Bromley explores the connection between NRMs and violence, continuing the theory of "dramatic denouements" he had explored in Cults, Religion and Violence; the theory of dramatic denouements is a four stage process of conflict amplification, which Bromley argues NRMs are often predisposed to due to common radical elements.

Following this, "The "Big Five" (Plus One)" covers the "big five" violent NRMs – the Peoples Temple, the Branch Davidians, the Order of the Solar Temple, Aum Shinrikyo, and Heaven’s Gate – the main groups that have been subject of scholarly discussion when it comes to the intersection of NRMs and violence, as well as the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, a lesser known group which is sometimes considered along with the others.

Rebecca Moore covers the Jonestown mass murder-suicides, giving a brief history of the group, before focusing primarily on the violence within the organization and the message they had intended through their act.

Stuart A. Wright critiques the argument of the scholar Kenneth C. G. Newport about the Branch Davidians, who has argued that the group had committed mass suicide; Wright critiques the evidence he presented, further arguing that the whole debate is inextricably tied to political circumstances of the time, and a "Rorschach test for social actors", which tells one more about their views than the group itself.

Bogdan surveys the varying hypotheses as to what led to the murder-suicides of the Solar Temple, a French-speaking organization less studied by the academic community than the other "big five", but that was the deadliest of them.

Bogdan analyzes their status as a western esoteric group, and notes the criticism of the comparative analytical approach and an over-reliance on millennialism.

Peste discusses the Knutby murder in a small Swedish Pentecostal community, which he compares to NRM violence, though note its lack of one strong leader.

The Nation of Islam, an African American Muslim NRM, is discussed by Martha F. Lee, who argues that though radical and controversial it did not engage in religiously motivated violence.

James T. Richardson and Bryan Edelman discuss the Chinese state's hostility and usage of violence against the Falun Gong NRM.

Anson Shupe discusses the controversy over deprogramming, a once common practice of forcible removal of members of NRMs from groups, which he harshly criticizes.

[4] A reviewer for the International Journal for the Study of New Religions said the book had a "clear structure" and it succeeded in analyzing the "general; model" of NRM violence as well as more obscure groups.

Szimhart argued that Robbins, Anthony, and Barrie-Anthony minimized the responsibility that NRMs had, but that he agreed with their point that law enforcement and anti-cult overreaction in some cases could make things worse, as with the Branch Davidians.

"[3] Ineichen said he had done an "admirable job" in creating a comprehensive account of the group's activities;[2] Dyrendal praised what he viewed as "good scholarship" on the part of Mayer in weighing the different arguments as to what occurred with the group, though he said this did not lead Mayer to "any firm conclusion", but that his offered conclusion was "possible and plausible" but with room for additional research and disagreement.