Another wonderful book by Helen Fields! This is the second book featuring Dr Connie Woolwine but can be read as a stand-alone novel.

Gripping, intense and enjoyable, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to fans of thrillers.

Helen Fields talent for creating atmospheric thrillers knows no bounds. I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read and this foray into the locked room mystery is no exception.

A nurse is murdered in an excruciating way and her baby stolen. The crime takes place within a secure psychiatric unit, remote and housing the most dangerous criminally insane. The search is on to find the baby and the clock’s ticking. Two undercover investigators go in to save the day.

This is a real page turner; what a ride right from the outset. The sense of bleak isolation is almost palpable as the story opens and the secure unit is described. I felt physically chilled. The characters are a mixed bunch of intelligent, violent or deranged inmates and staff who seem to have their own agenda. This tale is just brilliantly to,d. The tension racks up and I was fearing for the safety of the two investigators right from the outset. It’s a very clever murder mystery and totally satisfying. Fields can nail dialogue, locus and plotting every time. Buckle up for a bumpy ride. Absolutely loved this.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Terrifyingly brilliant and an absolute must-read for those who enjoy dark psychological thrillers.

After leaving us all on a momentous cliff hanger in her Perfect series. Helen Field’s has taken some time away to write a second Connie Woolwine novel and wow is it good!!

Connie is described (at best) as ‘odd’. She’s undeniably brilliantly minded and very good at what she does but she has unusual methods to attain those results. Which is why she’s best working alone or alongside her good friend, Baards.

Both, in this book decide to go under cover and for Connie it’s a real first. Not only because she now has to go against her makeup and be less open, honest and forthright. But also because Connie has her own PTSD of being committed when she was younger.

There’s a real sense of urgency in this book, not just because of the missing baby but also because of the intensity of the situation. It’s a real lock-in murder mystery. And all the suspects are people you would either trust with your life or trust that they will end your life!

I loved the development of Helen’s Connie Woolwine character. Whilst we witness a slight unraveling of her nature and spirit we also gain better insight into why she does what she does and how that is so intrinsically entwined in her character. Connie is left to really go it alone for much of this novel as Baarda is otherwise detained. I like the tension of emotions between these two. They genuinely have feelings that run deeper than friendship for each other and I suppose just like Ava and Luc they will eventually get together. However I do feel these two are better as a collaboration not as a couple. So please Helen, if you’re reading this, don’t let them date each other.

This book is absolutely brilliant, right from the first chapter the whole storyline just jumps right off of the page and you’ve no hope of not being drawn in or thrilled. It’s gory, but not unnecessarily so. The initial crime you read about is brutal and may be triggering for some - so watch out! But the whole process of elimination and the set up of the ward and it’s location is really quite masterful. I compared it on my social media to Cluedo and I still standby that analogy. It’s a real who-dunnit of a thriller. As we know half of the suspects are capable! It’s whittling out the ones who would need to, have the skills for. And in parallel you also need to figure out who out of the staff would be that motivated to commit murder and abduction within a maximum security setting? It’s just madness! 😊

This book has been structured in a way that means it can be read as a standalone novel. Whilst it is only the second of the series Helen doesn’t waste her words given you all of Connie’s history and backstory to her previous book. Helens style is more that if it is necessary to the story you will be told. If you want more then I really recommend you read Shadow Man as that’s just as amazing!

I think the only negative for me was that Connie, whilst brilliant. Doesn’t take or follow her own advice. I thought her choice to take up another job at the end was somewhat disappointing as I felt it reflected badly on her character in that she chose work over family (again). And in particular after just helping a family deal with all of the emotions and thoughts that her own family would need help for. That said… give me the next book!!!

Thanks as ever to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A very dark and exciting read! Note this is definitely different from the tone of the Hunting Party!

In the Institution, we meet forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine. Connie is well known for her abilities to connect with murderers and we learn that her ability and interest is based on a childhood experience in an institution. In this story, she is paired with an undercover agent inside an institution for the most dangerous killers

The very first chapter grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you as we learn that a nurse was abducted and murdered and her unborn child was stolen. Connie and her uncover partner have very little time to identify who in the Institution is behind this grisely event. A incoming storm shuts off passage to and from the campus and the electricity begins to flicker. The walls are literally caving in as Connie works against the clock to identify the enemy and find the lost child.

This book is a dark thriller with descriptions of murder that are not for the faint of heart. Connie is an interesting and unique character with lots of insights. Fields provides a creepy and claustrophobic backdrop of a setting, including the biographies of many of the despicable killers. I hope this isn't the last we have heard of Connie!
If you want to stay up all night, love serial killers and forensic psychology or just want a strong female heroine featured, The Institution is for you!

A novel, set in The Institution, a hospital for the criminally insane. Dr Connie is brought in with a secret mission to discover the killer of a pregnant nurse, who stole her baby. None of the other staff or patients know Tara has been killed. Her colleague, Braada is also at The Institution as inmate, patient B. The pair need to conduct a covert investigation, they have 5 days to find out who committed this heinous crime.
Lots of detailed characters and scene setting, you can really picture everyone clearly. Very different to Helen Fields previous books. A very dark, atmospheric read,

This book was everything that I want at this time of year, who doesn't want to read a book about an institution - which always makes me instantly think asylum for some weird reason - in spooky season. It was dark, atmospheric, creepy and hauntingly good that kept me guessing until the end. I loved it.

Having read a number of books by Helen Fields, I looked forward to turning the pages of this one. Sadly, I was left disappointed. A decent enough story line, but it did not grab my attention as her other books had done.

