The Institution by Helen Fields is another stunning novel of psychological suspense from this accomplished writer. From the dramatic opening scene involving a corpse with gruesome injuries to the shocking conclusion, I was gripped by this story and immersed in the atmospheric setting of a remote high-security hospital for the criminally insane.
Dr. Connie Woolwine, a noted forensic psychologist, is called to The Institution where the corpse was found, and has 5 days to find a stolen newborn before it perishes. She and her trusted investigator Brodie Baarda infiltrate the staff and inmate populations, putting themselves at great risk, as they probe the dark minds and behaviors of the residents of Tower 2.
The plotting is superb, with realistic interactions and creative twists. The hospital’s characters felt real, if generally unlikeable, including The Institution itself, which is a sinister shadow ominously hanging over all the action and serving as a perfectly grim atmospheric setting.
The writing is skillful, nuanced, and at times, achingly eloquent. I particularly liked the emotional interchange near the conclusion in which Dr. Connie consoles a character, explaining, in beautiful prose, the incomparable connection, on a cellular level, that mothers have for their offspring. Touching and insightful, it is a great example of this author’s intelligent, incisive looks into the human soul.
Read this if you enjoy dark thrillers with plenty of action and edge-of-your-seat suspense, as well as deep dives into the psychology of criminals and law enforcement profilers.
I cannot wait for the next entry in this series, as at the end, Dr. Connie is called to a case in Cuba….

Thank you to Avon/HarperCollins London and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

<i>The Institution</i> is a gripping, claustrophobic read which brings a new meaning to the word ‘secure facility – there isn’t anything secure about this locked ward, especially if one of the people within its walls may have killed…

The premise is really interesting: forensic profiler Connie is going undercover as a therapist in a high-security hospital for prisoners, to find out what happened to the baby of a nurse there who has been murdered. Her colleague is also undercover as a prisoner there, raising the stakes further as Connie feels a sense of responsibility for him and for the baby who is out there somewhere at risk…

This book definitely builds a real sense of atmosphere as we spend more time inside the walls of the hospital. Like Connie, we don’t know who we can trust and the arrival of a storm (which, admittedly, felt like a trope that is often overdone) means it becomes more of a locked-room mystery which rams up the tension. Apparently, this is actually the second in a series featuring Connie Woolwine, but it can 100% be read as a standalone – I didn’t find I needed any additional background information or context to enjoy the book. It’s a gripping thriller that I enjoyed, though towards the third quarter of the book I did feel it lost steam a bit and could have been cut down a bit.

Overall, <i>The Institution</i> is a solid, compelling read. It feels quite different from the other books I’ve read so far by Helen Fields. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a fast-paced thriller.

If this book isn’t a smash hit, I’ll claw my own eyes out. I don’t think I have read a genuinely scary book for such a long time. Fans of Helen Fields will already be aware of Dr Connie Woolwine and her now partner in crime, Brodie Baarda whom we met in The Shadow Man.

Connie is American and a psychological profiler. Brodie Baarda was a kidnapping specialist from Met Ops Team but is now an independent contractor working with Connie.

This time the pair has been called in to deal with an horrific crime (curiously the second such crime I have read this year) which can only have taken place inside the Charles Horatio Parry Institute for the Rehabilitation of the Criminally Insane.

This is a high security prison facility that houses some of the country’s most heinous criminals. These prisoners have been deemed to be psychiatrically unfit to be sent to a normal high security prison and so have been sent to what everyone there refers to as just ‘The Institution’.

A nurse from The Institution has been found murdered and her new born baby is missing. The clock is ticking if the baby is to be found alive but a crypto-currency ransom is being demanded and with the likely perpetrator being inside The Institution, Connie and Baarda go undercover at the behest of the nurse’s family to see if they can unmask the killer and get the baby back unharmed.

