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The Redemption of Morgan Bright
A woman checks herself into an insane asylum to solve the mystery of her sister’s murder, only to lose her memory and maybe her mind.
From the subversive voice behind The Phlebotomist comes this story that combines the ambiguity of The Yellow Wallpaper with the narrative twists of Don't Worry Darling.
Hadleigh Keene was found frozen dead on a road twelve miles from Hollyhock Asylum. But the police have no clues or answers, and seemingly do not care to find them.
A year later, the case is untouched and unsolved. Hadleigh’s sister Morgan decides to discover the truth about what happened. She has herself committed to the asylum under a false identity, that of a “hysterical housewife” named Charlotte Turner, who is seeking a clean bill of health before her husband will consider starting a family.
It quickly becomes clear that something is wrong at Hollyhock. A group of women, including Morgan, are beset by strange episodes and terrible hallucinations. And Morgan finds the persona of Charlotte growing stronger with each day and very, very real.
After enduring a series of bizarre treatments and undergoing her own disturbing changes, she delves deeper into the secrets of the asylum, and is confronted by Hollyhock’s hidden, horrifying purpose…
The terrifying reality of The Redemption of Morgan Bright unfolds over the course of chapters told from the points of view of both Charlotte and Morgan, police interviews, and series of text messages, eventually unravelling the darkest secrets.
From the subversive voice behind The Phlebotomist comes this story that combines the ambiguity of The Yellow Wallpaper with the narrative twists of Don't Worry Darling.
Hadleigh Keene was found frozen dead on a road twelve miles from Hollyhock Asylum. But the police have no clues or answers, and seemingly do not care to find them.
A year later, the case is untouched and unsolved. Hadleigh’s sister Morgan decides to discover the truth about what happened. She has herself committed to the asylum under a false identity, that of a “hysterical housewife” named Charlotte Turner, who is seeking a clean bill of health before her husband will consider starting a family.
It quickly becomes clear that something is wrong at Hollyhock. A group of women, including Morgan, are beset by strange episodes and terrible hallucinations. And Morgan finds the persona of Charlotte growing stronger with each day and very, very real.
After enduring a series of bizarre treatments and undergoing her own disturbing changes, she delves deeper into the secrets of the asylum, and is confronted by Hollyhock’s hidden, horrifying purpose…
The terrifying reality of The Redemption of Morgan Bright unfolds over the course of chapters told from the points of view of both Charlotte and Morgan, police interviews, and series of text messages, eventually unravelling the darkest secrets.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 23, 2024
78 people are currently reading
2164 people want to read
About the author
Chris Panatier
25 books219 followersChris lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, daughter, and a fluctuating herd of animals resembling dogs (one is almost certainly a goat). He writes short stories and novels, "plays" the drums, and draws album covers for metal bands. As a lawyer, he goes after companies that poison people.
Chris's short fiction has appeared in many places. His novels come from Angry Robot, Sobelo Books, and Rapture Publishing. He's a member of SFWA and HWA.
Chris's short fiction has appeared in many places. His novels come from Angry Robot, Sobelo Books, and Rapture Publishing. He's a member of SFWA and HWA.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 284 reviews
February 15, 2024
"The Redemption of Morgan Bright" by Chris Panatier, a masterfully crafted tale that seamlessly blends horror and mystery into a multi-layered narrative.
Panatier's storytelling is nothing short of masterful. The way he effortlessly spins you into the dark, unsettling world of Hollyhock Asylum is truly impressive. Each page is a journey deeper into a psychological labyrinth that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I found myself completely absorbed in the beautifully written prose, feeling the weight of the main character's distress as if it were my own.
One of the standout features of this novel is the impeccable character development. The protagonist, Morgan Bright, now assuming the identity of Charlotte Turner, is a complex and deeply troubled soul. The narrative skillfully delves into Morgan's distress, allowing the reader to empathize and feel the weight of her emotional turmoil. The layers of the characters unfold with precision, adding depth to the overall narrative.
The plot, centered around the mysterious death of Hadleigh Keene, is a perfect blend of horror and mystery. The unresolved case hanging over Morgan's head adds a layer of suspense that keeps you turning the pages. As Charlotte infiltrates Hollyhock Asylum, the lines between reality and illusion blur, creating a narrative that is both haunting and thought-provoking.
