Seductive Poison

November 2, 1998
Published on the 20th anniversary of the suicide-murder of more than 900 followers of Reverend Jim Jones in the Guyanese jungle, Layton's book is the first by a former high-level member of the People's Temple. A troubled teen from an affluent family in Berkeley, Calif., Layton and her mother were introduced to Jones by her brother, Larry. For seven years, she was Jones's close confidante in California, and in 1977, she left with her mother for the "Promised Land" of Jonestown. In the months that followed, she became aware of trouble in "Paradise," realizing she had arrived in a work camp patrolled by armed guards and ruled by a deceitful "Father" (Jones), who practiced manipulative mind-control tactics, dictated grueling physical labor, staged suicide drills and devised bizarre punishments such as wrapping a boa constrictor around the neck of a "sinner" or hanging children upside-down in a well. By May 1978, Layton had engineered a complex escape plan and returned to the U.S. Concerned for her mother, brother and friends still in Jonestown, she went to both the press and the State Department to warn of a possible mass suicide-murder but found few who believed her. Her fears were, of course, founded and not only did her mother die of cancer in Jonestown shortly before the mass suicide, but Larry was convicted for the conspiracy to kill Congressman Leo Ryan and is still in prison. Layton's lengthy account provides valuable insights into the inner workings of cults, and the details of her escape in the closing chapters generate strong suspense, hinting at film possibilities. "Never before published" photos unseen by PW. (Nov.) FYI: Layton's other brother, Thomas, wrote an earlier family history, In My Father's House (1981), with journalist Min S. Yee.

Starred review from March 15, 2014

Layton's best-selling 1999 memoir of her high-level involvement with Jim Jones's Peoples Temple and her dramatic escape from the cult prior to the Jonestown, Guyana, mass suicide of 1978 comes alive in this must-buy audio. Layton worked with narrator Kathe Mazur to perfect a characterization of Jones's seductive voice and capably reads the prolog and a new epilog herself. The result is a compelling audio that reminds listeners that sophisticated knowledge of the world is not necessarily protection against enslavement to a political or spiritual ideology. Some 50 years after the beginning of Layton's involvement with Peoples Temple, and 15 years after the memoir was first published, her admonitions to question beliefs, explore motivations, and test the truth continue to be relevant today. VERDICT This exciting, suspenseful, and mysterious work is very highly recommended for adult audio collections. ["Vividly written and powerfully told, this book shows convincingly how a group of people, seduced by promises of an 'Eden' on earth, will blindly follow a charismatic leader," read the review of the Anchor hc, LJ 11/15/98. See a Q&A with the author and the narrator on page 84.]--Cliff Glaviano, formerly with Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH

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