I have always been super intrigued by cults, so of course I jumped at the chance to read this book. I liked the pacing of the book at the start, it sucked me in and kept me interested, as I normally tend to get bored fast when reading non-fiction books because of how monotonous most of them are. There were times though where it got slower when it should've been faster, or skimmed over details that I feel should have been elaborated on, so that threw me off a bit. This isn't a literature book though so I won't criticize the writing style too much, and the main goal of this was to shed light on this cult, its leaders, its going-ons and the insidious way it trapped people, and I think that was done in a satisfactory way.

This book was intriguing. I have read about a lot of cults and have never heard of the Manhattan Cult.

Spencer takes you through his journey in the cult life. The oath of absolute secrecy, that wasn’t even talked about to family. The horrors of abuse (mental, sexual, and physical), arranged marriages, forced labor, and swindling of inheritances and savings. The members were people you would see walking down the street; neighbours, accountants, lawyers, doctors.

I found that the pace and writing were a little back and forth; there were times I couldn’t put it down and other times it was hard to get through a specific event.

I received an advance review copy for free in exchange for my honest review.

I was disappointed by this book.

The blurb sounded amazing and yet, as soon as I started reading, I found the pacing just so boring, especially for a book with this type of plotline.

DNF

Wow. This book was so completely harrowing and soul crushing. It was well written and well thought out and I can’t even tell you how many times my jaw dropped out of pure concern for the members of this cult. As soon as I thought it couldn’t get worse, it inevitably did and I can’t comprehend how such things can go on for so long (and continue to go on)! I just wanted to scream and shake them and say “this is not how you treat people.” I hope this book can offer guidance and assistance to people looking to get out of abusive situations and can help put an end to cults in the future.

Manhattan Cult Story was an interesting read for me-- the subject matter was very engaging, particularly once the narration gets into how it truly was to be so deeply involved in a society like the School, while the writing itself felt a bit weak and inconsistent at times. Overall I would say the story is compelling, and though the very simplistic, forthright style of narration at the start of the book might have left me wishing for a bit more style, the substance does more than adequately make up for this. What I would note, is that the author seemed to have a bit of a change of style around the 70% mark, going from a very unbiased, straightforward way of conveying the events as they unfolded to a slightly more adventurous and bold voice suffused with much stronger emotions than had previously been displayed by the author. I found this change refreshing from the monotone of the previous two-thirds of the novel, but also a bit jarring, as it was not what I had come to expect from Manhattan Cult Story up to this point. The pacing suffered similarly, rushing through large periods of time & brushing over events, and then slowing immensely only to dwell on a period of time for seemingly no real reason or intent. These complaints aside, the story was very compelling and I found myself surprisingly invested in the people within's lives and well-beings, feeling sympathy for the victims and the pain they thought they had to endure for so many years. Schneider does a very competent job of making you feel like you are along for the ride with he & his fellow classmates throughout, cringing and sweating through the horrific abuse that became their daily norm.

In summation: definitely worth the read if you find the subject matter intriguing at first glance, and are looking for an honest account of what it is like to go through the type of trauma that cults like the School and people like Sharon Gans inflict on those unfortunate enough to be dragged into their orbit. I am not sure I would recommend it to anyone that is not hooked by the premise alone, but I for one found it difficult to put down for the past few days.

Thank you for the opportunity to read & review this ARC!

Super interesting and well structured. I felt like I learned a lot about the cult and it was a very easy read.

Wow! That was quite the ride! I find cult stories fascinating, and this one didn't disappoint. Spencer makes you really feel what it could have felt like to be sitting in the Space with Sharon. Scared to stick up for your friends, wanting her approval, just crazy to know these situations happen. I love the details shared even though this story took place over decades of time. I'd call this a solid 3.75, not sure why I'm not just calling it a 4, but *shrug*

An interesting exploration into cult life in New York as told by Spencer Schneider as he expresses how he was approached and lured into this life that latched on and held him pretty much captive for over 20 plus years before he managed to break free.

Led by an atrocious, selfish, and conniving woman, Sharon Gans, who treated the members like playthings for her own enjoyment by telling them who they could marry, have sex with, and many other lists of things they could or couldn't do to be a "good" member and not get chastised and ridiculed.

I enjoyed that this was told from a mans point of view because you usually only hear how rotten things can be for women but here we see that men are treated just as horribly if not worse in some cases.

I don't have a lot of knowledge of many cults but the ones I was vaguely familiar with before this or had heard of were more open or not hidden and they lived closely together but this particular one was almost entirely secretive where even the members until certain levels couldn't even acknowledge each other in public. It was just interesting seeing that although different they still could compel almost the same levels of devotion from its members to do as the leaderships wanted done.

I felt so bad for the author who went thru this ordeal but am also thankful to him for being brave enough to break free and tell his story and out this cult for who they are in hopes of saving the next person from having to go thru what he did.

"This book is a raw often painful personal account written by a cult survivor details what really goes on in a secretive cult that targeted sophisticated, educated and affluent New Yorkers. The author Spencer Schneider brings twenty years of experience from being a part of “The Work” led by former actress Sharon Gans, It really shows how anyone can be tricked and trapped by a deceptive cult, even those we least suspect. This book is a deep dive into a hidden cult's world of sexual and financial exploitation, manipulation, isolation and personal destruction. The personal view brought by Schneider draws you in and really had me questioning how much you really know about those around you.
Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Skyhorse Publishing and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

If you love learning about cults, true crime or any other type of mystery you’ll like this one.

I have always been OBSESSED with cults. I watch documentaries about them, read articles, listen to podcasts, and read books about them. I had never heard of the Manhattan Cult, so when I saw this book, I HAD to read it. I love that it is from a man's perspective. Let's face it..so many times its women who are the victims. This cult is equally terrible to men and women! While most cults we learn about are secretive, it was so interesting that this one was totally a secret. Happening all around us and nobody knew. We always wonder how people can be that naive..that ignorant. Schneider explains so well how the most intelligent, educated, creative, loving, kind, well liked people can fall victim to a charming, persuasive cult leader like Sharon Gans. While fiction is always great to read, to read this survival story and know that it is totally true, as horrifying as some parts are and as fantastical as others, it made it so much more of a story. Great book, great story of survival and resilience.

Manhattan Cult Story by Spencer Schneider was a fascinating account of how the author was drawn into a cult in NYC. Little by little, and then you're mired in quicksand. It read like fiction-unputdownable. Highly recommend!

I thought this was excellent and so compelling! A true story of someone caught up for 20+ years in a cult of New York elite, who had his life defined by and controlled by the group, and what eventually led him to leave. There were a lot of people and I had a hard time keeping track of all of them, especially the less central people to the story, and some things that went unanswered that I felt would have made sense to be answered, but overall a fascinating read.

I had never heard of this cult before, but I still struggled to get into this book. I was expecting more of the cult's history and backstory early on, but it just dives into the author's memories.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.