Prophet of Loss

by Kennedy Weible

"Weible deftly unpacks the cunning charm of the cult leader in this unsettling novel...a powerful story." --Kirkus Reviews "This book is destined to be banned." -- Rev. Stephen Prosper for the Brock Independent In this compelling novel, a young girl is thrust into a dark and dangerous faith. Celia’s family is like so many others struggling in a bad economy. In the small town of Brock, South Carolina, Celia’s father delivers newspapers, and her mother works in a dentist’s office. They are a hardworking, industrious family, but that isn’t enough. When Celia’s father suffers an injury and is unable to work an extra shift, the family begins to crack. Celia’s mother loses her job soon afterward. In an effort to cope with their poverty and depression, Celia’s parents become more active in their church. The church, led by the charismatic young preacher Barrett Higgins, gives Celia’s parents hope for a better life. They become more and more enthralled with his warnings of the Second Coming of Christ and an upcoming revolution against the secular world. When the family loses their house, they move onto Barrett’s compound. There, in the heart of a growing and powerful cult, Celia begins to realize the horrible truth behind the pastor’s teachings. Prophet of Loss explores the dark charisma of cult leaders and the desperation that leads a congregation to blindly follow them into deadly places.

Genres: Fiction

278 pages, Paperback

Published November 8, 2016

Reviews

[Joyce · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t bother reading this book! It was disgusting and disturbing! I have no idea why the author put in so much work on this topic. False prophets are out there, but I’d rather concentrate on the real thing!

[Tammy Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. This wasn't really what I was expecting from the blurb on the back. I thought it would focus more on the young girl escaping the cult and bringing them down. Didn't happen. It took me forever to get through this book, it plodded along and seemed to make the same points endlessly. It never seemed to "flow". I won this book in a contest for my book club and I'm sure those ladies will not like this at all. Sorry ladies! I had no idea.

[Sydney Mulligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book focuses on the life of Celia, a young girl whose parents hit rock bottom and, searching for someone or something to help them, accidentally get caught up in a fundamentalist Christian cult. Weible brings the reader on an emotional journey of Celia's growing up and navigating childhood and adolescence in these unforeseen circumstances. She cares about things all teenagers care about - having friends, pleasing her parents, rebelling - but in the stark contrast of a strictly religious society following its charismatic and manipulative leader, Barrett Higgins.
I have to say, this book is not what I expected it to be, but it was still a great read. I expected the book to primarily focus on how this family and their young daughter flee the situation they're in - it's what I've seen in a thousand other books and, admittedly, Lifetime Movies. What sets this book apart is the focus it places on how the family actually ends up in the cult. It analyzes the manipulation required of the cult's leader and the desperation its people must feel to blindly put their faith in a person like that.
The author does a great job using a third person point of view to articulate the thoughts and feelings that each character experiences in comparison to the others, while still maintaining focus on our heroine, Celia. Weible deftly weaves humor into the sadness and fear of the situation the Waters family finds themselves in, making the book an enjoyable journey. If you like becoming invested in characters, cliff hanger endings, and female heroes, you will enjoy this book.