"Inside the Asylum" by Mary SanGiovanni is a chilling horror that will send shivers down your spine with its dark and eerie atmosphere.

Brimming with tension this book is a bit disturbing yet entertaining enough to keep you guessing until the very end.

Inside the Asylum is about Kathy who has been hired to evaluate the threat of a patient who is at the same hospital her brother is staying. The concern is that this patient has the ability to open doors to other dimensions which can be quite dangerous.

Exhilarating and tension build holding your attention until the very end.

I was glad this book read as a stand alone instead of a third place novel. Because I am brand spanking new to this series. While starting a series mid point hasn't always deterred me from wanting to review, it can certainly take some of the spark away when you have to pull back from the story to piece things together that would normally just flow.
I loved the idea that imaginary friends were not so nice. So many great horror stories start with the imaginary friends no longer being content to stay in the mind. And this fast paced book definitely held up to that

I love that the villain's where more then the cookie cutter villain's that you always see in the horror genre. These villain's were multi surfaced and real. It would be so easy to fall for their charade and understand why they do the bad things they do. It is also easy to spot them in real life which made the book an even edgier read.

I did not finish this one. The plot was slow, and unbelievable. I maybe reached 30% before putting it down for good.

Book three in the Kathy Ryan series, which I didn't realize. What attracted me most is that this takes place in my home state of Connecticut. Someone is murdering the inmates, they know who but of course no one believes them. I really enjoyed this book; creepy and unnerving. I'm also certain you don't necessarily need to read the others, but I plan to!

WOW.... what an outstanding read this was!
Inside the Asylum by Mary SanGiovanni is the third in the Kathy Ryan series. She is an Occult Security Consultant, who was originally introduced in the book “Chills”.
Kathy Ryan is an incredibly complex character and I really like her.
In INSIDE THE ASYLUM, Kathy, who is a bit of a roving consultant on the occult, is called into the hospital for the criminally insane where her brother Toby is incarcerated.
While the book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone.

This is the third installment of the Kathy Ryan novels. All novels are stand alone. However, it does help you understand the main character a bit more if you have previously read her other novels. Kathy Ryan is a paranormal investigator that has been brought to the asylum where her brother is institutionalized.

The book has a great creepy premise and story. Asylums are by far one of the creepiest places of any hospital. Which is why I really enjoyed reading this chilling story. At times the paranormal explanations did get overwhelming which is why I took away one star but it did help me understand the story better. The atmosphere, gore, and noir feel to the book make it more an experience than just simply a book. It's vivid and it doesn't hold back when describing horror or gore. I high recommend for anyone who is into this kind of "demented" stuff! Will read more from this author.

The cover really sets the tone of the book, very creepy and my vibe. The perfect book to keep you up reading all night.

So creepy!!! A bit too creepy for me, although very well written. Dealing with creatures from other realms he had created in his mind and other dimensions. Scary as. If you love a good horror this is for you

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a story! Filled with horror and dripping with suspense. Fast paced, quick story that had me up all night.

I huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and Netgalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for a unbiased review of these works

the cover sets the tone for this read, creepy, horror ad yet utterly gripping

The 3rd Kathy Ryan book in the series is here, and it doesn’t disappoint. Mary SanGiovanni has crafted another great book. Set in the asylum where her brother is housed, Kathy is tasked with interviewing Henry who may be able to make horrible dreams come true. Can she help him before others get to him?

This is a book to read when you don't need a good night's sleep. It is creepy in all the right ways. It is a short and quick read and a mixture of possible reality with horror to keep you on the edge of your seat, or under the covers afraid of every noise in the dark. Excellent book for those that love Koontz and King.

#InsideTheAsylum #NetGalley #KensingtonBooks #LyricalUnderground

Spooky cover that drew me to the book. The book was awesome A damn good read perfect for this time of year lazing on holiday or in the garden. It was easy to read and well written. Great read

Gripping. Scary. Horrible. Heart-racing.
This was a gruesome horror thriller, the third of the series. I had shivers down my spine all the time while reading it. Great horror book!

A mind is a terrible thing to destroy . . .

Kathy has been hired to assess the threat of patient Henry Banks, an inmate at the
Connecticut-Newlyn Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the same hospital where her brother is housed. Her employers believe that Henry has the ability to open doors to other dimensions with his mind—making him one of the most dangerous men in modern history. Because unbeknownst to Kathy, her clients are affiliated with certain government organizations that investigate people like Henry—and the potential to weaponize such abilities.

What Kathy comes to understand in interviewing Henry, and in her unavoidable run-ins with her brother, is that Henry can indeed use his mind to create “Tulpas”—worlds, people, and creatures so vivid they come to actual life. But now they want life outside of Henry. And they'll stop at nothing to complete their emancipation. It's up to Kathy—with her brother's help—to stop them, and if possible, to save Henry before the Tulpas take him over—and everything else around him.

