Seductive Poison : A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the People's Temple

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Summary: AN ENGROSSING THRILLER READ
Review: Light a fire, pull up your favorite reading chair and take an incredible journey into the hinterlands. Seductive Poison is one of those rare books which will transport you into another world where evil lurks, right and wrong are transposed, sanity is clouded and where a young heroine resides. It will give you insight into a historical event none of us could understand--UNTIL NOW!

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Summary: Great authors run in familys
Review: While finishing up the unforgettable story of Deborah Layton's brush with Jim Jones in Seductive Poison (remarkable and courageous) I read that her brother wrote a book about his anthropological research and studies: The Voyage of the Frolic. Although totally different (academic) this family has a gift for words. Professor Thomas Layton's book is also accessible from Amazon and a great read!

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Summary: Incredible
Review: I found this book while traveling through Spain. I wanted to write a note here and say to the author that I wish I could tell her in person how proud I am of her. You were a very courageous girl to do what you did while all alone adn afraid down there in Guyana. Your story is raw, honest and beautifully written. Thank you so much for deciding so many years later to tell us your story. I am an honored reader.

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Summary: Hits all the G spots
Review: Seductive Poison is gripping, gutwrenching and gosh'darn great reading. I encountered ghosts, giggled a few times and decided to give this book a grade of A+ for gusto and genius. Texans know when we've been given a great gift. The Author is one hell of a gutsy Gal.

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Summary: Shocking and miraculous
Review: I get coffee at the same place every morning on College Avenue in Berkeley and have seen the same pretty, unassuming woman get in the same line with me, always smiling and saying hello for the past ten years. I was astounded when one of the men in my book group brought along his favorite book and this woman, the same one I see everyday was looking out from the cover of the book in his hands. At first I felt like a voyeur--reading her very personal story and then seeing and hearing her order her cappaccino in the morning. I have always assumed that she was just another normal somebody--but to think she has been through such a shocking history and remains friendly and accessible--has really affected me. I'm not sure why really. Perhaps its becuase I assumed anyone who could have joined that group had to be deranged, demented and, I thought all were deceased! I am ashamed of how I conceitedly viewed them (and her) as different than me! I hope to gain the courage to approach her and apologize for my misconception of her and the wonderful and unforgettable characters she writes about in her book and then lost in Jonestown. Because of the present tense style of the book I was able to identify with and get to know some memorable and influencial people in her life like the old black woman, Mary, The-Sorceress-Chef; Teresa, her mentor; the handsome Jonestown crew chief Lee, who tried to help her; the bungling and idiotic Embassy staff who 'didn't get it'; and her sweet and tragic mother, Lisa, whom she left behind. It is miraculous the author is alive and sane today. That she could write such a wonderful, revealing and exceptional book is nothing less than a miracle. This book is a testament to the power of man's survival instinct and the courage of one woman, at great risk to herself, to tell this story with all its warts and festering wounds. It is the most affecting book I have ever read.

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Summary: Stirring
Review: There is a purity of spirit that speaks to the reader throughout Seductive Poison. I have never read anything quite like it.

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Summary: Hard to Put Down
Review: I found this book excellent reading and would recommend it to anyone. It is one of those books that is very hard to put down, you just want to know what will happen next, even though you know the ending.

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Summary: A profound portrait of Madness
Review: This is the most remarkable book I have ever read: It educates, illuminates, highlights and chills the mind. I have yet to read a memoir that has had this profound and distrubing an effect on me.

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Summary: Fantastic
Review: One can not call it fun reading, but it is a fantastic page turner. It kept me clued to the couch, entranced, for two nights.

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and Powerful
Review: This is one hell of a good read.

My wife's book group loved it so I decided to give it a try. It's intense reading, every page has something meaningful to say and there are no wasted words here. It's a tight, well written legacy to honesty and courage.