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

Deborah Layton

Aug 2010 · Sold by Anchor

About this ebook

In this haunting and riveting firsthand account, a survivor of Jim Jones's Peoples Temple opens up the shadowy world of cults and shows how anyone can fall under their spell.

"A suspenseful tale of escape that reads like a satisfying thriller.... The most important personal testimony to emerge from the Jonestown tragedy." —Chicago Tribune

A high-level member of Jim Jones's Peoples Temple for seven years, Deborah Layton escaped his infamous commune in the Guyanese jungle, leaving behind her mother, her older brother, and many friends. She returned to the United States with warnings of impending disaster, but her pleas for help fell on skeptical ears, and shortly thereafter, in November 1978, the Jonestown massacre shocked the world. Seductive Poison is both an unflinching historical document and a suspenseful story of intrigue, power, and murder.

Ratings and reviews

I couldn't put this book down. This first hand account puts you in the center of a ruthless cult and gives the many victims of Jim Jones a face. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

I just can't wrap my head around this... and from what i've read, it's this privileged upbringing that made this person join a cult?..... suicide, depression, etc...... but join a cult? You betrayed your own mother whom you professed to love, for the love of " an earthly father". When you place blame on everyone but yourself for being naive and gullible- I cannot be sympathetic. Stand up for yourself, weakness is unacceptable at this level of familial betrayal.....

Such a sad, but wonderful, insightful book. I couldn't put it down.

About the author

DEBORAH LAYTON was born in Tooele, Utah, in 1953. She grew up in Berkeley, California, and attended high school in Yorkshire, England. After her escape from Jonestown, Guyana, in May 1978, she worked on the trading floor of an investment banking firm in San Francisco. She lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area.