The Gods Who Want To Die
by Luke McCamley
A devoted mother is torn between love of family, and loyalty to a religious cult leader whose demands become increasingly bizarre-and deadly.
To all appearances, Shelly Grinstead is a happily married woman with three children. But appearances can be deceiving. There’s a dark past behind her, and a greater darkness looms ahead. Shelly is a firm believer in Necrotheism, a religious cult that helps immortal gods end their lives through the ceremonial mock-deaths of cult members. The only problem is, the latest deaths aren’t just ceremonial; they’re real. Someone is killing those who kill the gods, and no one knows who, or what, or how to stop it.
Shelly is also in love with cult leader Magnolia Blanchot, whose increasingly bizarre demands threaten to rip Shelly’s family apart. The police are just as bad in their own way, blackmailing Shelly’s son into playing bait for the killer. Whether that killer be god or man, Shelly’s not sure.
When tragedy strikes close to home, Shelly is forced to choose between loyalty and betrayal, faith and disbelief, life and death-before her tenuous grip on reality slips away….
5 out of 5 fairies
This was a crazy ride and I enjoyed every moment of it. Shelly has had a rough go of it – and while I was worried about finding it hard to like someone so deep into a cult, she’s a great MC. Her journey is a big piece of the plot, and she changes so much from the first to last pages. McCamley did an amazing job of bringing the cult to life – you’d almost expect to see it featured on one of those true-crime documentary shows. This story is certainly dark, and the descriptions are vivid. I read this curled up under a blanket with a warm drink, and there were still moments that had chills running down my spine. If you’re looking for a unique dark read, enjoy cult documentaries, and want a book that will hook you from the start, then this should be your next read.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads
I’m Luke McCamley, an author and philosophy teacher with an unusual past. I was brought up in the Mormon faith and following my exit, I decided to pursue my life-long dream of becoming an author, a no-holds-barred embrace of the artform and let my imagination run wild. I’ve always been fascinated by dark things and with religion no longer holding me back, I dived into my love of all things horror! My latest work is a thrilling blend of horror, crime, occultism, and fantasy, exploring a mother’s struggle within a deadly cult.