Another amazing read from author Helen Fields ! If you are looking for a fast paced ride with twists and turns, then this book is for you. I am a huge fan of this author and am never disappointed. Can’t wait for the next book she has to offer.

Good Read 👀

A different read from Helen Fields previous books I’ve read. All carried out on The Institutions grounds, investigating the murder of one of the staff.

Overall good read, started off at a steady pace, in some ways I felt a bit like when watching a soap opera focused on minimal characters in one place for that episode. Then I got a good way through and couldn’t wait to finish, as it suddenly got where I just wanted to know who did it, even more interesting. Definitely worth reading.

This is a very tense read which becomes even more compelling and terrifying as it fast-forwards towards its climax. The Institution features Dr Connie Woolwine, profiler extraordinaire, and her partner, retired DI Baarda. They first appeared in Helen Fields’ standalone novel, The Shadow Man, and I was thrilled to meet them again.
Connie is unconventional, prickly and brilliant. She has to play nice, however, to carry out her ‘undercover’ role in an institution for the rehabilitation of the criminally insane - not something that comes easily to this straight-talking, no-nonsense and slightly abrasive American forensic psychologist. Connie and Baarda have inveigled themselves into the hospital under the pretext of doctor and military patient. Their task is to rescue a newborn baby whose mother has been murdered. The time pressure is enormous. If the baby is still alive, its chances of survival decrease dramatically with every hour that passes.
As they track down the suspect, Connie also has to fight her own demons as memories of her own incarceration come flooding back to haunt her.
The perpetrator can only have been one of five high-risk psychopaths or eight staff members on that wing. I was suspicious of everyone at some stage, just as Fields intended. This is an absolutely gripping read – highly recommended.

Dr Connie Woolwine and her partner Brodie Baartha have gone undercover in this brilliant story. In a complex set up, a heavily pregnant nurse is murdered while working at the notorious Institution. She is given a crude caesarian section and now the fragile newborn is a pawn in a blackmail scheme. There are no end of suspects because Nurse Tara worked with psychopaths and serial killers. Connie and Brodie pose as doctor and patient in order to ascertain who the murderer/kidnapper is. They are up against the clock as without medical intervention the newborn baby has no chance of survival. I highly recommend The Institution, it's pacy and a real page turning whodunit. Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy.

I received a free copy from netgalley to review, below is the blurb

"On a locked ward in the world’s highest-security prison hospital, a scream shatters the night. The next morning, a nurse’s body is found and her daughter has been taken. A ransom must be paid, and the clock is ticking.

Forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine is renowned for her ability to get inside the mind of a murderer. Now, she must go deep undercover among the most deranged and dangerous men on earth and use her unique skills to find the girl – before it’s too late.

But as the walls close in around her, can Connie get the killer before The Institution gets her?"

I have to admit this was a weird one, I struggled to get into the book but on the flip side I couldn't put it down. I sort of guessed some who were involved but not all of them and struggled to warm to Connie as the main character. Definitely found myself invested in wanting to know who had committed the crime and learning about the patients but did lose interest along the way at times.

WOW!! Helen Fields has never ever failed to enthral and entertain me. She is an excellent writer and this has to be my favourite book of hers and I’ve read them all. The institution was clever, perfectly plotted and so twisty and chilling - I couldn’t put this down. I loved everything about it. Unreliable characters, isolated setting - utterly brilliant. I would give it more stars if I could and this is easily one of my favourite thrillers of 2022

Doctor Connie Woolwine, a forensic profiler, is sent undercover onto a high security psychiatric ward to investigate the murder of nurse, Tara Cameron and the abduction of Tara’s new-born baby. With only five days to find out who murdered Tara and where the baby is, it’s literally a race against time. Connie finds her profiling skills are pushed to the limit when she has to interview some of the most dangerous criminals in the hospital.

Surprisingly, this is my first book by this author. I’ve heard of her and thought I had read other books by her but discovered I hadn’t! The storyline is dark and chilling, and the high security prison ward is enough to send shivers down your spine and have you looking over your shoulder as you read. Connie is an interesting character and suffering with PTSD herself certainly gives her some insight into what it’s like to be locked in a psychiatric unit. It’s obvious that the murderer/kidnapper is going to be someone on the ward, whether it be patients or staff, and it becomes a game of cat and mouse as the investigation unfolds.

