Another absolutely cracking read from Helen Fields. I read over two days (only because work life interrupted my reading)!

This grabbed me from the start. It's an absolute must if you enjoy a tense, dark, thrilling, haunting, terrifying read set in a remote high-security prison for psychopathic serial killers!
Seriously, it was so gripping and my heart was pounding many times.

Dr Connie Woolwine is a forensic profiler, sent undercover to investigate a murder and abduction of a baby from the womb.

It really is a race against time for Connie and when a storm hits and nobody can leave the Institution things quickly get more intense.

Who can Connie trust? Her life is in grave danger if she puts her trust in the wrong person. Would you trust a serial killer?

I can't praise this enough. One of my favourite reads this year and an easy 5 star read. I'm not going to forget this one in a hurry and I think it would make an amazing movie or tv mini series.

Just be warned, you won't want to stop reading once you start, so clear your day!

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for an ARC. Absolutely mind blowing!

Dr Connie Woolwine, forensic profiler, is flown into the Institution. Her mission to discover who, within a high profile secure institution - and specifically who in Tower 3, the most secure part of the Institution, the home of a small number of serial killers - has carried out a forced caesarean, removed a nurse's baby and attempted to get rid of that nurse's body. It all sounds, and initially felt a bit far-fetched. As the story developed, the possibility that such a thing could indeed have happened becomes more believable as it becomes increasingly clear that the staff at The Institution are from likeable people. This was a book that kept me gripped, I wanted to know what had happened. At times though the book just felt like it was veering too far towards the unbelievable as the profiler herself and the Institution's very structure became increasingly unstable and she was threatened with ECT. For these reasons I have given it 4 stars rather than a 5.

Another fantastic book by Helen Fields. It was very descriptive which I loved. I felt every clang of the doors shutting and the coldness of the cells. I loved Connie and the way she was portrayed with her PTSD, this seemed to have a lot of research and I felt it to be very accurate.

I enjoyed the storyline and the pace of the book. Some of the characters were quite creepy too, that mixed in with the atmosphere of the book made for a very good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

In the very first chapter we meet Connie, and Tara, a nurse, who has been the victim of a horrific crime. This opening is very quiet, intimate even. The details reveal such a horrendous crime, it’s hard to imagine what Tara and her precious daughter have endured.

Dr Connie Woolwine is a profiler, known for solving particularly gritty and troubling crimes, by climbing inside the minds of some extremely disturbed and depraved individuals. She, and her partner Baarda, are called to solve a crime, but more importantly, save a precious life.
The location, The Institution, is the highest security prison facility, to house the criminally insane. The only way for Connie and Baarda to work this case, is to go undercover, which isn’t without it’s risks.

The ominous setting is so atmospherically described. The cold, imposing building seems to have taken on the character of some of it’s darker inhabitants. Connie’s interactions with the patients on Heaven Ward, really set the scene, sowing the seeds of anxiety for what she is facing, who she is dealing with.

As a further complication rolls in, the simmering tension reaches boiling point. I was genuinely feeling increasingly fraught, incredibly tense. My frustration, and fear on Connie’s behalf was through the roof. Just when I thought the situation couldn’t worsen, it did, and my stress levels ratcheted up further.

This is a very dark psychological thriller. It is chilling, claustrophobic, packed with twists and turns. Once the tension starts to rise, it doesn’t let you go.
If this was a TV drama, I would have been watching through my fingers, hugging a cushion to my chest. I had no idea who to trust, and who to fear. This is another 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read from Helen Fields. If you enjoyed Connie and Baarda’s characters, look for the excellent Shadow Man, which is equally toe curling.

I always think it is such a testament to an author’s talent, to make the reader feel so deeply. To conjure such anxiety from me, just by arranging words on a page is hugely impressive. This is why I love crime fiction/thriller writers so much!

In the land of the sick, warped and greedy!😰

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! AND Connie's reaction to the request in view of her personal life at that moment?! 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.

This has just become my number-one read of 2022/2023.
Gripping from the first page, this story doesn't ease you in gently it's brutal and captivating from the first page if you like Dark psychological thrillers.
Connie and Baarda go undercover in a high-security prison hospital against the clock to find the daughter of Tara. Tara was brutally murdered for her unborn child to be a ransom, Connie and Baarda need to discover who the killer is and find baby Aurora alive. Keeps you guessing twist upon twist.

