The Institution: Scare yourself silly this Halloween with the new gasp-inducing killer crime thriller from the million-copy bestselling author

It starts a little slow, but once it kicked in I couldn't put it down.

4.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the much-appreciated ARC for The Institution by Helen Fields. The author has become one of my favourites for her dark crime thrillers/ psychological suspense novels that she takes in intense, shocking directions. A couple of scenarios were nerve-wracking and disturbing but kept me riveted to my seat with suspense. I thought there were some implausible situations, but I was never distracted by the powerful storytelling. The deaths of victims and perpetrators were uncomfortable to read, but I could not put the book aside. This was a haunting, terrifying and immersive rad. A popular nurse's mutilated body has been discovered, and her daughter has been taken. There are only five days to save the baby. Ransom is demanded and to be paid in crypto-currency. Connie Woolwine, a forensic profiler, has a unique ability to get inside the minds of killers and suspects and speak to the victims. She has powerful skills, invaluable in crime solving and works with a former officer Baarda. She suffers from PTSD flashbacks. Connie was locked up as a teenager when misdiagnosed as mentally ill. Her problems were physical due to a blood clot in the brain. Her present mood swings and erratic behaviour give the impression that she is mentally unstable, even paranoid. Connie and Baarda are sent undercover to where the nurse was murdered. They have been assigned to locate and rescue the missing baby. Baarda is posing as a former army serial killer, and Connie is a therapist accompanying him to assess the suitability of his placement. The location is an old house in a remote, sprawling fortress compound. It gives off Gothic vibes and gives the story a locked-room aspect and a claustrophobic atmosphere. During their time there, a fire breaks out in one wing. There is a raging storm, and the basement begins to flood. The power goes off, leaving the place in darkness. What more could go wrong? Plenty!! Connie and Baarda have been ordered to be placed in restraints, sedated, administered shock treatment and probably murdered. Their assignment is carried out in a mental institution, and they are working on the floor designated the highest security prison holding the five most vicious, deranged serial killers in the country. Connie and her partner are locked in among them. Someone knows they are using assumed identities, adding to the danger in this terrifying thriller. It seems that staff members are not to be trusted. The staff are suspects, having motives of revenge, jealousy, or the money from the ransom. The prisoners could be involved in the crime through extra privileges or merely because they enjoy killing. With time running out and their lives in jeopardy, can Connie and Baarda solve the crime and rescue the baby? A very haunting and gripping story. There are hints of a sequel that I certainly would read.

I can always count on Helen Fields to deliver a dark, twisty murder mystery. In this, her second Dr. Connie Woolwine book (The Shadow Man is the first), Fields takes the psychological thriller to a new level--from the setting in a high-security psych ward to the twisted minds inhabiting it.Freelance forensic profiler Dr. Connie Woolwine and her partner Brodie Baarda go undercover in The Institution, a remote, secure facility for the criminally insane. Their assignment is to try and discover who murdered a pregnant nurse and took her baby for ransom. Battling the clock in an effort to save the infant within the parameters set by her abductors, Woolwine must navigate the staff and the manipulative patients they oversee. Although these men have committed heinous crimes, who among them could resort to such a cold-hearted act? And how could he have carried it out under the noses of the staff?This gripping, atmospheric thriller explores the crimes and motives of psychologically disturbed men held under tight security. It almost falls into the category of a locked-room mystery as Connie tries to figure out how the body of the murdered nurse and her baby were removed from the facility. The pacing is fast, the writing is compelling and the characters are truly evil. If you like getting into the minds of serial killers and exploring their crimes, this is a read you'll enjoy.

Lots of suspense and a cast of characters most of whom you'd never want to meet IRL! Author Helen Fields is adept at putting urgency, fear, suspense and action into her thriller. And leading the characters is a strong, highly dedicated woman who's been through the wringer herself and truly understands the despair and frustration that result from being locked up in a mental ward, even when your condition or crimes really warrant it.A good, tense adventure with plenty of unpredictability but a few caveats:- I did not like that the reader is never given a location for The Institution. We get a diagram of the floor of the facility where most of the action occurs but no inkling of the country or even continent where the building's found. That bothered me.- While Dr. Connie's unraveling mind turns out to be highly relevant to the rest of the plot, I felt less engaged in the book mid-story when losing her grip plays out.- I found the throwaway mention of Havana at the end just too ridiculous! As if the Cubans would facilitate the arrival and intervention of a foreign investigator, and an American at that! I thought the ending would have been better without this added wrinkle.Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Serial killers, a high security prison hospital in an isolated tower, and a baby. Wait what?! Add in a profiler who is no stranger to a psych ward and a massive storm that cuts them off from the outside world, you get a psychological thriller at its best. Dr Connie Woolwine is a quirky profiler that has her own demons which makes her who she is and why she chose this line of work. Looking forward to her next assignment.

Wow! The story's crafted really well. Started unputdownable till the end, I might say I doubted myself that I'll finished this book because of how long it is. What makes it different is that the story really have a continuous flow, a story that will not rush at the end.I would like to thank Ms. Helen Fields for the opportunity to read and review this book.