What a different idea for a book. This book definitely had me drawn in from the first chapters. The idea of open other dimensions with one's mind and being found by the government and used is a terrifying thought. The author did a great job with this book and making it so entertaining to reader's. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

INSIDE THE ASYLUM (A Kathy Ryan novel), by Mary SanGiovanni, is the third book I have read that features her recurring character, Kathy Ryan, a paranormal expert. This novel gives us more insight into Kathy's personal life than we have ever glimpsed before. Her no-nonsense, professional detachment isn't quite the same here, as the location she is called to--an Asylum for the criminally insane and dangerous--is also home to her older brother, Toby . . .

". . . the residents of Connecticut-Newly were dangerous . . . "

A man named Henry Banks had been there since waking up from a coma--a coma he'd been in ever since a gang of kids were found murdered in his basement.

". . . it wasn't like he'd come back from the dead. He'd just come back from . . . somewhere else."

The thing was, he brought some friends along with him.

Friends that he claimed committed those murders, to keep him safe.

Unfortunately, at the time of his trial, nobody could actually "see" these friends of his . . .

Since his awakening and incarceration at the Asylum, inexplicable things had been happening there--the kind of things that Kathy's bosses called her in for.

". . . He'd learned no to try to look outside at night. Shadows had shape . . . and moved in deliberate and predatory ways that shadows shouldn't . . . "

I really enjoyed the paranormal aspect of this story, although admittedly, I did find it a little confusing when it came to some of the heavier cult-like terms and theories.

". . . To protect against a monster, one had to know the monster . . . "

Kathy's brother, who seemed to have even more knowledge than Kathy, herself, about this particular case, was a fantastic addition. His own past--especially the parts he spent with his sister--were really intriguing. They helped give another glimpse into the past that led our main character into her "unique" vocation.

". . . Delusions, by their very definition, weren't really there. Henry's friends, on the other hand, most certainly seemed to be."

The Asylum--well, really any Asylum--is a setting that would be impossible NOT to find chilling even in the most innocent of stories. Taking it further with one housing the criminally insane is a sure win for a supernatural horror book. However, the humans are only a part of this particular danger, as fans of the author's previous Kathy Ryan novels will expect.

". . . They're undoing reality out there . . . "

If you are new to this character and her job vocation, you don't have to worry about missing any crucial information from other novels. Each is a complete stand-alone, with very little "known" about her as an actual "person" beyond her area of expertise.

Overall, I found this to be a very exciting paranormal novel that touched upon subjects that were new to me. While the occult explanations were occasionally a little too much for me to follow easily, the fast-pace, action, gore, atmosphere, and supporting characters, all combined to make this an entertaining and memorable book. I felt that this installment went into much more detail about Kathy Ryan's personal life and childhood, shedding some very interesting light on events that may have had a factor in setting her on this career path. While I loved the parts we learn abut there, it was executed in such a way that it left me eagerly waiting to learn more. This is a fantastic achievement for an author using a recurring character.

". . . It's a matter of survival. All living things just want to keep living."

INSIDE THE ASYLUM is now one of my favorite books by author Mary SanGiovanni yet.

Highly recommended!

Very drawn out book. It felt like a bunch of facts thrown together rather than a story. I didn't feel connected to the book whatsoever.

Inside the Asylum
by Mary SanGiovanni


Kensington Books

Lyrical Underground

General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 07 May 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Inside the Asylum through Kensington Books/Lyrical Underground and Netgalley:


Kathy has been hired to assess the threat of Henry Banks an inmate at the Connecticut-Newlyn hospital for the criminally insane, it is the same hospital that her brother is housed in. The people who employ her believe that Henry has the ability to open doors to other dimensions with his mind—making him one of the most dangerous men in modern history. Because her clients are affiliated with certain government organizations that investigate people like Henry- and the potential to weaponize such abilities.



Through interviewing Henry, and in unfavorable run-in’s with her brother she comes to realize that Henry can create Tulsa’s world’s and lives so vivid that they come to life. But these creations now want lives outside of Henry and they will not stop until they have created their emancipation.


I found Inside the Asylum to be worthy of three out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

This story is about a woman who has a brother in an asylum. Also in the asylum is Henry. Henry has made a make believe world in order to protect himself from abuse. His imaginary friends killed some teenagers that broke into his home with the intent to hurt him. Now he's in the asylum, because no one believes that he didn't commit the crime. The woman is sent to investigate his claims. She investigates the occult. She's a freelance investigator. Unusual things begin to happen in the asylum. People are dying, and it's not clear how they died or who murdered them. An excellent story that has you on the edge of your seat.