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Stephanie Evelyn
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The Cult Called Freedom House: Sophia Rey Book 1 Kindle Edition

by Stephanie Evelyn (Author), Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 205 ratings
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Everyone but Sophia and Cyrus were going to die. They were all goners well before they knew it. And they certainly thought whatever was happening, they were helping others and saving the world doing it.

Samantha was only fourteen and looking for what every fourteen-year-old looks for— freedom. She wanted to be as far away from her substance-riddled mother and abusive home as possible, but she never asked for anything like this. It always starts with just one person and one fucked up idea. This is the story about Samantha and the cult called Freedom House.

A psychological horror thriller, this book will frustrate you, scare you, disturb you, and at times, it will make you want to be ill. Are you ready to learn what's going on behind the doors of Freedom House?

"A deeply disturbing premise, uniquely presented, cunningly plotted, and with chilling detail. A progression and ramp up that’s all too plausible – this one’s going to stick with me. Not for the faint of heart.”
-Laurel Hightower-Wells, author of Whispers in the Dark
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Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 2
    Sophia Rey
  2. Print length
    203 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    November 13, 2019
  6. File size
    749 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Stephanie Evelyn is an amazingly powerful addition to the horror genre, and a voice I am positive we'll be hearing from again! This is an incredible novel -- not just for horror, not only for a debut, but for fiction in general! Tense, edge of your seat horror! I didn't bite my nails during this read, I shredded them."-Robert Ford, author of The Compound, Bordertown, and many more. robertfordauthor.com/

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B081GJ9QTF
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Media (November 13, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 13, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 749 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 203 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 205 ratings

About the author

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Stephanie Evelyn

Stephanie Evelyn

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Stephanie Evelyn Briggs was born in San Jose, CA. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Film & Digital Media. Her film, Love of my Life, was showcased in the Santa Cruz Film Festival in 2010. She wrote her first novel, The Cult Called Freedom House, at age 32.

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
205 global ratings
Loved this book!
4 Stars
Loved this book!
After the longest slump in history, I have 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 finished a book that I truly enjoyed.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 by Stephanie Evelyn was such a win for me that I have not stopped thinking about it. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣It’s a quick read. The writing flows so effortlessly and has you yearning for more from the very first page. Caution: 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 any trigger warning could probably be found in this book. It is not for those with weak stomachs. I cannot wait to read what is next for Sophia Rey and this author. Great book from a debut author!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Top reviews from the United States

M. Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars Glad there will be more...
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
There are many forms of horror: Slashers, eerie/chilling, gory, demonic, etcetera, and in Stephanie Evelyn’s foreword she tells us: “This book is not for the faint of heart.” Okay, fair warning. I usually like my horror on the “chilling” side, but when I read her warning, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride through her haunted house, and I was free to get off now if I wanted to—but of course I chose to stay, and I’m glad I did. I had a lot of fun.
Were there times when I didn’t want her to “go there,” but she did anyway? Yes, there were. Two or three times. “Carrot stew” comes to mind, but it’s nothing a true horror fan can’t handle by any means. We find out early on that TCCFH is grisly, but Stephanie is a good writer and makes it all entertaining. If I had to come up with something that it reminds me of, I would say the movie “Midsommar,” and I also caught a “Silence of the Lambs” vibe in the final quarter of the book. That’s pretty good company. Oh, and it’s only her first novel! I look forward to more.
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Kim G.
3.0 out of 5 stars Gory and disturbing authorial debut
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2020
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Fourteen year old Samantha Watson is an abused young woman, longing to escape her drug addicted mother and her mother’s string of drug addicted and abusive boyfriends. Starving and alone, she takes to the streets to fill her days wandering the boardwalk area of Santa Cruz until she is found by a man on a grocery run from a group called Freedom House. He offers her a food, a safe place to live, and more importantly a chance for ultimate freedom.

Detective Sophia Rey is haunted by the failure of a past missing persons case involving a cult and the childhood disappearance of her little sister. Sophia’s guilt is funneled into her work but that doesn’t stop the nightmares or her anxiety.

A string of possible child abductions lands in Sophia Rey’s case work with Samantha as the newest victim. Sophia has a gut feeling that the disappearances are centered around a commune in a house called, “Freedom House”. Against the advice of some of her fellow officers, Sophia volunteers to go undercover to find Samantha before it goes too late.