I said in my review of The Shadow Man that I hoped we would get to learn more of Connie’s back-story and Helen Fields delivers that here. But, by understanding some of what drives Connie, we find that we are only made more fearful by what she encounters.

She and Baarda go in under cover. Connie is posing as a psychiatric therapist working for the military and her patient is a high security risk prisoner known only as ‘Patient B’ and that’s the role that Baarda is taking on. Only the Governor knows who Connie and Baarda really are. The hope is that by working on both the staff and the inmates by taking a dual approach, Connie and Baarda can work out who perpetrated this terrible crime and find a lead to recover the missing baby.

The nurse who was murdered worked in Heaven Ward with the deadliest offenders and the highest staff to inmate quotient. The staff are not overly fond of their guests/clients/patients/prisoners. A young man called Boy does some of the more menial tasks and he takes to Connie and she to him as he’s the only one there with anything close to a cheery countenance.

From the beginning it is anything but plain sailing. There are some very creepy people in the Institution and that’s just the staff. The building is a horrible cold stone warren that rises bleak into the sky with different towers like some Castle of Doom. The surrounding area is all marshland miles from anywhere and the whole place gives off vibes of Frankenstein looked after by Nurse Ratchett.

Helen Fields makes The Institution a very scary place to be with simmering tensions abounding even before Connie arrives. Then she dials that gauge up until it reaches boiling point. As Connie sets about interviewing the inmates and staff to see how much she can learn by profiling them, it becomes very clear that others are watching her. Not everyone is without their suspicions about what Connie is really doing there.

Baarda too is finding it hard to get traction. To the staff he’s just another killer and they see no reason not to treat him as they do the others, whatever Connie might say. Our pair has landed in a pit of loathsome, demented vipers and pretty much everyone has fangs they are keen to use.

Helen Fields portrays evil characters really well and honestly, I felt the scariness of The Institution just as I understood how incredibly traumatic it must have been for Connie to find herself in some of the situations that she does. This is heart in the mouth time and you can hear the screams when things get to that boiling point I mentioned.

Add in some very rough weather and a break down in communications, a terrified and traumatised Connie and a Baarda who is elsewhere and you’ll be suspecting everyone – and with good reason.

Verdict: Helen Fields has written an absolutely mind-blowing suspense thriller with some great and truly horrible characters, a really twisty and ever changing plotline and a sense that maybe the inmates should be running the asylum. This is a book that evolves at break-neck speed taking the reader on a spine-chilling journey that will leave you trusting no-one and with your nerves shattered. As ever with Helen Fields, her characters are well defined and fascinating. This is one not to miss, but beware of reading with the lights out….

We first met Dr Connie Woolwine and her partner Baarda in The Shadow Man which was a compulsive read. The Institution has taken it to the next level! This case takes place in a criminal institution so there are protagonists galore to choose from as the perpetrator and there have to be multiple characters responsible.
Connie's past is very relevant in this story, as she revisits an Institution for a case, rather than as an inmate as in her past.
Yes, believability is stretched in places, but only for the sake of the story which is edge of the seat, palpitation inducing, exciting and frightening.
Everyone is a suspect and the seclusion of the setting and the weather conditions all play an important part in this riveting tale.
A solid FIVE STARS!!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Helen Fields/Avon Books UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

A nurse in a high security prison is murdered and her unborn child stolen; a difficult crime to imagine, so horrific it is. But forensic psychologist Connie Woolwine is determined to find out who committed this heinous crime and in order to do so, must enter the institution under cover.

This is a dark, disturbing read and I found it slow to build. However, the pace picks up and keeps you guessing.

A gothic psychological thriller and a 3* Good Read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

Another fab read from Helen Fields. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Its definitely a slow burner which I don't usually enjoy but Helen somehow makes you want to read more with her characters and fantastic story telling.

Set in a facility for the criminally insane the opening chapter sets the scene straight away with the autopsy of a pregnant woman who has been murdered in the facility and her unborn baby taken from her. Its certainly one hell of an opening for a story!

