An institution filled with the criminally insane, a really gruesome murder and a missing baby, and into the breach steps Doctor Connie. This is dark and twisted, trust no one, keep alert, it has all the elements of a good thriller and it delivers.

Another fantastic book to add to the Helen Fields collection! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A young nurse is found murdered and her baby cut out of her at a high-security prison for the criminally insane. Connie and her colleague are taken in undercover to find the truth about what happened and get to the baby before it’s too late.

This was brilliant and horrific. A real page turner and one you don’t want to miss! I’ve already pre-ordered my official copy, coming out March 3rd 2023 - a nice little early birthday pressie for myself! 😆

Thanks to @netgalley @avonbooksuk for my early ebook in exchange for my honest review.

#newreads #avonbooksuk #crime #psychologicalthriller #criminallyinsane #bibliophile #reader #helenfields

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: March 2, 2023
Forensic profiler Connie Woodwine is called in to investigate when a newborn baby is kidnapped after being brutally ripped out of its mothers’ womb, leaving the mother dead. The murder happened at what is locally known as “The Institute”, one of the countries’ most secluded and high-security mental institutions for the criminally insane, housing some of the most dangerous inmates. Connie and her partner, Brady, must infiltrate the walls of the hospital to try and find out who was behind the brutal murder and kidnapping, before it’s too late.
Helen Fields’ novel, “The Institute”, is going to be a bit hit for fans of Dennis Lehane’s, “Shutter Island”. An insane asylum on the rocky coastline, secluded from the outside world, with more than one criminal in their midst- one who’s responsible for the most recent crime. Fields’ work has shock, awe, and utter terror within its pages, and left me guessing until the very end.
Connie is identified as “odd” by her colleagues and friends, a title she doesn’t take offense too if it means she gets the job done. An eccentric but brilliant profiler, her character is charismatic without being arrogant and kind-hearted without being overly emotional. As the other characters in the novel are all, literally, criminally insane, it is Connie’s character alone that has to resonate with readers, and Fields’ is able to bring that to life in the psychologist with a broken past.
On an island full of psychopaths, finding a murderer is literally like finding a straw coloured needle in a haystack, but Fields’ doesn’t make the ending presumptive. Staff and patients are all possible candidates, and when it finally all plays out, the conclusion is unexpected without being unrealistic.
Fields is a new author for me, although she is not new to the field, and I hope that she continues into the foray of psychological suspense, as it seems that this is where her niche lies. I loved the dark and gloomy feel of the institute and the island it resides on, and each and every one of the despicable criminals housed within its walls was enough to make my hair stand on end. You won’t sleep lightly after reading “The Institute”, and its pulse-pounding plot will stick with you long after the final pages.

What a roller coaster of a ride. Dr Connie Woolwine isn’t your typical profiler he methods are unusual but she doesn’t give up until she gets the killer. A young nurse Tara has been brutally murdered and her newborn baby stolen. She has been hired to find out who wanted Tara dead and she will need to go to The Institution for the worst criminal there are. She won’t be alone as she has her partner Baarda with her. Unfortunately he has to be a patient and Connie will need to make sure that he doesn’t suffer like some of the patients have.
She has her work cut out for her as there are too many suspects she just needs to find the killer before she becomes a victim herself.
Will they be able to find the baby before it is too late as time is running out?
A great thrilling read.
Great characters interesting storyline.
Connie is like no other profiler but I feel that she what makes her so good at her job. She isn’t fearless and far too brave at times. Her partner is the level headed one as he needs to keep Connie from losing herself. They make a good team they balance each other out.

Absolutely loved this book, one of my favourites so far this year.
It played out like a good thriller movie and I couldn’t put it down.
The claustrophobic setting of the Institute heightened the suspense as Dr Connie tries hard to find a stolen baby before it’s too late.
Characters were so well written, I found myself warming to some of the psychopaths and the plot line itself was chilling and hard hitting.
I hope this isn’t the only book featuring Connie and Baarda and I will definitely read more from this author!