What truly sets this book apart is the atmospheric, psychological nightmare that Panatier creates. The unsettling nature of the asylum, coupled with the author's ability to craft a vivid and disturbing setting, left me disturbed in the best way possible. It's the kind of story that lingers in your mind, making you question what is real long after you've finished reading.
Chris Panatier has delivered a masterfully crafted novel that excels in storytelling, character development, and creating a gripping atmosphere. "The Redemption of Morgan Bright" is a must-read for those who appreciate a dark and immersive journey into the realms of psychological horror and mystery.
Panatier's storytelling is nothing short of masterful. The way he effortlessly spins you into the dark, unsettling world of Hollyhock Asylum is truly impressive. Each page is a journey deeper into a psychological labyrinth that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I found myself completely absorbed in the beautifully written prose, feeling the weight of the main character's distress as if it were my own.
One of the standout features of this novel is the impeccable character development. The protagonist, Morgan Bright, now assuming the identity of Charlotte Turner, is a complex and deeply troubled soul. The narrative skillfully delves into Morgan's distress, allowing the reader to empathize and feel the weight of her emotional turmoil. The layers of the characters unfold with precision, adding depth to the overall narrative.
The plot, centered around the mysterious death of Hadleigh Keene, is a perfect blend of horror and mystery. The unresolved case hanging over Morgan's head adds a layer of suspense that keeps you turning the pages. As Charlotte infiltrates Hollyhock Asylum, the lines between reality and illusion blur, creating a narrative that is both haunting and thought-provoking.
What truly sets this book apart is the atmospheric, psychological nightmare that Panatier creates. The unsettling nature of the asylum, coupled with the author's ability to craft a vivid and disturbing setting, left me disturbed in the best way possible. It's the kind of story that lingers in your mind, making you question what is real long after you've finished reading.
Chris Panatier has delivered a masterfully crafted novel that excels in storytelling, character development, and creating a gripping atmosphere. "The Redemption of Morgan Bright" is a must-read for those who appreciate a dark and immersive journey into the realms of psychological horror and mystery.
January 26, 2024
I stayed up untill 2am to finish this and I cannot get it out my head, the writing is just phenomenal, Panatier has executed a meditation on mental health, idenitity, trauma and grief exquisitely, the plot is complex and multi layered mirroring what's happening in the mind of our protagonist(s?) Morgan (and Charlotte), an insidious atmosphere clings to this entire book and the unreliable narrator contributes to the blurring of reality, I loved how the sinister descriptions of Charlottes visions could be interpreted as whats actually going on in her fractured memory, layer after layer of pain and anguish are laid bare over the pages and her distress becomes yours, the tropes found in this book never felt gimicky or sensationalized but were dealt with sensitivity and it was refreshing to see this, I loved the mixed media and thought the text transcripts were very witty, I would like a hot nerdy man who speaks to birds(if that alone doesn't make you wanna read this I don't know what will) I was often left with more questions than answers, something I personally love I feel it adds a layer of mystery and unease, if this book was made into a movie it would be an A24 production, it has that unique quality and pushes the boundaries of what you'd expect, I thought I knew what I was getting into from the books blurb, I was mistaken 😅 a truly mind bending gorgeous horror that will stick with me for a while! Highly recommend!
June 27, 2024
2.5 “was this written on an LSD trip?” ⭐️s
This book is an example of an author thinking they have a brilliant idea, but only they understand it. I’m not saying all the high reviews are fake, but most paraphrase the book summary then say, “I have no idea what I just read.”.
Unless you read the book summary, you have absolutely zero idea that Morgan checks herself into Hollyhock Asylum under a fake name (Charlotte Turner) to find out what happened to her dead sister, Hadleigh. None of this comes up in the first 100 pages! And even then, the author certainly doesn’t make it obvious.
Does Morgan spend any time sleuthing? Does she look for her sister’s patient file or try to find out if other patients or staff knew Hadleigh? No! Instead, she has a psychotic break of her own following a traumatic check-in, and sinks deeper and deeper into her fake patient identity of Charlotte.
From there, the book becomes a messy mix of Stepford Wives, Rosemary’s Baby, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Sixth Sense, Poltergeist, The Handmaiden’s Tale, and a creepy, but not scary, Tales from the Crypt episode about insects.
There are a TON of characters that are difficult to track. Imagine sitting in a large group therapy circle of patients and hospital staff. Everyone says their name and a bit about themselves. Then you’re expected to remember all of them while also being fed hallucinogenic drugs. That’s what reading this book is like
I’ve dissected this book pretty rigorously, so I’m 99% sure I stitched together the actual plot (what is real, what is madness, what the F is going on). But why make it so hard to figure out the plot??? The reader shouldn’t feel like they need a spoiler AFTER they’ve read it.
