Book excerpt: How does a Vampire Cult differ from a Satanic Cult? How do seemingly normal or ordinary citizens suddenly find themselves committed to a group whose leader promotes criminal activities and isolation from families and friends? What should you do if a loved one becomes indoctrinated by a potentially dangerous cult? This book focuses on various cults and their often criminal belief systems. Most readers are shocked by stories of mass suicides and ritualized cult killings, but few understand how such crimes come to be committed. Snow, a seasoned police officer with experience working on cult crimes, examines those cults that commit offenses from murder and fraud to kidnapping and sexual assault. By providing specific accounts of dangerous cults and their destructive acts, Snow illustrates how seemingly innocent groups can turn pernicious when under the sway of a charismatic leader with an agenda, or when members take things too far. He offers advice on how to avoid falling victim to cult indoctrination, concluding with chapters on how to identify cults, how to protect yourself and your family, and what to do if a loved one is ensnared by such a group.