We then follow Connie as she takes an undercover role in the facility to try and establish who the murderer is and most importantly where the baby is. The clock is ticking to find the baby but she has many obstacles in her way in the form of psychotic inmates and questionable staff members.

I found this book set the scene brilliantly with the atmospheric location of The Institution and it made my heart beat fast in some parts as well!

Would highly recommend to anyone. Helen's writing reminds me of Stephen King's writing in that they may be slow burners but they are never boring and your interest is always piqued.

A gripping "who dunnit' with a difference. This is a riveting read based on a highly original concept. The Institution houses high risk psychopaths. It is situated in a remote area where escape is virtually impossible. On a locked ward a scream is heard in the night. The next morning, a nurse’s pregnant body is found and her daughter has been taken via a butchered caesarean. A ransom must be paid for the Baby's return and the clock is ticking.
Connie a renowned forensic profiler enters The Institution with her undercover detective partner to find the route to the baby's whereabouts. It is a fascinating read which cannot be put down

I have loved all of Helen Fields’ books. However, this was not the best.
I was delighted to be getting another Connie Woodwine story after seeing her in another standalone and making a guest appearance in one of the Luc Callanach’s books. However, I felt her character and spark were dampened in this book and left me frustrated with her as a protagonist. I know it was purposely done like this to fit in with the story, but then why did she put herself in that position in the first place if she wasn’t strong enough? It just made me a little mad.
As did the actions of the staff at the hospital. What they did, Connie, just made no sense. It was a male ward for a start; they were all there under court orders, yet they did what they did to Connie. It infuriated me.
The premise behind why she was there in the first place also didn’t make that much sense. Luckily as Connie investigated, the wrinkles in this started to get ironed out. However, I found it a weak reason to get Connie involved, not the police.
So, I was very disappointed with this book, and I am gutted as a friend of mine from Book Club has also received this from NetGalley on my recommendation of the author. This is not the best introduction to this author at all, and if this is your first read, don’t dismiss this author, and please go back and read the Luc Callanach series, which is far superior in writing to this one.
The best thing I found about the book was when Connie is chatting/interviewing the other inmates, and we get to see their depraved minds. It really put me in the mood for a good gruesome serial killer book.

The beginning of the book was quite slow and the plot was stagnant. The description of the place was like a cliché as one could guess what is going to happen. The final part of the story was too fast and though interesting was rushed. The protagonist was too thick to see what was glaring at her and suddenly gets insight into everything in the conclusion. It all felt formulaic. I liked some of the previous stand-alone books better. 3.5 stars

Talk about a chilling read.
The settings of this remote psych hospital/prison brought goosebumps on my arms throughout the story. Being a very visual person and not a fan of horror books, this one definitely creeped me up from start to finish. But I loved the author’s books in the past and had to read this one as well.
There are only five suspects in the story because there are only five patients in the ward.
Each one has their own reasons to kill and Dr Connie and Baarda are there undercover to find out what actually happened.
It’s a slow start where we get used to the patients and the settings and it picks up a lot once the storm is in full blown and the murder needs investigated.
At this point, I had my theory of what happened but the author has mixed so many clues and pieces of the puzzle that were meant to lead the reader into another direction.

It’s a suspenseful and unpredictable, borderline chilling story that many readers will enjoy.

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.

I tend to enjoy Helen Fields' writing and I have a weak spot for thrillers with a serial killer angle as well as a psych ward setting, so it's easy to say that The Institution sounded like a perfect fit. I've been looking forward to pick it up ever since a copy appeared on my kindle... What I sure didn't expect was that I ended up having mixed thoughts instead. It's by no means a bad read and I understand why so many people are loving it so far, but there were also a few issues I couldn't look past personally.

