Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audio arc. All opinions are my own.

I was really excited for this book, and the narrators did a great job bringing this story to life. Claire is the sole survivor of a cult ended by a mass suicide, which she discovered. It has been 10 years, she's gone through therapy, is married, and works part-time at the library. A man doing a podcast comes in one day and Claire decides its time to try to figure out what happened.

The pacing of this story is great, with the trade off of Claire in current time, and flash backs to one Flock member, and the leader.

Having grown up in a cult myself, I am familiar with the intricacies and psychological dynamics involved. Unfortunately, this book was a tedious and disappointing read.

The author fails to capture the true essence of cult operations, focusing instead on dry, repetitive anecdotes that lack depth and authenticity. The writing style is monotonous, making it a struggle to stay engaged. It felt like the author had no real understanding or firsthand experience with cults, resulting in a superficial and unconvincing narrative.

I was expecting a compelling, well-researched account that could shed light on the complexities of cults, but this book did not deliver. It was a waste of time and I would not recommend it to anyone seeking a genuine understanding of the subject.

Beautiful cover and the plot was promising. I found the characters a little drab and the book a little slow moving. I did think the bones were good but I kept waiting for the book to really pick up and have more intensity than it did. There were moments that I thought were done well, but I kept wanting more, and sadly more times than not I felt it fell a little flat. The depth to characters was ok, the back and forth between points of view was good, and the ending did make sense but again did lack a little something. I don’t regret reading the book as I think it was fine, but just wasn’t great.

I would like to thank Kate Robards, NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I also have the written copy of this book as well to review.
This was an interesting book told both in the past and the present from three POV’s.
I enjoyed the narrators and I think most of the book was well written.
Characters were interesting and the view into the life of a cult and its members I found to be fairly interesting and accurate based on some true crime books I’ve read before.
I didn’t love the ending but otherwise an all around decent book.

Only the Guilty Survive had me hooked from the first page. I picked it up because of the gorgeous cover and am so glad that I did.

As a true crime fan, it was interesting to see the inner workings of cult leader Dom’s mind and how he was influenced by others before him like Charles Manson and Jim Jones.

I thought author Kate Robards did a great job weaving Claire’s narrative today with Lollie’s view of the past. The pacing of the story was good but I still have a lot of questions after the ending though which is why this isn’t a five-star for me. The last couple of chapters felt like they were rushed and there are a few pieces of the story left unresolved.

All three narrators were fantastic. They did a great job of getting into each character’s POV and really conveyed the desperation, loneliness and question for answers that each one felt.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Kate Robards for an early review copy. These are my honest thoughts.

Claire was a former member of a cult named The Flock when her best friend was murdered and everyone in the flock dies rather by suicide or murder no one knows. Not even Claire she has spent years after trying to remember those final days. Why is she still alive and who killed her best friend? With the 10 year anniversary of Lollie death comes up so does a podcaster trying to figure out what really happened.

There were parts of this book that didn't make sense and parts that didn't add up for me. As we unravel the past and present I think we left a lot of answers un answered and the ending just made me go... wait what and just felt like all the thoughts and actions Claire had throughout the book mean nothing.

I was hoping since it was real like/podcast it would be parts in podcast formats like a few others I've read but it was just all told in one format. So it didn't feel like 2 stories going at once.

Thank you to NetGalley for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

A well plotted cult story, Only the Guilty Survive follows Claire, the only survivor of a cult that committed mass suicide.

Years after the tumultuous end of the cult called The Flock, Claire is trying to live her life. She has a therapist, a quite library job and the support of her parents since she didn't move far from town. A podcaster comes to town and suddenly the memories that Claire cannot recall threaten to emerge. Why did she survive? What happened to the leader?

Robards creates the perfect balance of flashbacks to cult life to Claire's current half of a life. It is easy to understand how and why the Flock worked and feel for the members. If you like a cult novel, this is for you!
#dreamscape #katerobards #onlytheguiltysurvive #podcastnovel #cultnovel
#BethHicks #LeanneWoodward #GrahamHalstead

This was unsettling and creepy, a perfect read/listen for spooky season! I'm definitely going to keep this one in my back pocket for a book club we host at my library, Death and Donuts.

4/5

I was really interested in reading this book when I first read the synopsis. I didn’t like it as much as I hoped I would. It was interesting, but it was very repetitive and that got old. I enjoyed the narration.