This is one of those books that will have you gripped from the outset. If there were newspaper headlines they would have read- newborn baby taken from pregnant mother or psych nurse killed and baby stolen. Of course there weren’t headlines and the case was of the utmost secrecy as there is a race against time to find the newborn and only a profiler can go undercover to find out if someone in the Psychiatric Institution where she worked was responsible. I found this story really hard to put down, and as Dr Connie tries to unravel who did it, you find yourself questioning everyone she meets. The environment of the Institution is great and you can really start to imagine how living in that sort of place and working there would start to affect you and have you wondering about your own sanity.

Dr Connie Woolwine, a forensic profiler, has been drafted undercover into The Institution, a high security prison hospital which houses some of the most dangerous serial killers, to try and discover who is responsible for the murder of one of their nurses and the fetal abduction of her baby, but Connie doesn't have much time left to find the baby before it's too late, and how will it affect Connie returning to a clinical institute?

The Institution opens with a graphic scene that isn't for the faint hearted. It's a dark and disturbing, at times far fetched, slow burner of a read but the intensity of the story increases as you get further into it. The setting is atmospheric and claustrophobic, the characters are well written and by the end of the book I found I even quite liked a couple of the serial killers, not a good idea, right? I liked the bond that Connie and Patient B had and especially liked that the author had written into the story that Connie had a history of being in a clinical institution herself so she had some idea of what she was up against here. I think this would make a great film or tv series.

I'd like to thank Avon Books and Netgalley for inviting me to read this book, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

OMG I could not put The Institution down! This book should come with warning *highly addictive and a danger to your health* My blood pressure shot up the moment I read the first shocking chapter! The plot is excellent, and the storytelling is superb.

Forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine and her partner Baarda go undercover at The Institution, a remote high security hospital for the criminally insane where a nurse is brutally murdered and her baby abducted for ransom. Connie Woolwine is tasked with finding the murderer on a high-security ward full of serial killers. Connie’s declining mental health, the claustrophobic setting, and a baby’s life in danger all create a genuine sense of urgency that never waivers.

Helen Fields has created the perfect backdrop for this book. The institute feels claustrophobic, harsh, inhospitable, and extremely dangerous. A cauldron of anger and malevolence simmers away just below the surface. Knowing there’s a heinous killer hiding in the shadows gives the reader a sense of foreboding that’s palatable from the start.

I really appreciated how much work Fields put into her characters. There’s so much suspicion and paranoia flying around it’s nigh on impossible to trust anyone, and that includes the ‘dubious’ institution staff! I liked how the author incorporated the backstories of the inmates. Their stories were chilling, but they also give you an insight into the minds of the disturbed individuals.

The institute is a hell of a page turner that builds to a heart stopping finale. Deliciously dark, disturbing, unpredictable and packed to the brim with tension, it’s a MUST read for crime thriller lovers. Highly recommended.

This review will be posted on https://www.instagram.com/thebookreviewcafe nearer publication date

4.5 rounding up to 5 as when I wasn't reading The Institution I was thinking about it and at the end I could not put the book down.

The book starts out strongly with the gruesome death of a nurse from The Institution.

Connie a forensic profiler and her partner Baarda go undercover to solve the death and the disappearance of the nurse's baby.

The writing will give you chills and you will cringe at some scenes.

Who can they trust and will they leave with their lives?

Helen Fields always tells an intense story that has plenty of twists and turns you never see coming and The Institution is no exception.

Get your copy and prepare yourself for a wild read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK, Avon for a mind boggling read

The first Helen Fields novel I read was The Shadow Man and that had me hooked from the first page and at the end I wasn’t disappointed I loved it but I also wanted more of the Dr Connie Woolvine and Det Brodie Baarda. So I was thrilled when I discovered The Institution was going to give me just that!

Again I was gripped from the start. The Institution is a fabulous psychological thriller with distinct gothic vibes mixed in because of the remote and castle like setting of the building. The eerie atmosphere is terrific and the raging storm at the end is used to great effect….could definitely see this as a movie. I liked the way we got to learn the different patients histories in a variety of ways as well, meaning that part of the story didn’t feel repetitive in any way.

Thoroughly enjoyed this and I hope we get more books featuring Dr Connie and Brodie Baarda in the future.

This is a fabulous thriller, the suspense jumps off the pages! A slow build story that quickly becomes a book that I didn’t want to put down!
The characters are all believable but Dr Connie is truly inspirational!
The high security setting is full of atmosphere, the drama and unpredictability gets the heart racing!
A murderer needs to be found but the clock is ticking, so many characters that can’t be trusted!
This superbly written book is full of action, suspense and also emotion, I can’t wait to hear about Dr Connie’s next adventure!