Before I continue, a little warning. While The Institution is technically a stand-alone, it is also the second encounter with main character and forensic profiler Dr. Connie Woolwine, who already appeared in another stand-alone The Shadow Man (along with Baarda). The story itself is completely separate, but I would still recommend reading that one first to have a better picture of the dynamics between the two characters and their background. You can still understand the plot and everything that is going on in The Institution without that knowledge though.

The remote psych ward and prison hospital setting was without doubt one of the highlights of this story for me. The descriptions of the fortress and its surroundings were thorough and made for such an atmospheric backdrop for the plot, and they helped create that ominous vibe perfectly. And this was even before the weather went bad and the huge storm amped things up even further... While the storm and them being cut off from the outside world was a bit too cliche, it sure added a lot of suspense and tension to the plot.

The plot almost had that locked room mystery vibe, with only a limited amount of staff having access to the Heaven Ward and only five prisoners on that same ward... A limited suspect pool, although every single one seems to be a worthy suspect, and the plot gives you reason to doubt them all as Dr. Connie goes undercover and tries to investigate. The psych ward and everything that goes on at the Institution complex in general are both fascinating to read about, and it was another highlight for me.

What didn't work as well for me then? First of all, I had issues with the pace of the plot. Especially the first half was considerably slower than expected, and it took me a long time to get a proper feel for the story. I'm not sure if the story was too descriptive, if things were too dragged out or if it was something else I couldn't put my finger on, but the fact is that I did struggle quite a bit in the beginning. I also felt that the final events were way over the top and simply not credible at all. Sure, once the storm makes its appearance the pace accelerates enormously and the entertainment factor goes through the roof. BUT. It was too much of a change and especially the behavior of the prisoners just wasn't credible at all for me.

I also felt that it was quite obvious who were behind it all, and when you look back at how the plot throws suspicion at everyone on the ward everything is starting to feel a bit too forced. Add the cliches, slow start, lack of credibility and over the top escalation, and The Institution just wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. If the story and pace would have been balanced more evenly, it would probably have been easier to forgive the escalation in the final part... But as it is, it almost seemed like I was reading two completely different stories that weren't glued together properly. I know I'm in the minority though, so don't give up on my account if you think this story is for you.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This eerie thriller is set in the Institution which is a specialised mental health hospital for high-security patients.

When there is a shocking murder and abduction in the ward where the most dangerous patients are held, Dr Connie Woolwine is brought in to act under cover as a psychologist.

She must try to unravel the truth from the staff and patients before it is too late.

Will Connie discover the truth? Will it prove too much for Connie?

I found this thriller not only to be intense but quite scary too. I found it interesting reading the patients criminal convictions which have lead to them being at the institution, although it added an eerie feel to the storyline.

Right from the beginning the storyline is intense and it continues to build and build as the storyline progresses.

The mystery of who could be involved with the murder leaves you going between pretty much all of the characters. It is hard to put into words how astounding this thriller is, but all I can say is I loved it.

Overall, an eerie, intense thriller where a profiler must find a murderer on a ward with the most dangerous criminals.

Wow! This is a rollercoaster of a read that will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat.
It starts off with a shocking death and Dr Connie and Baarda are asked to find the victim’s abducted baby.
The Police think the murderer is still at The Institution where Tara worked, so Connie and Baarda go there undercover.
The Institution is a high security hospital for patients who have killed and are basically deemed mentally unstable.
It’s a dangerous task for them both and the more Connie finds out about the patients, the more worried she becomes.
When a storm wipes out the power and leaves the building cut off from help, things go from bad to worse and more lives are lost.
This is a gripping thriller that will have your heart pounding in the final few chapters.
A brilliant book.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Wow! Really a one word review is all that is needed - BRILLIANT!
Having previously read The Shadow Man which featured Dr Connie and her co star Brodie Baarda I was excited to read this one
Dr Connie is such a strong fearless and truly fascinating character. This book is for fans of a psychological thriller, it will keep you on the edge of your seat, a truly gripping read filled with tension and anticipation.
Connie and Brodie are on a mission to discover what happened yo a young nurse Tara Cameron, who murdered her, and where is the baby that was so cruelly taken from her body, there is a very short timeframe if they are to find the baby alive. They are undercover in a high security ward in an Institution for the criminally insane.
Sit down and get comfy for once you start this book you will want to keep devouring the pages as they literally turn themselves,
Helen Fields has certainly knows how to captivate her readers attention, I will be hoping for another book with Connie and Brodie