For me, it was a little bit of a slow starter, although the pace did pick up as the storyline moved on. Whilst I liked Connie’s character, it did feel that she was a woman of many hats, with so many jobs put upon her, I struggled to remember what she was actually there for. There were a lot of characters, particularly adding the staff into the mix and it took some time to remember who was who. However, it was a gripping read, the tension and suspense was kept high and the descriptions of the patients’ crimes were shocking and captivating in equal doses! It was an interesting read and it kept me guessing throughout as to who the murderer was!

This is an excellent and mind blowing thriller. Firstly, the location and dark atmosphere are outstanding. The characters are so well built and have fascinating traits, especially Dr. Connie.

All pages are very engaging and suspenseful. You never really know who to trust, especially with The Institution making everyone insane. Connie’s profiling methods are odd to say the least and they bring so much uniqueness to this novel.

This is an unusual, highly atmospheric and shocking story, told brilliantly, set within a remote top-security institution for the criminally insane. In essence it's a 'locked room' mystery because a nurse has been brutally murdered and her unborn child ripped from her womb, taken and hidden somewhere. Daily video updates are sent to the shocked husband and parents of the nurse, with a demand for millions in crypto-currency. The premature child's condition is deteriorating and there's no time for a formal investigation so Dr Connie Woolwine and former police detective Baarda go in undercover as a therapist and military mass murderer. A team of paediatricians estimates they have 5 days maximum until the baby girl dies.

Connie and Baarda are locked in the secure tower of an old castle with five notorious serial killers and we gradually learn their back stories. There is a massive storm which messes with the electricity supply, flooding, a raging fire, a series of secret tunnels and some very dodgy and cruel staff members. Connie and Baarda don't know who to trust. What could possibly go wrong?

This book is a definite 5 star read for me and sure to be a hit. I've already decided who should play the main characters in the movie.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this review e-copy.

Love all of Helens work. Did enjoy the book, but not an easy read due to the location and some of the characters. Nonetheless an excellent story

Well, what a book! I was hooked from the start to the finish and it had so much that I crave from a crime thriller. The setting was isolated and claustrophobic, it was a well paced, chilling, tension packed, had great character development and I was trying to guess the ending the whole way through. I was questioning myself constantly and Helen did a fantastic job of deceiving you every step of the way. I always love books that involve profiling and psychology and I'm just so glad that this one did not disappoint, at all.

Helen fields as done it again! What an absolutely brilliant read, I loved the storyline and the characters were brilliant. It was one of those books you just keep reading and reading and not want to put down.
Highly recommend this one!

This book had me guessing until the end. There were lots of twists and once I thought I'd worked things out, it turned out to be completely wrong. The characters were well written and the descriptions of the settings had me imagining the plot as it unfolded. A great read

Wow!!! What a book this was, I am definitely going to have to look at other books by this author.
A nurse had been killed in a very remote psychiatric jail and her baby cut from her and stolen.
Connie entered as a psychologist and her partner, Barrda, as patient B, his identity was supposedly having to be kept top secret as he was meant to be from the army.
How do you find a killer though when you are living in among them.
This book has so many twists it will take your breath away.

My second novel by Helen Fields and I was not disappointed. Connie, a psychological profiler and her parner Brodie Baarda are sent to The Institution, a place holding the criminally insane. A nurse has been murdered, her child ripped from her by of means a brutal caesarean and held to ransom. Heaven Ward – where Connie and Baarda are sent undercover – houses the worst serial killers and Connie knows that the murderer, the persons holding the infant to ransom are to be found either among the six 'patients' or from the staff. And so begins a cat and mouse as Connie begins her investigation, trying to find who to trust and who to be afraid of. Her backstory is revealed as the story continues and her own experiences as an institutionalised teenager are pushed to the front of her mind. This is a race against time as the child, without medical care, will not survive for more than about five days. This is a riveting read and the Institution, this gothic edifice that is 'home' to these men is almost another character. Throw in adverse weather conditions and this is a perfect roller coater of a read – scarily atmospheric in places. Excellent – and as I have just discovered that this is the second outing for Connie and Baarda – I need to find the first. They are characters. I want to meet again

4.5 Stars from me

Fabulously tense, tight, claustrophobic and unpredictable, The Institution by Helen Fields is a crime thriller that you will want to stay up to the wee small hours to finish.