Thank you to JaymeO who became my coincidental buddy reader of this book. Having a reading partner for this book is definitely beneficial for bouncing your WTF ideas off of each other.
This book is an example of an author thinking they have a brilliant idea, but only they understand it. I’m not saying all the high reviews are fake, but most paraphrase the book summary then say, “I have no idea what I just read.”.
Unless you read the book summary, you have absolutely zero idea that Morgan checks herself into Hollyhock Asylum under a fake name (Charlotte Turner) to find out what happened to her dead sister, Hadleigh. None of this comes up in the first 100 pages! And even then, the author certainly doesn’t make it obvious.
Does Morgan spend any time sleuthing? Does she look for her sister’s patient file or try to find out if other patients or staff knew Hadleigh? No! Instead, she has a psychotic break of her own following a traumatic check-in, and sinks deeper and deeper into her fake patient identity of Charlotte.
From there, the book becomes a messy mix of Stepford Wives, Rosemary’s Baby, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Sixth Sense, Poltergeist, The Handmaiden’s Tale, and a creepy, but not scary, Tales from the Crypt episode about insects.
There are a TON of characters that are difficult to track. Imagine sitting in a large group therapy circle of patients and hospital staff. Everyone says their name and a bit about themselves. Then you’re expected to remember all of them while also being fed hallucinogenic drugs. That’s what reading this book is like
I’ve dissected this book pretty rigorously, so I’m 99% sure I stitched together the actual plot (what is real, what is madness, what the F is going on). But why make it so hard to figure out the plot??? The reader shouldn’t feel like they need a spoiler AFTER they’ve read it.
Thank you to JaymeO who became my coincidental buddy reader of this book. Having a reading partner for this book is definitely beneficial for bouncing your WTF ideas off of each other.
July 7, 2024
The Redemption of Morgan Bright ended up being so much more than I initially expected. At the beginning of the book I was quickly invested in the relationship between the sisters, Hadleigh and Morgan and the investigative nature of what happened to Hadleigh. As the book progresses quickly, the plot keeps pace -both throwing in new and shocking plot lines as well as maintaining the subtle build of psychological horror. The setting of Hollyhock Asylum was expertly written- the environment so well captured that elements made my skin crawl and had me googling if horrors such as those described actually happened to psychiatric patients. The inserts of text message conversation, interview transcripts, diagrams of interventions and maps of the asylum really added to the experience.
The book is well written and has well developed characters. I was both enjoying the direction the book was going and felt irritated by it and this feeling carried through to the end. I loved and hated that the ending was the ending and while there were elements of it feeling a little rushed it did bring some loose ends together neatly while leaving questions elsewhere. Not necessarily a bad thing!
Interestingly, after everything I had read and enjoyed it was the afterword by the author that made me pause for thought and really bring into focus the sub text of the story.
All in all worth a read - wacky but enjoyable! ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars.
The book is well written and has well developed characters. I was both enjoying the direction the book was going and felt irritated by it and this feeling carried through to the end. I loved and hated that the ending was the ending and while there were elements of it feeling a little rushed it did bring some loose ends together neatly while leaving questions elsewhere. Not necessarily a bad thing!
Interestingly, after everything I had read and enjoyed it was the afterword by the author that made me pause for thought and really bring into focus the sub text of the story.
All in all worth a read - wacky but enjoyable! ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars.
May 14, 2024
THANK YOU to Angry Robot Books, for graciously providing a free copy of this book for review at my request, as well as the author for making sure I was on the list! I listened to the audiobook, which was purchased with my own funds, in conjunction with the physical copy.
All opinions discussed are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.
If you've been a viewer of my YouTube channel for at least a year - maybe even less time than that - then you've heard me mention STRINGERS, a little Sci Fi favorite of mine. Chris Panatier wrote that gem and it landed him on my list of "Read Everything By This Author Forever And Ever, AMEN" list, which is why I picked up THE REDEMPTION OF MORGAN BRIGHT.
I knew Panatier could write great science fiction, so I set the bar high for his stab at horror, especially when I discovered the setting would be an asylum.
THE REDEMPTION OF MORGAN BRIGHT exceeded my expectations.