Many thanks to Net Galley and Avon Books UK forward an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I’d like to thank Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Institution’ by Helen Fields in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Forensic Psychologist and Profiler Dr Connie Woolwine is seconded to the Charles Horatio Parry Institution for the Rehabilitation of the Criminally Insane, known as ‘The Institution’, to investigate the vicious attack on pregnant nurse Tara Cameron when her foetus is removed for ransom.

‘The Institution’ follows on from ‘The Shadow Man’ with the character of Dr Connie Woolwine as she has just five days to discover the identity of the person who’s removed an unborn baby from its mother for ransom. The action takes place in the high security wing of the Tower that holds five convicted serial killers and Connie soon realises that the person responsible has to be one of them or one of the eight members of staff caring for them. Although not the type of thriller I normally enjoy, it’s well-written with a horrifying start to a gruesome and spine-chilling storyline. The first half is slow but speeds up as shocking twists and turns are revealed and the tension is palpable, leading to a shocking conclusion. It’s a bit too gruesome for my liking but a good read nonetheless.

The Institution Helen Fields

5 stars

What a book and what a story.

Dr Connie Woolwine is a profiler for the FBI and has agreed to enter an institution for serial killers whose crimes have meant that they will never be released or leave The Institution. Ostensibly she is there to do profiles on the 6 patients on Heaven Ward but really she is there to try and discover who has murdered Nurse Tara Cameron. Not only was Tara murdered but her baby was cut from her body and has been kidnapped and being held for ransom. Who of the prisoners and/or staff are involved in this terrible crime and how could the child have been spirited away from a prison that is an old fortress with no obvious escape route?

Connie starts to interview the 6 prisoners who have all committed murders in the most hideous ways trying to find out if any of them could be involved in Tara’s demise. As Connie delves deeper into the minds of these terrible people she has to also try and decide who is lying and how the minds of these type of people work. Connie herself had been committed to a psychiatric ward as a teenager due to a misdiagnosed brain tumour and as the days go by she realises that she is still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and is struggling to control her own memories.

This book really made me think about how some human beings can be so terrible and how Connie is able to get inside their twisted minds is enthralling. I kept changing my mind as to who was actually behind the crimes and was shocked by the ending. I got a feeling that Connie might be making a reappearance in a further book, I do hope so and I will certainly want to read it.


Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

Thank you for my copy of this book to read and review.

I have read a couple of the Luc Callanach books and really enjoyed them, so I was looking forward to this one. And although I haven’t read the previous Connie Woolwine one, I don’t feel this had any negative effect on the story in any way. However, I will go back and read The Shadow Man now.

This was quite a dark story, and as with previous books, was quite gruesome at times but it was a gripping storyline and I enjoyed the setting.

Definitely hoping for a third book.

I'm still reeling over the brilliance of this book and the authors talent It had me hook line and sinker.

The characters were intriguing and well written and the setting just enhances the drama and sets the scene A real atmospheric read.

It was dark, disturbing, intense, dangerous it's just a masterpiece I'm crossing everything for a follow up.

Set in a secure psychiatric institution for serial killers deemed criminally insane, this is a sinister locked room mystery. Dr Connie is a profiler called to investigate the brutal murder of one of the nurses. The book is dark, creepy and utterly compelling. The characters really come alive in the book and the awfulness of their crimes permeates the atmosphere of the whole book. Wonderfully written with an adrenaline packed climax. Fantastic!