For Jake Frazier, Chief of Police in the small town of Oak Pond in Vermont one murder was one too many. He knew the victim and her family, which made the murder even more tragic. When the next murder of another local female therapists happens, Jack begins to wonder what was happening to his small town. He soon realizes that both women were involved in bizarre new age therapies, and suddenly Jack is thrust through a door he wished he hadn't opened!
Breath Work, by Lee Byrd is a page turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what could happen next. As you follow Jack, who is joined by ex-FBI profiler Ellen Coffey and forensic psychiatrist Hank Clark, you begin to uncover a a deadly world of mind manipulation. The insanity doesn't stop there. You find yourself perplexed by the fascination many have with cults and wonder how anyone could fall into the trapping of illusion.
Lee Byrd draws on personal experiences with close relatives and friends who experimented with and join cults throughout her life to create this psychological thriller. Her studies of mind manipulation and cults and their adverse effects on individuals and families make you think as well as you're drawn further into the mystery. As her first novel, Breath Work is certain to become a classic that not only wraps you in intrigue, but opens your eyes to the world of alternative psychological philosophies, the dangers associated with these practices, and proper therapist behaviors and boundaries.
“Throughout my life, I have seen a number of relatives and friends change their lives through cultic practices,” says Byrd. “Some have credited these cults to spiritual awakenings while others have been severely affected in the process. The debate between traditional religious beliefs and alternative psychological philosophies is more prominent today than ever before. I wanted to tell an exciting story that would not only entertain but inform readers as well.”
A interesting fact is according to the International Cultic Studies Association, there are currently 5000 known, active cults in the United States. And, a majority of those involved in cults are from an economically sound family background, of average to above average intelligence and are educated. Byrd brings this difficult topic to life with engaging characters, fine details that make you shiver as you're drawn deep into the Breath Work.
By Iris Dean
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