What to know about The Back Bedroom: A True Story of Exorcism and Murder
We have reviewed one of Gregg Olsen’s books so far: Out of the Woods, which we gave 4 out of 5.
At 134 pages it is shorter than most nonfiction books out in October 2026, where the typical length is about 272 pages. Already reviewed from this month’s nonfiction list: Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?.
From the publisher
A charismatic cult leader is driven to horrifying extremes in a shocking true crime short story by Gregg Olsen, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If You Tell.
In 1976, in the sealed back bedroom of a home in Washington state, authorities found the decomposing body of three-year-old Davey Weilbacher, beaten to death nearly two months prior. Beyond that bedroom door was self-proclaimed prophet Leon Cunningham, who convinced his sheltered cult of family and friends—including Davey’s lost young mother—that the boy was possessed by the Devil. Exorcism was the only way to save him, leading to a ritualistic campaign of abuse, control, unimaginable violence, and murder.
Gregg Olsen delivers a meticulously researched account of religious manipulation, domestic terror, and one woman’s fifty-year journey to finally tell the truth about what happened behind closed doors in that modest little yellow house in Yakima.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read The Back Bedroom: A True Story of Exorcism and Murder yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
