novel jumps from the present to past and back again and sometimes it’s not a seamless transition. I like the novel but feel a little tweaking could have made a good novel a REALLY good novel. My thanks to the author for the Advance Reader Copy…
November 29, 2017
This is a well written story with fully developed characters. However, none of the characters are particularly likable.
The publishers label this book as a chilling drama, but it's not especially chilling. In fact, it moves quite slowly with much time spent on character development and little suspenseful action. As dramas go, this is a good story, but it just didn't do it for me.
Steve Ogden performs very well. His character voices are distinctive and his pacing fits the story. .
NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
The publishers label this book as a chilling drama, but it's not especially chilling. In fact, it moves quite slowly with much time spent on character development and little suspenseful action. As dramas go, this is a good story, but it just didn't do it for me.
Steve Ogden performs very well. His character voices are distinctive and his pacing fits the story. .
NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
July 20, 2021
It is my first book by Warren Adler, and I loved it and read it in one go. The characters pulled me in and emotions were so raw that I could not put it down. Even having no experience of being a parent I could feel their pain, their anguish and the intensity of their despair. I read many different novels of a loss of child but this one hit me hard. Can this really happen?
Such a beautiful love of Harry Paulie. Such a tragic turn in life.
p.s. the book does not concentrate on the cult but more on the marriage and relationship between Harry and Paulie over many decades.
Thanks NetGalley for a free copy.
Such a beautiful love of Harry Paulie. Such a tragic turn in life.
p.s. the book does not concentrate on the cult but more on the marriage and relationship between Harry and Paulie over many decades.
Thanks NetGalley for a free copy.
February 25, 2018
I'm always interested in "cult" type books. This book was written by the author of The War of the Roses. It was given to me as a free giveaway from Alder books for an honest review. It was a story of a daughter who was involved in a cult and the parents attempt to get her back. The parents are divorced from each other and remarried to others. Their attempt at rescuing their daughter from the cult ended up involving too much time focusing on the re-involvement of the couple and WAY too much of a romantic interlude. It fell so flat for me that I lost interest. What that really necessary?
December 3, 2017
"Finding Grace: Captured by a Cult" (2017) by Warren Adler is a compelling novel about Harry and Paulie, two divorced parents trying to wrestle their adult daughter Grace from the clutches of a religious cult. At the same time they struggle to deal with their love and attraction for each other in spite of Paulie’s remarried status. A little too must time is spent on the parents’ history but still solidly recommended. Audiobook provided free in exchange for an honest review.
December 29, 2017
The relationship between Harry and Paulie is too much of a main point of this book. However, the plot that was trying to squeeze through the love story was quite interesting. Grace gets sucked into a cult and the divorced couple tries to get their daughter back. I would have liked to have seen more back story on the girl and the cult since that is what the book is about... but overall decent read.
January 20, 2018
Thank you to the Warren Adler team for the ARC copy of Finding Grace: Captured by a Cult. I do apologize for my delay in getting this book read. This story is about a divorced couple trying to save their adult daughter from a religious cult. I connected with the characters immediately and truly wanted to know what happened to them. There were two surprises in the story for me. One being a romance and the other the ending. If you want to know more, give this book a try!
September 12, 2021
This story started out about Grace, Harry and Paulie's daughter, but it went in another direction entirely. Grace joins a cult and Harry and Paulie must work together to get her out. The bulk of the story is based on their lost love. Grace and the cult are relegated to minor roles. I was disappointed that there wasn't more focu on this. I received an advance copy of this book and this is my honest review.
September 21, 2017
Warren Adler is a master at establishing and building upon relationships in his novels and this one is no exception. This is a very emotional story and Adler brings the reader into it early and keeps him there until the end. Not my usual "thriller" plot but a nice break and very thought-provoking. I highly recommend that you read this. You will not be disappointed.
March 6, 2019
Good read
The plot was good & also the character. The story of love is great, but I did feel like I was left hanging at the end & to be honest, somewhat disappointed. The story is a good read if you want a story of commitment.
The plot was good & also the character. The story of love is great, but I did feel like I was left hanging at the end & to be honest, somewhat disappointed. The story is a good read if you want a story of commitment.
September 27, 2021
The story was haunting to think this kind of stuff still happens. I’m a parent of an 18 year old and if this happened I would totally do what these parents did. I enjoyed the story and the love of the parents
November 25, 2017
I received this book as an ARC ebook. It was interesting. I read it in one sitting. I didn't love the end, but found the relationship dynamics interesting. A quick read.
September 16, 2019
I could not get past the first chapter!
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