Congratulations and sincere thanks to Avon Books/HarperCollins London, NetGalley and the amazing Helen Fields for the opportunity to read this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I must stqrt by thanking NetGalley as well as the publisher, Harper Collins for my eArC in exchange for my honest review. Helen Fields had become a go to author for me, her consistent exciting thrillers are wonderful! The latest, The Institution, is a non stop, fast paced, absolute gem. Bringing back her two main characters from the Shadow Man, Connie Woolwine and Brodie Baarda, we are in an intense race ahainst time to solve this thriller.

Thank you to the author, Avon Books UK and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love the D.I. Callanach series by this author, so was excited to dive into this new (non-Callanach) book. I'll be honest: I read the first 50 pages of this and thought: As always, brilliant and compelling writing from this author, but the subject matter is too intense, I can't cope and this will be a DNF. Next day, I picked it back up - and devoured the rest of the book. As so often with this author, this is intense and not for the faint of heart. The author conjures up the dark, atmospheric setting of a mental asylum in wild country in the middle of nowhere, with new horrors lurking around every corner. I have to admit I did work out who the killers were well before the ending, and there were several bits that strained the limits of credulity, but overall a solid book for fans of this genre. This is the second book with the same central character (Dr. Connie Woolvine), but can easily be read as a stand-alone.

Helen Fields is by far one of my all time go to authors. Her writing style is flawless and I always enjoy her books. This book was very dark and at first I felt it was very slow paced. The plot grew on me the further I got but I think this was my least liked book of Helen's. At times the plot was unbelievable but it did however fit with in with the dark story set in an institution.

Ms Fields does not shy away from dark, twisty stories and this book does not disappoint if that is what you expect from her. For me, I say bring back Luc!

The story revolves around a Forensic Psychologist Dr Connie Woolwine who is seconded to the Charles Horatio Parry Institution for the Rehabilitation of the Criminally Insane, known as ‘The Institution’, She and her partner are assigned to investigate the attack on pregnant nurse Tara Cameron (who works there) when Tara's foetus is removed for ransom. Gruesome enough for you?

Connie looks for the killer in the high security wing of the Tower of the building which holds five convicted serial killers and staff members. I end up thinking did I enjoy the book? As usual with Ms Fields it is well written but not 5 stars.

Thanks to Net Galley and Avon Books UK for the chance to read and review.

What a great read that was, I didn’t want to put it down. I’ve read a lot of this authors books and they are always good (I love Luc Callanach) but this one was brilliant. I wasn’t aware of the earlier book featuring Connie and Brodie but will definitely be rectified. Chapter one is disturbing to say the least; and the gruesome and inhumane treatment of the inmates and others does make this a difficult read at times. However, it was also massively engaging and I was desperate to see who the killer was.

Briefly, psychological profiler Dr Connie Woolwine has arrived at The Charles Horatio Parry Institution for the Rehabilitation of the Criminally Insane ‘The Institution’ and is examining the body of Nurse Tara Cameron; murdered and her unborn child taken from her body. Can you even imagine a worse crime. But in a place like this the suspect list is going to include virtually everyone! Working undercover, alongside former police officer Brodie Baarda, Dr Connie has an estimated 5 day’s to find the baby.

This was really well written and the plot was so good. I’m usually pretty good at guessing the killer, but this time I was totally fooled; I changed my mind so many times. Plenty of red herrings and I defy to to work out who the killer is. A fast paced dark but delicious read that’s going to keep you on the edge of your seat.

It wouldn't be fair to rate this one as I decided it wasn't for me. I didn't vibe with the writing style and found the gory scenes unnecessarily graphic. I didn't get past the first couple of chapters so I won't review it other than to say it wasn't my kind of book.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for granting me a free ARC copy of this novel.

What a fantastic novel- one of the best I’ve read in a while! It’s atmospheric in a dark, spellbinding, terrifying way, so much so I couldn’t read it fast enough with my heart in my mouth! Brilliant!!

Atmospheric, claustrophobic and intense, this psychological thriller featuring Dr Connie Woolwine is set in a remote institution. Her insightful and unique profiling method draws the reader immediately into the story and evidences Connie's commitment in her case. Her undercover role in the high-security hospital adds additional suspense even though she is supported by her partner Brodie Baarda.

Connie's past haunts her and makes her an unreliable narrator at times, in a way that keeps the reader on tenterhooks. The characters are believable, and the author uses graphic imagery to position them in this story. It's a harrowing read but keeps its surprises until the end.

I like the story's setting and suspense and the believability of the characters.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.