Book Review: “The Cultist’s Wife”

About The Cultist’s Wife

A gothic horror set in 1908 Bahamas
She loathes him but the cult beckons.
1908, the height of the British Empire. Clara’s autonomy is shattered when her long-absent husband summons her to join him at his eerie sect’s headquarters, insulated on a sparsely inhabited island in the Bahamas.
After a harrowing sea voyage, Clara and her children disembark into an unfamiliar landscape and climate. The children explore the marvels and mysteries of Andros Island and develop friendships with a Bahamian family, while Clara struggles to find her place as a woman within the cult.
But what seems at first to be a spiritual haven for Clara reveals itself to be a monster-worshiping cult intent on draining her family of more than their fortune.
Must Clara give up her quest for independence to protect her children from the cult’s depravity?

With themes of Spiritualism, motherhood, and female empowerment, The Cultist’s Wife will appeal to fans of The Ghost Woods and The Quickening.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Cultists-Wife-BJ-Sikes-ebook/dp/B0CW1FKGND

My Review

I recieved a digital copy of The Cultist’s Wife, by B.J. Sikes from Sandra’s Book Club review program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.

I was attracted to this book by its simple cover design which highlights the title, which caught my eye, so I chose this book from a slew of books Sandra’s Book Club has available for review. It’s a gothic horror novel, which could even fall under the women’s fiction genre. Clara, the female protagonist, is a woman in British society seeking her independence through spiritualism at the beginning of the twentieth century in the absence of her husband, who has been in the Bahamas for the past five years. And later in the story, we meet a second strong female who plays an equally vital role in the story’s plot.

At first, I must admit, I didn’t like Clara very much. I found her to be selfish, worried more about appearances in society than anything else, as she allows a nanny to take responsibility for the care of her children, eight-year-old Elsie and five-year-old Reggie, which was common for the times. When her absent husband summons her to bring the children and join him, she cows to his will as a proper wife should, in spite of her questions as to his motive. Upon their arrival, her choice to seek enlightenment on Andros Island and become a member of the cult her husband is involved, and her almost total disregard for her children and their well-being reinforced my first impression and made me wonder how she could be so blind to what was happening around her. I felt it to be at odds with the self-rightous, independent woman she was struggling to be.

The children are the real heroes in this tale, showing strength and ingenuity in their mother’s absence as she bends to the will of the Order. They are left to their own devices to explore the island, making friends with the indigenous people, and uncovering a murder in the process. Their mother doesn’t believe them and they turn to Aunty Irene, another strong and independent female from the local population, but even she may not be strong enough to stand against the Order.

By the end of the story, we see Clara grow and change into a truly strong and caring woman as her priorities shift and her eyes are opened to the reality of her situation, providing an unsuspected and satisfying ending as every character arc should, but it is little Elsie who I identified with and rooted for. Perhaps it should have been titled, “The Cultist’s Children” instead.

A classic gothic horror story, I give The Cultist’s Wife four quills.

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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.