You know how "the big twist" in psychological thrillers generally occur near the end or is the ending? This book. Y'all. This story starts with a twist and it never stops the spiral. You know what got under my skin and scared me the most? When this sucker was at the pinnacle of the Mountain of Crazy - it started to make sense, the crazy seemed logical.
Chris Panatier achieved pure excellence with the creation of Morgan Bright on the page. THE REDEMPTION OF MORGAN BRIGHT has a distinct gothic feel to it, which is a horror story that is slower in pace, focus is on the suspense and intrigue. The danger in these types is the slower pace can leave your readers bored. Panatier avoids this pitfall by artfully switching between past and present to unfold the events that took place at Hollyhock Asylum and cleverly interspersed different types of writing styles. Between chapters from Morgan, there are police interviews, research articles and text conversations, which served to keep my interest piqued and allowed me to fly through this book in two days.
Asylums are one of my favorite settings for horror or psychological thrillers and Hollyhock is no exception. An asylum makes it so easy to create an appropriate atmosphere - especially if you're a reader like me, you have an immediate fear reaction just imagining the place. Panatier adds a level of intrigue with the revelation that Hollyhock had been previously shut down for experimenting on its patients.
The plot is confusing, ever-changing....and brilliant. It was an intricate exploration of the human condition - guilt, love of family, addiction, morality, conflict, autonomy - it was fascinating. I will absolutely reread THE REDEMPTION OF MORGAN BRIGHT to see if I'm able to identify indicators of events that occur throughout the book. Plus, it's just too good not to read again. I'm in awe of Panatier's artistry in crafting this tale, especially the literary theme regarding the reproductive rights of women.
If you don't typically read Author's Notes, Forewards or Afterwords, please consider reading the Afterword the author included at the end of this book.
It's always a good day when the author of one of your favorite books of all time delivers another stellar title to your favorites list.
If you prefer watching video reviews, I do have a BookTube Channel
A heartfelt thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for their support towards my enthusiasm for reading and reviewing!
Special thanks to my highest level Patrons: Ev, Amanda L., Sharon, Andrew, Star, Kate, Gail, Amanda F., Lourdes, Tara, John, Ann, Chad K., Ashley E., & Jennifer M.
All opinions discussed are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.
If you've been a viewer of my YouTube channel for at least a year - maybe even less time than that - then you've heard me mention STRINGERS, a little Sci Fi favorite of mine. Chris Panatier wrote that gem and it landed him on my list of "Read Everything By This Author Forever And Ever, AMEN" list, which is why I picked up THE REDEMPTION OF MORGAN BRIGHT.
I knew Panatier could write great science fiction, so I set the bar high for his stab at horror, especially when I discovered the setting would be an asylum.
THE REDEMPTION OF MORGAN BRIGHT exceeded my expectations.
You know how "the big twist" in psychological thrillers generally occur near the end or is the ending? This book. Y'all. This story starts with a twist and it never stops the spiral. You know what got under my skin and scared me the most? When this sucker was at the pinnacle of the Mountain of Crazy - it started to make sense, the crazy seemed logical.
Chris Panatier achieved pure excellence with the creation of Morgan Bright on the page. THE REDEMPTION OF MORGAN BRIGHT has a distinct gothic feel to it, which is a horror story that is slower in pace, focus is on the suspense and intrigue. The danger in these types is the slower pace can leave your readers bored. Panatier avoids this pitfall by artfully switching between past and present to unfold the events that took place at Hollyhock Asylum and cleverly interspersed different types of writing styles. Between chapters from Morgan, there are police interviews, research articles and text conversations, which served to keep my interest piqued and allowed me to fly through this book in two days.
Asylums are one of my favorite settings for horror or psychological thrillers and Hollyhock is no exception. An asylum makes it so easy to create an appropriate atmosphere - especially if you're a reader like me, you have an immediate fear reaction just imagining the place. Panatier adds a level of intrigue with the revelation that Hollyhock had been previously shut down for experimenting on its patients.
The plot is confusing, ever-changing....and brilliant. It was an intricate exploration of the human condition - guilt, love of family, addiction, morality, conflict, autonomy - it was fascinating. I will absolutely reread THE REDEMPTION OF MORGAN BRIGHT to see if I'm able to identify indicators of events that occur throughout the book. Plus, it's just too good not to read again. I'm in awe of Panatier's artistry in crafting this tale, especially the literary theme regarding the reproductive rights of women.
