After reeling me in with its fascinating title, I found 'Reunion of the Good Weather Suicide Cult' hard to put down. The title is an accurate description of the subject of the story. Tom Duncan was the only survivor of a mass murder/suicide by members of the (fictional) Good Weather cult in Iowa, USA. Initially accused of planning the atrocity, Duncan has been released to live in the community but a popular Netflix expose of the cult means he is hounded by press and accusing members of the public. Then he receives an invitation to a reunion for former members of the cult - people who left/escaped before the final massacre. Is the gathering an opportunity to put past ghosts to rest, or a chance to reopen old wounds?

The narration alternates between Tom's present-day life before and during the reunion, and excerpts from the documentary. The latter are well handled and give a strong sense of the type of show it was. I could picture it very clearly in my mind as if it were something I'd really watched. Tom is likeable enough protagonist, although the reader is always somewhat wary of him due to the uncertainty about his past. McCord does a good job of making Tom seem incredibly ordinary - even somewhat dull - which makes him easier to sympathise with.

The events depicted are upsetting - whilst the narrative doesn't dwell on the gore, your imagination will likely do a good job on its own. Readers who might find this theme triggering or overly distressing may be better to avoid the novel - it's too much an integral part of the story to simply cut out the relevant parts.

If you don't mind that element though, it's an extremely compelling story - I found it difficult to stop reading from the very beginning. Of course there's a natural fascination with events of this type, and the fact this one is fictitious made it easier to read about and indulge that fascination without feeling bad about it. I was intrigued to understand what really happened and how things unfolded, and how - if - Tom and the remaining cult members would rebuild their lives. The former cult members are shown to be 'normal' (whatever that means) people with a sense of humour and it was possible to understand why they had been drawn into the community and that with the right circumstances and bad luck, the same could have happened to us or people we know.

Overall it is a really well written and very gripping story about a difficult topic and a good read for anyone who likes literary fiction (trigger warnings aside).

I got this book through Netgalley. It's really original and like nothing I have read before. It focusses on a survivor gets blaimed by society and how he handels it (not always that well). The Reunion of the Good Weather Suicide Cult's subject is dark, so this book isn't for everyone.

Thank you to the publishers and author for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
I really enjoyed this book!
I love reading pretty much anything to do with cults as they fascinate me.
I also loved the whole Netflix documentary part I though it was unique and highly entertaining!
I definitely recommend this book if you like books about cults.

Was fascinated by the premise. Cult commits mass suicide and the sole survivor of that act is thrown under the bus by a poorly edited Netflix documentary featuring people looking to stick the deaths of the members on him regardless of the factual evidence. We see the aftermath through the eyes of Tom Duncan and his struggles dealing with the fallout of the mass suicide and his life even after being cleared of all charges.

I found the book the be entertaining and wondered how they would wrap things up with a bow. Despite questioning the actions of the protagonist took, the author did a great job making you understand why they were chosen despite the obvious path. Definitely recommend it to anyone who finds the premise intriguing.

My brain jumped with joy at the word cult in the description and that was that. Cults hold an endless fascination for me and I will read all about them.
This one, The Good Weather cult, is a fascinating creation, one resulting in the largest cult suicide on US soil (since Jonestown massacre was in South America). Not quite Jonestown numbers either, but 137 dead, including women and children and in a way that’s considerably more horrifying. With only a sole survivor, a man left to try to rebuild his life from the ashes.
Tom Duncan didn’t mean to join a cult, he was dragged into it by his wife, one of the original devotees. But he stayed in it, for decades, and now being the only one left alive he is a punching bag of public outrage, anguish and disdain. Tom tries to start over with his now adult daughter and young grandchild, but there’s too much ugliness surrounding him, it isn’t safe for him or his family. And so in interest of closure he attends the eponymous reunion and during the few emotionally charged days attempts to sort out all of the unclaimed baggage left to him by his past. It doesn’t go smoothly, trauma processing seldom does, but it’s a necessary journey for Tom, one that may lead to redemption and a way forward in his life.
Cult or not (although given a choice, cult every time), this was a very good dramatic story. The extraordinary circumstances of its protagonist’s life made for a very engaging, emotional read. It was well written and featured fascinatingly complex characters. There are so many cult stories that focus on the cult itself and here the focus was on the aftermath, not the tragedy of dying, but the tragedy or survival. The author did that very cleverly, reminding the audience that the survivor, while vilified by the public opinion, is actually also a victim.
The narrative is interspersed with the excerpts of the popular true crime style documentary about the cult, which was very cleverly done too. I don’t watch that sort of television, it’s too tawdry, too prurient, too emotionally manipulative. But it’s very popular and it’s easy to understand why…there’s a lot of interest in such aberrant behavior and mentality. Cults and serial killers are what sells. But for me, I’ll take the fictionized, fictional option.
A very good book. I’d enjoy it a lot more if the publisher’s advanced reading copy was properly formatted, but it was readable as is. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

I DO love a good cult story,and this book puts a new spin on it,having one sole survivor from mass suicide.
It doesn't go too much into detail of the cult itself,rather the aftermath of those left behind,not just the lobe survivor,but people who had left the cult,or those from the town the cult lived.
Some really interesting things in here.
For me,I enjoyed the new angle on a fascinating subject.

I received an advance copy of, Reunion of the Good Weather Suicide Cult, by Kyle McCord. I found this book to be boring. I could not get into it al all.