Customer Reviews

The Program

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Several years ago I met a woman who was married to a gentleman with a controlling personality. To say that he had his own way of doing things would be an understatement. The man, according to his wife, would give her instructions about how to do things on a daily basis. These included everything from the proper way to vacuum to the preferred method for turning the twist-tie on an open loaf of bread. I am not making this up. It was with foreknowledge of such individuals that I picked up THE PROGRAM by Gregg Hurwitz. Whatever chills had been raised by my acquaintance's account of her domestic situation returned with my reading of this harrowing tale of mind and behavioral control.

THE PROGRAM, for the most part, is not awash in explosions and karate; Hurwitz is a dramatist, and a fine one. He is able to create more suspense and terror out of a few sentences of dialogue than many Hollywood film directors can with a two-hour celluloid canvas. Hurwitz's boogie man in THE PROGRAM is Terrance Donald Betters, known as The Teacher, who purports to run a behavioral institute that is, in practice, an extortion mill.

When Leah Henning, a young college student with familial issues, falls under Betters's sway, her parents come to Tim Rackley for assistance. Rackley has been summarily drummed out of the U.S. Marshal's office for methods that, while brutally effective, are too over-the-top for a visible government agent. Will Henning, a Hollywood movie producer with friends in the highest of places, is able to get Rackley reinstated for the purpose of getting Leah away from Betters.

Rackley, however, is nobody's puppet. When he goes underground to investigate Betters's program, he finds that Leah is a more sympathetic character than her stepfather and that, while Betters is a dangerous con artist, Leah may have had her reasons for seeking him out, even if those reasons were not good. Rackley insinuates himself deeply into Betters's organization in order to protect Leah and assist her in what will hopefully be a voluntary extrication. Doing so, however, puts Rackley personally and professionally in terrible danger. Isolated in every possible way, Rackley finds himself in the position of once again crossing the line that jeopardized his career once before.

Hurwitz combines yeoman's research with his ever-developing writing abilities to create a first-rate tale. Cults range in size from Jim Jones's ill-fated Jonestown group to the infamous Manson family. THE PROGRAM gives the reader a front-row view of the personalities that lead, and follow, in such groups. This is a quietly terrifying work that will strongly resonate with any and all who read it.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

The character of Tim Rackley is also seen in a previous novel, "The Kill Clause". Tim returns to service with the US Marshals and goes deep undercover of a cult to locate Leah Henning. This cult is into mind control, which can be (and normally is) a nightmare!

Tim goes in as a willing participant. What he witnesses makes him determined to shut The Program down once-and-for-all. To do so, Tim must face his own horrible past and fears. It is the only way to convince the leaders of the cult that he is sincere. But one thing is certain: Tim will either shut down The Program or die trying.

***** You will stay up a few extra hours reading this psychological tale. Each character is masterfully detailed and I could not help but sympathize, especially with Tim Rackley. I can only hope that there are a few real officers out there with Rackley's morals. Gregg Hurwitz's writing is down right engrossing. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I devoured this book. What a disturbing insight into a "cult" and how quickly people become "reprogrammed." I have not read any other novels by Hurwitz, but if they are anything like this, I won't hesitate. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

This is my first from this author. I am eager to go back and read his first novel. I was impressed with his portrayal of the young man who was out of the Program and what his life had become.

This will keep you on the edge.

Mr. Hurwitz has captured the horror of a mind control cult in his latest novel. Once again U.S. Marshal Tim Rackley is back with his deputy sheriff wife to help a couple retrieve their daughter from an insidious cult called the Program. There is plenty of action and suspense as Rackley tries to save Leah from the leader, an arrogant and evil man called "Teacher" and his zombie like associates. The pace is fast and will keep you reading well into the night. The book is quite horrifying in that it brings back memories of the more notorious cults of the 70s and 80s. Highly recommended.

What can I say, THE PROGRAM was simply an AWESOME read! Gregg Hurwitz really knows how to keep the reader in suspence from page one. This was the second book of his I've read and now I want to read them all.

Once I started reading it I didn't want to put it down, then once I finished it I wanted to read it all over again! It kept me on the edge of my seat with non-stop action and the characters are wonderful. Tim & Dray Rackley are the best new heros out there and I sure hope they come back in another novel very soon. This one is going on the shelf with my favorites of all time!

If you like action and suspence and want to be blown away by an ending, read this book today!

Well I finished this story. A page-turner? Only because I'm stubborn and had paid good money for it, and wanted to get to the end. Near the very end, it finally got interesting, because THE ACTION FINALLY PICKED UP. Perhaps it's just me, be the rest was slow, slow, slow. I finished it, but I'll never read another of this series, or this author.

This book is a definite must read. Tim Rackley is back, after his initial introduction in The Kill Clause. He had gone through a terrible year after his 7 year old daughter was murdered and his subsequent decision to leave the U.S. Marshal Service. He gets hired by a wealthy Hollywood producer to find his daughter, Leah, who had joined a cult. The only way he could do this was to be back with the Service, which was worked out by the producer's influence. Tim infiltrated the cult by pretending to be someone interested in the group. It was there that he met the Teacher, a scary guy named TD. I have known men like TD - not as bad as he was, but a few different men who have had some aspects of his personality, who were in positions of leadership. I find this sort of situation very disturbing, especially watching the way many of their followers are totally controlled by them. Hurwitz created the perfect cult leader in TD, describing his complete control of his followers in a very convincing and creepy way. Tim, a very strong person both physically and in personality, managed to impersonate someone who was open to this control, but not so easily as to raise suspicion. Reading about his time with the group gave me such a sense of panic and claustrophobia that I actually had a nightmare about it. The limitations of the legal system were well described and very frustrating, but the way they got around all of that was very clever. This is a not missable must read book. I have read several of Hurwitz' books and have enjoyed all of them. I just ordered all of the rest and pre-ordered his upcoming book. He is truly a gifted author.

The Program is the first of Gregg Hurwitz's books that I have read. I found it to be extremely believable and impossible to put down. I will have to get his other books as soon as possible. If this is a sample of his work, I feel the rest of his books must be wonderful as well.

Gregg Hurwitz' latest novel, "The Program" is a solid and moving follow-up to his 2003 novel, "The Kill Clause". Hurwitz reintroduces two great characters from the earlier work, Tim and Dray Rackley. As the Rackley's continue to struggle to deal with the murder of their daughter and put their own lives back together, Tim is approached by a wealthy film producer who uses his power to get Tim reinstated as a US Marshal in order to secure his help in finding his runaway daughter, Leah.

Tim is intrigued by the chance to help another family with a perilous situation involving a daughter and also sees this as a chance to recover his professional life. As he begins the search for Leah, he finds that she has joined a mind-controlling cult known as The Program. Under the direction of T.D. Betters, aka, "The Teacher", The Program is designed to create an army of mindless minions who help Betters bilk wealthy converts out of their fortunes while convincing them that it's for their own good. Hurwitz has created a great character in "The Teacher" and has certainly done his homework regarding cults and their charismatic leaders.

Tim realizes that his only hope to rescue Leah is to infiltrate the cult and work from the inside. As he assumes the identity of a wealthy, but spiritually unhappy millionaire, Tim works his way into The Program and begins the effort to release Leah from its control. The Teacher and his brood as so good at what they do that even Tim has to struggle to maintain his self-control. The book really takes off from this point as it rockets to a satisfying conclusion.

Not to be missed, "The Program" is a wonderfully written book full of great characters and well-drawn scenes. Hurwitz just keeps getting better and better! While not absolutely necessary, I would recommend reading "The Kill Clause" first so that the reader can get the full background on the Rackley characters.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!