A gripping thriller that kept me engaged throughout!! I just could not put this book down. The writing was incredible and the mystery was fantastic.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I always like Helen Fields’ books and this one was no different. It was a bit slow at the start and I feel like most of the action was rushed into the end, but I really enjoyed it. Even when not much was happening, I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen. It was a very interesting storyline, and I really liked the characters. It was impossible for me to guess how it was going to end. Helen Fields’ books are always easy to read and hard to put down. It took a while for things to start happening in this book, but as soon as the action started I couldn’t stop reading. I stayed up late just so I could finish it! I definitely recommend this book and I’m really looking forward to reading more from Helen Fields in the future.

On a locked ward, in a high security institution , a nurse is murdered and her unborn child removed
Forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine is bought in and has five days to solve the mystery.
Can she do it and keep her sanity?.

In 2020 I read an ARC of “The Shadow Man” by Helen Fields and fell in love with the characters DI Baarda and Dr Woolwine, so much so that I was sad that we would never see more from this dynamic duo as it was believed at the time that “The Shadow Man” was a standalone novel.


I am ecstatic that these two are back!! I really hope this is the beginning of a new series as I think these two characters are incredible and I have loved every second of them in this latest read from Helen Fields.


“The Institution” is an outstanding read! Dark, gruesome, and atmospheric! Fast moving psychological thriller at its finest. Had me hooked from page one until the very end. A real rollercoaster of emotions.


Perfect for all fans of the Poe & Tilly Series by M W Craven.


More more more please Helen Fields!!


5 Stars – A MUST READ!


Publication Date: 2nd March 2023


Thank you to #NetGalley, #AvonBooksUK and #HelenFields for an ARC of #TheInstitution in exchange for an honest review.

Dripping with atmosphere and chock full of tense moments, The Institution grips and pulls and just doesn't let go.

Dr. Connie Woodwine, a forensic profiler, investigates the gruesome murder of Tara and the taking of her unborn baby.
As a nurse Tara had worked at The Institution, a high security mental health Institution where one section houses criminally dangerous murderers and where she was found slaughtered. Not only is the case fraught with high emotions of Tara's family, Dr. Connie only has five days to ingratiate undercover with Patient B and find answers as to the whereabouts of the baby. She is dismayed to see various therapies used and prefers letting patients talk to her. We learn details about what drove murderers to commit heinous crimes as well as details about staff members. There are secrets, deceptions and surprises at every turn. The pace was slow to begin with as we are taken into characters' lives but it quickened the second half.

I really like dark Thrillers but the graphic detail here became a bit more than I enjoy. However, author Helen Fields writes with dazzling brilliance which exudes whip-smart intelligence and incredible insight into humankind.

If deeply dark and disturbing appeal, you may really enjoy this. But if you prefer Thrillers without sordid detail, this may not work for you.

My sincere thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this enthralling book.

The book is set in a high security prison hospital ward. It opens with the gruesome murder of a pregnant nurse and her baby taken. Dr Connie Woolwine, a forensic investigator, is trying to locate the missing infant. The opening scenes are pretty harrowing but I failed to like Connie, or empathise with any characters. It's a dark and scary read, just not for me! Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

What a twisty one! Dr Connie Woolwine has agreed to be locked in the facility where a nurse was gruesomely killed and her baby taken in the hope that she will be able to identify the villain and find the child. She's accompanied by Baarda, who is posing also posing as a severely mentally ill individual. Connie, btw, has her own problems, including PTSD from a stay in a similar place. Which of the inmates is the killer? Or, is it one of the staff? Can Connie and Baarda do it without losing pieces of themselves? No spoilers from me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A real page turner.