Helen fielda does it again. Another really engaging storyline. I was absolutely gripped all the way through. I thought that it was completely original with the book about inmates in prison. I highly recommend

What a story!!!!.....I couldn't put it down, it gripped right from the start the opening chapter wow! It is set in an "Institute" which houses serial killers, and starts with the murder of a nurse and the abduction of her baby. Dr Connie Woolwine goes undercover to investigate, this has a huge impact on her own mental health. Very atmospheric, dark and utterly compelling with many layers, stories within stories. Most of the characters thoroughly unpleasant, but this is what Connie has to deal with. Such a thought provoking read, give it a go.

The Institution by Helen Fields is not so much a locked room mystery as a locked ward mystery with that ward being in a secure psychiatric facility for some of the countries most dangerous criminals,

The Institution is a remote and almost brooding old building frequently cut off from the outside world in bad weather and the book often almost reads like a Gothic horror tale as much as a crime thriller

A Nurse is brutally murdered and a pre-natal Caesarean performed to kidnap her Baby. With the clock counting down as the desperate parents of the murdered Nurse have been given a deadline to pay a ransom before the Baby is harmed with video proof that they have her.They employ Forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine ,who Helen Fields fans will remember from "The Shadow Man" to investigate. This involves her going undercover to attempt to covertly discover which of the ward's resident psychopathic killers committed the horrific crime........and not least find out how the Baby was taken away from the locked ward. Connie Woolwine soon finds herself in immediate peril surrounded by a cast of unpleasant and potentially dangerous people...staff as well as inmates.

This is dark even by Helen Fields' standards and it's very much a chewed fingernails read. There's' some very explicit violence and general nastiness with Woolwine not only finding herself in physical danger in some very disturbing scenes.If you're of a sensitive disposition this book is best avoided.
Characters from previous Helen Fields books play parts of various prominence ,some fleeting,others not so and while this one takes a while to really get going fans won't be disappointed as once the scene and background are set it's a real roller-coaster.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.

Wow, this is a very different and dark read compared to the author’s previous books. Talk about an opening chapter that just grabbed my attention and pulled me into the story immediately. I thought the authors writing style here was very good, it definitely suited the story which flowed really well, and introduced the main and side characters nicely. Dr Connie Woolwine and Baarda go undercover in The Institution, a desolate prison housing a number of very disturbed serial killers, to investigate and find out who murdered a nurse and abducted her premature baby. They are in a race against time to find the missing baby and Connie is under a lot of pressure that affects her own mental health and sanity. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this, at times it felt like I was reading a book, within a book, within another book. The author has wrote a very tense, atmospheric and thrilling read that delves into mental health issues and the reasons that push people to kill. I absolutely loathed most of the characters in the story, and still couldn’t put this book down. The last quarter of the book was one hell of a compelling read which had me glued to my seat, holding my breath with no idea what to expect next. I enjoyed finding more out about Connie’s past and how it has shaped her character and thought this gave her much more depth which added to the story. Overall a fab, dark, atmospheric read which doesn’t hold back and is full of menace. If you like Helen Fields as an author and psychological thrillers I’d recommend you give this book a go, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

4.5 stars

Haunting, scary, shocking with some graphic moments thrown in this is a book that you won't forget in a hurry. From the prologue you will follow Dr Connie all the way in her quest to find out who murdered Tara Cameron and stole her unborn baby from her body, before time runs out for baby Aurora. But this is no normal murder as they are only a few suspects and they're all based in The Institution, dangerous mentally ill,
serial killers, all locked up for the rest of their lives. Connie is with limited staff members and has no idea who to trust, surely whoever killed Tara had help?
This was a fairly long read but an unputdownable novel. Would make a great film or TV series. Brilliantly written

The Institution is utterly terrifying!

It's such a remarkable premise. Imagine looking for a murderer on a high-security ward full of serial killers. That idea alone had me totally gripped, as Dr Connie goes undercover to assess and analyse the staff and patients (or "guests") of the highest security ward in a remote institution for the criminally insane. It's an incredibly dangerous and highly unsettling assignment, particularly as her own past traumas arise, but with a dead nurse and a missing premature baby she's prepared to go to any lengths to solve this crime and only has days at best before the missing baby becomes another murder to solve.

The time-sensitive nature of Connie's mission means that there's always so much tension and pressure in this book. Every hour that goes by feels like precious life slipping away. Then nature takes a hand, and as a fire rages and the tension rises like the floodwaters. There are strong elements of isolation and loss of control, all exaggerated and made so much more immediate by the clinical setting. It's scary, it's disorienting. It's impossible to know who to trust, who to fear and which way to turn and through the urgency of the writing the reader is right there alongside Dr Connie.

This is also a book about mental health, particularly at the more extreme end of psychopathy. It's about the people who suffer from it and what it can drive them to do but it's also about the people who treat them, and why they do it. It feels very critical of a lot of the treatment and practitioners, from outdated beliefs about treating female hysteria to newer, softer methods. Running through it all is the grimness of being committed, of losing any control over what happens to you, of not being treated as a human but talked over, forcibly medicated or restrained. It's dark and unpleasant and so very effective.

For all of the darkness, this is a book with some touchingly tender moments, particularly the emotional exchanges Connie has with the dead nurse, Tara, and her support of Tara's mother. It really reinforces why Connie put herself in such a precarious position, risking everything to save one precious baby.

Dark and terrifying, the Institution had me committed to finishing it from the first chapter!

Did I read this in one sitting one rainy afternoon?
Yes, yes I did.
It has a shocking opener that grips you and doesn't really let go .
You never really know who you can trust, though probably not the five serial killers you're hanging out on a ward with, and possibly not the staff.
I enjoyed the stories within a story of the killers, which is told in a way I felt I was getting more books for my money.
Some quite graphic moments, plus plenty of edge of your seat moments.
Excellent stuff.