A shocking suicide in the La Brea Tar Pits serves as the prologue to this well-realized thriller about a mind control cult and the efforts of former deputy marshal Tim Rackley to rescue the stepdaughter of a Hollywood producer with political aspirations from its clutches. Rackley’s Rambo-esque vigilantism in the wake of his own daughter"s violent death got him cashiered from the marshal"s service, but Will Henning has enough clout to get Tim temporarily reinstated to the service--at least, until he manages to return Leah Henning to her family. But the only way to get into the heavily guarded compound controlled by the mysterious cult leader known as the Teacher is for Tim to go undercover as a willing initiate, a potentially deadly masquerade that brings him face to face with the demons that have haunted him since childhood. A sharp, tense, multidimensional novel that will keep the reader turning the pages until the bloody end, The Program more than measures up to the previous titles in Hurwitz"s series featuring series hero Rackley (The Kill Clause). --Jane Adams