If you don't typically read Author's Notes, Forewards or Afterwords, please consider reading the Afterword the author included at the end of this book.
It's always a good day when the author of one of your favorite books of all time delivers another stellar title to your favorites list.
If you prefer watching video reviews, I do have a BookTube Channel
A heartfelt thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for their support towards my enthusiasm for reading and reviewing!
Special thanks to my highest level Patrons: Ev, Amanda L., Sharon, Andrew, Star, Kate, Gail, Amanda F., Lourdes, Tara, John, Ann, Chad K., Ashley E., & Jennifer M.
January 29, 2024
Summary: Hadleigh Keene's mysterious death haunts her sister, Morgan, who blames herself. A year later, with the case unsolved, Morgan assumes a new identity—Charlotte Turner—and infiltrates Hollyhock Asylum. But this is no ordinary psychiatric facility. Strange routines, peculiar episodes, and the emergence of Charlotte as a distinct entity blur the lines between reality and illusion.
Pros:
🌟 Five stars for a WTF journey that defies genre norms! Panatier crafts a story that's as intricate as a spider's web and as unsettling as a haunted house.
✅ Unreliable narrator? Check. Eerie atmosphere? Double-check. Dark and multi-layered storytelling? Triple-check. Chris Panatier doesn't just tell a story; he immerses readers in an atmospheric, psychological playground.
🎭 The duality of Morgan and Charlotte adds layers of complexity to the story, blurring the boundaries between identities. It's a rollercoaster of twists and turns that keeps readers guessing until the final page.
Cons:
📘 If you seek a straightforward story or refuse to be challenged by the unknown, this book might not be your cup of tea. But hey, where's the fun in predictability?
📚 In conclusion, "The Redemption of Morgan Bright" is a literary rollercoaster that defies expectations and embraces the shadows of the mind. Chris Panatier's storytelling prowess shines, leaving readers exhilarated, disturbed, and craving more. A triumphant exploration of guilt, identity, and the blurred lines of reality! 🎭📜
Disclaimer: A massive thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the eARC! Opinions here are as uniquely mine as Hollyhock's peculiar routines. 🏰🔍
Pros:
🌟 Five stars for a WTF journey that defies genre norms! Panatier crafts a story that's as intricate as a spider's web and as unsettling as a haunted house.
✅ Unreliable narrator? Check. Eerie atmosphere? Double-check. Dark and multi-layered storytelling? Triple-check. Chris Panatier doesn't just tell a story; he immerses readers in an atmospheric, psychological playground.
🎭 The duality of Morgan and Charlotte adds layers of complexity to the story, blurring the boundaries between identities. It's a rollercoaster of twists and turns that keeps readers guessing until the final page.
Cons:
📘 If you seek a straightforward story or refuse to be challenged by the unknown, this book might not be your cup of tea. But hey, where's the fun in predictability?
📚 In conclusion, "The Redemption of Morgan Bright" is a literary rollercoaster that defies expectations and embraces the shadows of the mind. Chris Panatier's storytelling prowess shines, leaving readers exhilarated, disturbed, and craving more. A triumphant exploration of guilt, identity, and the blurred lines of reality! 🎭📜
Disclaimer: A massive thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the eARC! Opinions here are as uniquely mine as Hollyhock's peculiar routines. 🏰🔍
October 30, 2024
I have mixed feelings about this one. I don’t want to say much about the plot. I always read book summaries, but in this case, I think I would have been better off not having read the summary. I recommend that you go into the book blind. I think I would have been only mildly confused and pleasantly surprised by the story if I didn’t know what was going on from the summary. I think the summary information only confused me more than necessary.
This story takes place in an asylum for women. It is interspersed with various transcripts, text messages and police interviews about the events. While it takes place at an unspecified future time, it feels like it takes place in the fifties or earlier with the attitudes to women’s place in the home and husbands having the ability to commit their wives with a diagnosis of domestic psychosis.
It’s scary feeling to face the idea that women’s rights are regressing. I feel like there is an important message here and I really liked the concept of this story. Unfortunately, a majority of the novel is from the point of view of a character that felt like she drank the Kool-Aid, if you know what I mean, and it annoyed me. I really enjoyed the police interviews. The detective in charge of the case was probably my favorite character because his following of the events resonated with my feelings as a reader.
Limited recommendation to readers that enjoy psychological suspense and ambiguous tension combined with the exploration of women’s rights.
Thank you to Netgalley and Angry Robot for a copy provided for an honest review.