The Institution follows Dr. Connie, a profiler who works on a case-by-case basis to find the culprits behind horrific crimes. In The Institution, Dr. Connie is undercover in an isolated high-security prison, located on an island with mountains behind it, and a treacherous body of water in front of it. A baby has been kidnapped, and someone in the institution, whether it be a staff member, or a prisoner, is behind it. In this book, Dr. Connie must live with some horrific criminals in order to find the culprit and save a baby's life before time runs out.

Firstly, I LOVED the premise behind this book. I've read a ton of thrillers and I've never heard of a setup quite like this. I really enjoyed how unique it was. The setting was so isolating which really adds to the mood when you read it. There's a time element of this book that puts pressure on Dr. Connie to solve the crime quickly, which keeps the book fairly fast-paced. There's a creepy element to it that unfolds as you learn about the various killers Dr. Connie is locked up with and the horrible crimes they committed. And the mystery of who did it is looming over it all.

This book created a fantastic atmosphere that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was suspenseful and well-written. There were just so many different elements at play here, all handled beautifully. It was incredibly well done.

I did find the events that unfolded in the last 1/4 of the book to be a bit far-fetched, and it left me wondering how things would have unfolded if those events hadn't occurred. I was also disappointed by Dr. Connie's choice at the very end of the book, however, I understand that it allows for a sequel to happen more easily.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I only nitpick because I was SO invested in the story.

Thank you very much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC of this book! I rate The Institution a 4.5/5, happily rounded up to 5.

The Institution is a twist on a locked room mystery using a remote building housing some of the most dangerous murderers around. So how do you find a murderer in a group of murderers?

The premis of the book is excellent and the conclusion was satisfying however, at times, I felt it was just a bit stretched out which slightly distracted from my overall enjoyment.

Overall though it was a good read.

Scary story as you know people like this exist in the world.
The first half was a bit slow as the characters were unveiled and you are left guessing you is responsible. The second half of the book really came alive and was hard to put down.

This is not billed as a series book, nor is The Shadow Man which also features American profiler Connie Woolwine and her erstwhile partner DI Brodie Baarda. It's a cracking book and it introduces our duo so I guess you might want to read that first.
This time, Connie is tasked with a rather strange murder. That of a nurse working in the worlds highest security prison hospital which houses the worst of the worst of the criminally insane. That would be bad in itself but the nurse was heavily pregnant and her new born baby is still missing. So the clock is ticking and it's getting louder with every second that passes... The death has been kept quite from the staff and patients so only the perpetrator knows the truth. Enter Connie to go undercover on the ward. Her cover story is ingenious and involves Baarda who will soon be joining her as a patient. But will the two of them be able to safely negotiate the ward and try and investigate and find the missing child before it's too late...?
This is a bit of a slow burn but it builds up the layers very well. Initially we have Connie testing the waters of the staff and patients, testing their knowledge and states of mind, stacking up the evidence. It's a bit slowly slowly catchy monkey and Connie almost just bimbles round with no apparent sense of direction. But then again, she has none to follow so I guess it matches what is really going on. And then, when we get to the end, and I will use the word race, it all gets a bit samey. There's a storm which cuts the hospital off, power is lost, it all goes dark and everyone is in mighty peril.
And then there's Connie's own past which she has to battle to get through her present. Which spreads another topping onto our already packed pizza of a book.
But, all that said, I do like the two main characters, and the story does just stay behind the line of completely implausible, and it did keep me occupied and entertained, and finished well, eye rolls and all.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I almost stopped reading after the first few pages, as the visceral impact of the victim - a woman with her baby removed from her whilst alive - was too much to handle, but once passed this, it is a relentless fast paced read as profiler Connie Woolwine goes undercover in a maximum security prison to find the killer and the baby before it dies.
Connie herself is an intriguing character who has had psychiatric treatment herself and talks with the dead bodies, which comes across as creepy yet sad.
Her interviews with the inmates of the prison not only tell us some individual murder stories but provide some deeper characterisation to the suspects and the whole Institution becomes quite realistic through the dynamics of prisoners, doctors and ward staff.
I hope we read more of Connie and her ex-police colleague Baarda, as there feels like a potential series here.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Helen Sarah Fields, and Avon Books UK for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Always one to enjoy a novel by Helen Sarah Fields, I gladly accepted this ARC. While Fields puts this book forward as a standalone, it is actually the second novel featuring Dr. Connie Woolwine and former Det. Brodie Baarda. Woolwine and Baarda are on a mission to discover how a pregnant nurse in an extremely secure institution was murdered and her foetus violently removed. The storylines in the book provide as much eerieness as entertainment for the reader, while proving that Helen Sarah Fields is at the top of her game in a genre full of authors. This is yet another reading experience about which I will be talking for months to come.

