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Best of the Book Nook: Seductive Poison, by Deborah Layton

In November of 1978 the Reverend Jim Jones instigated the mass suicide of over 900 of his followers at Jonestown in the remote jungles of Guyana in South America. Twenty years later Deborah Layton who had been a member of the cult leader's inner circle published a memoir about her experiences in the People's Temple.

Written in the present tense so that readers feel like they are experiencing events as they happened, this powerful story captures the madness and the horror of that epic tragedy. Layton escaped from Jonestown before Reverend Jones forced his followers to consume cyanide. Her first person account is chilling.

The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library,  Clark County Public LibraryDayton Metro LibraryWright Memorial Public Library, and Microsun Lamps.

Vick Mickunas introduced the Book Nook author interview program for WYSO in 1994. Over the years he has produced more than 1500 interviews with writers, musicians, poets, politicians, and celebrities. Listen to the Book Nook with Vick Mickunas for intimate conversations about books with the writers who create them. Vick Mickunas reviews books for the Dayton Daily News and the Springfield News Sun.