I enjoyed both Connie and Brodie as characters and thought they worked well together.

The Institution was a hideous place, brutally hard to imagine either being sent there or working there - it was no wonder really that such dark and twisted activities took place.

A hard book to put down, this is definitely one where those fatal words 'oh just one more chapter' will be uttered as Connie and Brodie race against the clock to save an innocent life. But who is working with them and who can they trust.

This is the 5th of my posts tonight wishing you a happy Jólabókaflóðið #Jolabokaflod this #ChristmasEve

Just when I thought I’d completed my list of favourite books that I’ve reviewed this year along comes this absolute cracker. Full of fear and tension throughout and with so many different and complex characters that enhance each absorbing page this book delivers on every level. We once again meet profiler Connie Woolwine and Baarda an ex-cop who have now teamed up. When a pregnant nurse is brutally murdered at an institution for the criminally insane and her baby is missing, a race against time begins to discover the whereabouts of the newborn. With a ransome demand hanging over their heads and very little evidence they know this has been carefully planned and not a random killing. How do you find a murderer in a place full of them? Working undercover they begin the enormous task of finding the perpetrator who is even more evil than the other inmates. An absolutely terrifying thriller that means Connie can trust no-one and with Baarda limited in his ability to help she finds herself in extremely dangerous situations on more than one occasion. Another brilliant book from Helen Fields that has you suspecting just about everyone.

My second read by Helen Fields which was on the same scale as the first. This book felt
like an escape room to me with quite extreme characters that you shouldn’t turn your back on. The overall plot was good with a decent suspenseful pace but I would’ve preferred a different method that sparked the march to the end. The perp reveal wasn’t too much of a shock for me but it was still a pretty good whodunnit.

I was hoping for a REALLY BIG twist by the author when all was said and done but she didn’t go there which I respect.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

Book Title: The Institution
Author: Helen Sarah Fields
Publisher: Avon Books –UK Avon
Genre: Crime Thriller
Pub Date: March 3, 2023
My Rating: 2.5 rounded up

This is my fourth author, Helen Sara Fields' novel. My first was "The Shadow Man"; after reading it my comments were~ I definitely will read another ~
I was definitely drawn to this because of the author.

Dr. Connie Woolwine is an American forensic psychologist and her partner Brodie Baarda a London detective. (They are both interesting, unique people. So my first impression was a good one.) They were both featured in “The Shadow Man’.

This story starts with Connie investigating the horrific injuries done to Tara Cameron, a nurse at a mental institution for serial killers. She had approximately five days to find the baby ripped from Tara’s body as a ransom demand for 5 million in crypto currency has been requested
Connie goes undercover as a therapist at the Charles Horatio Parry Institute for the Rehabilitation of the Criminally Insane ` known as ‘The Institution’.

I love Connie but this was a hard one for me to read.
The characters were so unlikeable ~I have a low tolerance for foul language and they certainly had me at my limit.
However, I could not stop reading ~ the ending totally had me on the edge of my chair.

I always like to read the Author’s Note and Acknowledgements.
At the end of the ‘Acknowledgement’ there is a comment ~
If you loved this, then why not try the iconic DI Callanach series?
As I mentioned I read "One for Sorrow" and really liked it so will read another in the DI Callanach series~ but ~ Yikes! I did NOT love this one. I was drawn to this because of the author; however, the title should have been a big clue that this was not going to be a fun enjoyable read.

Want to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK - Avon for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 3, 2023

I really enjoyed this book and the atmospheric setting of the Institution. Consider me a fan!

The Institution is set in a remote location with a 200 year history and houses some dangerous criminals. A nurse is brutally murdered and her unborn baby is taken. Dr. Connie Woolwine is sent in undercover to act as a therapist and will do whatever it takes to find the baby and hold those accountable for the mother's murder.

Connie is unique and I found her interesting. We learn that she was admitted to a mental hospital when she was a teenager and she therefore needs to work through her PTSD issues to do this job. I also enjoyed learning about the crimes the inmates committed that landed them at the Institution.

A dark, intense atmospheric thriller that kept me turning the pages. I look forward to Helen Fields next book!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!