After the murder of a nurse and the kidnapping of her foetus within one of the world’s most secure prisons for the criminally insane, there is panic both to solve the case and keep it hushed. Enter Dr. Connie Woolwine, whose profiling abilities brought her from the United States over the Pond. Working undercover, Woolwine will try to determine what’s been going on and provide the police with much needed information. She’s brought her colleague, former Detective Brodie Baarda along, to serve as a new patient with a mysterious past.

While Dr. Woolwine is known for being able to peel back the layers of the most sadistic murderers, she will have to work her magic slowly, while still on a clock. The foetus, now named Aurora is in the hands of someone unknown, with a massive ransom that must be paid in short order. Dr. Woolwine meticulously interviews the other prisoners and staff within The Institution, a castle-like structure that has many pods and is isolated form much of the outside world. Without revealing her true reason for being there, Woolwine works to explore who might have wanted the victim dead and how it could be accomplished without anyone else knowing. All the while, the hunt for the baby is a secondary worry, as Woolwine does all she can.

With Baarda trying to play a serial killer and yet keep his dignity, Woolwine will have to make efforts to find answers and use her colleague’s insights to see if they can crack the case open in the allotted time. With a murderer in their midst and someone trying to stifle obvious progress, it could cost Woolwine and Baarda everything. A chilling story that is as entertaining as it is addictive, Fields proves just how great a writer she is with this novel!

I always enjoy seeing a new book out by Helen Sarah Fields. Her writing is stellar and the storylines prove tp pull the reader in with little effort. There is an obvious dedication to research, as Fields gets to the root of psychiatric disorders, with just the right amount of tension to make it realistic. While she wants to keep this as a standalone, Fields has the makings for another strong series here, with a collection of protagonists whose personalities mesh effectively. I’ll keep hoping that we see more from Dr. Connie Woolwine in the near future, as I am sure she has much more to offer.

The narrative approach to this book was a mix of straightforward crime thriller and eerie psychological tale. Fields mixes them well and presents a story that is sure to keep the reader flipping pages as they try to get to the core of the matter. A handful of well-established characters and two great protagonists keep the story moving and developing in many directions. It was the non-linear plots that made the book what it is, with a constant evolution of who could have done it and how their psychosis will come to the surface. Fast paced and full of unexpected twists, Fields leads her readers along and presents many possible solutions, in hopes that nothing is too predictable. As i mentioned above, I cannot wait to see when we will see more of Connie Woolwine, hoping that she can dazzle fans and some other characters alike.

Kudos, Madam Fields, for another stunning read!

Wow wow wow, what an epic read!
A year ago I reviewed The Shadow Mann and said “ I really like the characters of Woolwine and Baarda and I’d love to see them as the main characters a new series” and here they are again.
This is not a book for the faint hearted, the plot is as horrific as it it brilliant. The plot, the setting, the pacing and the twists. Another excellent read from this oh so talented author and I loved the little cameo from Ava Turner and the nod back to some previous books, plus the further insight into Woolwine’s past.

This was a solid mystery which keeps you invested on who done it, I enjoyed the puzzles and trying to find out who was behind the murder and child kidnap.