This book is an interesting one. I don't read many thrillers with cult tropes, and now I think I would explore that sub-genre more. While it's maddening to listen to, it's a challenge in compassion and different than other thrillers I've read.

I think this was great on audio. I think it may have been slow if I read a physical copy. I'm glad there was a full cast and labeled chapters for the different characters and timelines.

This may be a good fit if you enjoy:
- books about the inner workings of cults
- whodunnits with multiple perspectives and timelines
- books with investigative/podcast elements
- quick, full-cast audiobooks

My critiques would be
- I think Dominic's (the cult leader) character could have been ramped up a bit to the level of despicable or a flawed person that readers feel for even though he sucks.
- The reveal was unexpected which is good thing, yet I wanted more. It felt a little out of nowhere.
- The ending could have been jaw dropping, but when I rewound the audio to revisit some details, it didn't feel as exciting. I think there was some potential there.

Rating: I liked it! (3)

The perfect mix of creepy and disturbing and could be taken from the 6 o'clock news. It will keep you up at night...

I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were great. The premise was very interesting but it was so repetitive that I found my attention drifting. Parts of it were very interesting and I’m sure some will love it but unfortunately it wasn’t the book for me.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3

That was certainly… a book 😅

I don’t like to leave bad reviews, but I was unfortunately disappointed by this audiobook.

The book was slow and repetitive, which really sucks because I was so excited to listen to this audiobook based on the description.

There were so many characters introduced, and I didn’t find any of them likeable.

I listened until the very end, hoping everything would be wrapped up nicely and I’d be left with that “okay, wow, it all made sense” feeling. Unfortunately, I was just left wondering WTF I read… and not in a good way.

Thank you to NetGalley and dreamscape media for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Claire is the only survivor of a doomsday cult (The Flock) that fell apart when one of the members (Lauren/Lolly) was murdered and the cult came under public scrutiny. She still lives in the small college town where she grew up and everyone hates her, and now a podcaster is investigating the cult and Lolly's death, so Claire is back in the spotlight and trying to remember/figure out what exactly happened to her cult pals.

No spoilers, so I'm going to be extremely vague here and say I did not enjoy this book. Claire was extremely difficult to root for, the plot was extremely repetitive and slow, and the eventual explanation for what happened didn't make sense.

I was hoping for something along the lines of Listen for the Lie because of the small town + podcast + dead friend + is she a survivor or a perpetrator? (with a bonus cult!) and this was not it. I do think readers who enjoyed A History of Wild Places might like this (?) more than I did.

Lots of twists and turns in this cult based thriller. The author makes excellent use of jumping back and forth in time to create suspense and mystery about how the cult met its tragic end.

My love for cult books is overshadowed by the true crime podcaster trope. The cult part is lukewarm, with the author repeating the same information in an info-dumpy fashion. The characters, Claire and Laurel, are difficult to empathize with despite their horrors. The plot lines and character details don't add up, and the author's Americanization of the name Jock is confusing. The ending solidifies the book as a one-star book, but the baddie reveal and emotionally abusive husband Henry are kept in the drafts.

2.5/3. Rounded down.
I was quite underwhelmed. I was so eager for this story. The podcast aspect, the cult story. But it fell very short.

This was so good! The first time I’ve read about a cult who ultimately decided to unalive themselves because the leader told them to. The reasons why others were kidnapped and there was only one survivor is the reason this story caught wind of a man covering it in his podcast. This was an interesting listen and I hope more people listen

A true crime podcast and a cult? Sold!
We start solidly with a very gr opening and the duel viewpoints over the two periods of time were interesting to start with but I found myself getting bored about halfway through. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, or find them that interesting, and there wasn’t really anything that gripped me.
Narrator was good.

I recently had the chance to read an advanced copy of "Only the Guilty Survive" by Kate Robards, thanks to NetGalley. Initially, I was uncertain about the book; it seemed like it might be a challenge to get through. However, as the plot unfolded, I found myself deeply engrossed.

The story revolves around the Flock, a cult that ended in a mass suicide, leaving only one survivor, Claire Kettler. The narrative is told from the perspectives of multiple characters, each adding depth and intrigue to the tale. I was particularly drawn to the way Robards portrayed Dominic Bragg, the cult leader, capturing the complexities of his thoughts and motivations.

Although the book was difficult to grasp at first, it ultimately won me over. I'm eager to explore more of Robards' work in the future!