Book Review: The House Guest

We all know what happened to NXIVM, don't we? Although it claimed to be a marketing company, it was just a front for a cult that allegedly acted as a recruiting platform for a secret sisterhood in which women were branded and forced into sexual slavery. As of last June, its founder Keith Raniere was convicted on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. More startlingly, the female members were purportedly referred to as "slaves," branded with the initials of Raniere and his associate, Allison Mack, subjected to corporal punishment from their "masters", and required to provide nude photos or other potentially damaging information about themselves as "collateral." Mark Edwards, in his latest novel The House Guest, adapts this backdrop for a gripping, high-stakes thriller, depicting the not-so-rosy side of film business with a masterful sleight of hand that makes it a zippy read. The only problem? The characters end up getting short shrift and sidelined as the plot plows forward with righteous fury.