The Cult called Freedom House follows multiple points of view, Sophia, Samantha, and Samantha's mentor. At its core, it’s a story of trauma and abuse. I felt that the opening chapter ruined the surprise of what was to come later but it could also be perceived as Hitchcock’s method of building suspense of letting the audience know that there is a bomb under the table when the characters in the story don’t. Or it could also be argued that there was a lack of subtly to this first short chapter.

I couldn’t find our 14 year old protagonist, Samantha interesting. I thought her background was sad and she deserved something better but aside from enthusiastically jumping at the chance to belong at Freedom House, there was no apprehension towards living in the commune with all the odd things she had to do. Cyrus, the cult leader, didn’t particularly say anything moving or do anything profound in Samantha's indoctrination scenes. You only got to see the superficial aspects of some of the other cult members so it felt shallow.

I felt Sophia was more interesting of a character and I wanted to spend more time with her. Now, this story is gory but much of the traumatic events are hidden behind euphemism and occur off screen, which could be a plus or minus depending on how you feel about the literary portrayals of abuse.

This was a relatively quick read and the chapters are short with a lack of flowery prose to bulk up the pages. It made this an easy read and left it to the reader to fill in the gaps in their imagination. This being said certain terms were repeated to annoying effect. I felt that using the word “darkness” 11 times across 2 ebook pages is a bit excessive but I have felt that pain of needing a synonym myself.

My other issue with this book was the pacing. The first half had the right amount of lingering dread to make it suspenseful as we waited for the proverbial bomb to explode. The second half… we don’t have time to really feel any particular way about how things start to unfold before something else happens. I’m for a fast second half as we rush to our conclusion but with the chapters so short, major events were happening and then skipping forward.

Reading the other reviews, it seems the audience is split between loving it or not. It’s a great first effort but I felt that Evelyn (also known as Sterp) could have used some more editing guidance to tighten up the second half of her book. I enjoy true crime stories, cult stories and other books in this genre of horror but I did not like this book. I didn’t have to force myself to finish it nor did I find it impossible to finish. There was enough going on to hold my interest until the end even if I didn’t like it.

This was an interesting debut novel for Sterp and I wish her the best as she continues in her writing journey. I look forward to her next book about Sophia Rey and seeing how much she has grown since this novel. Gory, and disturbing The Cult Called Freedom House is a chilling addition to the genre.
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Brad Proctor
4.0 out of 5 stars A stunning debut filled with real life horrors.
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2019
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I've been hearing a lot of good buzz about this book from people I interact with on Twitter and it did not disappoint.

This is Stephanie Evelyn's debut novel but you cannot tell it. Any veteran writing would be proud to have written this. It is dark, ominous and unsettling because of how real it feels. You won't find any monsters lurking within these pages other than the most monstrous creatures of all: us, humans. This novel delves into the human psyche and how easily some of us can go about inflicting such vile atrocities upon others.

The characters all felt real and relatable. You have officer Sophia Rey. A police officer whose past forever haunts her and clouds her future actions. You also have Samantha Watson. A fourteen year old girl whose home life is crap. An abusive drunk of a mother, a filthy home with no feed to eat, and her mother's many boyfriends who are all less than savory creatures. Samantha is tired of her life and just wants to escape, to run away, to be free. This is how she is drawn into Freedom House.

This novel gave off some serious Charles Manson and Helter Skelter vibes. It also reminded me some of True Detective season three. The most terrifying portions of this book aren't the acts of violence and depravity, or the scenes of sexual violence, but the ability of certain people, like the cult leader Cryus, to brainwash people into doing their bidding. The power and influence that Cryus wields over the members of Freedom House if what terrified me the most.

My only real criticism is that their is one scene where a character knows who another character is but there is no explanation given on how or why they know them, and if they have known who they are the whole time it sort of breaks the plot. This could all be explained in book two though.

Overall I throughly enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to book two. Stephanie has crafted a story here that feels real and relatable because it is a story that has played out numerous times in reality. I'm not squeamish in the least bit but their is one scene in the book that made me have to take a few deep breaths to keep from gagging. (If you've read the book you know what I'm talking about). If you are a fan of novels involving cults then this is one that you don't want to miss.

Thanks to the author for sending me a free copy of the book.
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Stephanie Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story !
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2022
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I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was perfect . It is eerie and probably too close to the truth how cults recruit. I recommend this to horror and thriller readers.
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