This story takes place in an asylum for women. It is interspersed with various transcripts, text messages and police interviews about the events. While it takes place at an unspecified future time, it feels like it takes place in the fifties or earlier with the attitudes to women’s place in the home and husbands having the ability to commit their wives with a diagnosis of domestic psychosis.
It’s scary feeling to face the idea that women’s rights are regressing. I feel like there is an important message here and I really liked the concept of this story. Unfortunately, a majority of the novel is from the point of view of a character that felt like she drank the Kool-Aid, if you know what I mean, and it annoyed me. I really enjoyed the police interviews. The detective in charge of the case was probably my favorite character because his following of the events resonated with my feelings as a reader.
Limited recommendation to readers that enjoy psychological suspense and ambiguous tension combined with the exploration of women’s rights.
Thank you to Netgalley and Angry Robot for a copy provided for an honest review.
July 2, 2024
Book Blog | Bookstagram
I..... what??
Talk about a mindfuck.
Hadleigh Keene died at Hollyhock Asylum, and no one knows why. A year after her death, her younger sister and perpetual fuckup, Morgan, creates a false identity — that of a trouble housewife — and checks herself into Hollyhock. What she discovers inside is a twisted acid trip, of weird pregnancy shit and gooey things and mental fractures. I couldn’t even begin to explain it to you, honestly.
This is not what I expected this novel to be, and I think that threw me. But my rating comes down to the fact that I’m not sure if I totally understood what was happening 45% of the time.
There’s something important here about a woman’s bodily autonomy and having control to make her own choices, all wrapped up in a horror asylum setting. But the middle is slow, the pacing is uneven, and the supernatural elements are unexpected. I was expecting more mystery, less super weird shit…
But whatever, it was still (mostly) entertaining. This is bizarre feminist horror that can be unsettling, and it’s definitely a prescient horror read for our current social climate, where women’s rights are under attack from every conceivable corner.
VOTE.
The vibe for this one:
⭐⭐⭐½ | 3.5 stars rounded up
Book Source: Netgalley in exchange for a review
I..... what??
Talk about a mindfuck.
Hadleigh Keene died at Hollyhock Asylum, and no one knows why. A year after her death, her younger sister and perpetual fuckup, Morgan, creates a false identity — that of a trouble housewife — and checks herself into Hollyhock. What she discovers inside is a twisted acid trip, of weird pregnancy shit and gooey things and mental fractures. I couldn’t even begin to explain it to you, honestly.
This is not what I expected this novel to be, and I think that threw me. But my rating comes down to the fact that I’m not sure if I totally understood what was happening 45% of the time.
There’s something important here about a woman’s bodily autonomy and having control to make her own choices, all wrapped up in a horror asylum setting. But the middle is slow, the pacing is uneven, and the supernatural elements are unexpected. I was expecting more mystery, less super weird shit…
But whatever, it was still (mostly) entertaining. This is bizarre feminist horror that can be unsettling, and it’s definitely a prescient horror read for our current social climate, where women’s rights are under attack from every conceivable corner.
VOTE.
The vibe for this one:
⭐⭐⭐½ | 3.5 stars rounded up
Book Source: Netgalley in exchange for a review
April 28, 2024
Review originally on
JamReads
The Redemption of Morgan Bright is a gothic horror novel, written by Chris Panatier and published by Angry Robot Books. With a style that mixes the own narration with different documents such as police registries, news and phone calls, Panatier weaves a complex story which blends mystery with horror and that encloses a powerful message about body autonomy and guilt.
Morgan's sister, Hadleigh, died on the road leading away from Hollyhock Asylum; the reasons are unknown, but Morgan blames herself. Moved by guilt, she decides to create the identity of Charlotte Turner, a trouble housewife, who is entered into Hollyhock under the diagnosis of domestic hysteria; soon she discovers there's something off in the Asylum, leading to strange episodes.
In the best way of psychological horror, Panatier slowly builds the setting, introducing small elements that are off and that point towards a bigger secret that we must unveil; a reflection of Morgan's experience. To add salt to the wound, not only Morgan is having a complicated time in the Asylum, but we can see how Charlotte starts gaining its own sentience, an escalation of what it was supposed to be a simple 30 days stay in the Asylum.
I don't really want to enter into spoilers, outside of assuring you that Panatier's prose does an excellent job at painting unsettling images from Morgan's visions; the atmosphere is simply superb, taking a classic horror setting but elevating it a step more. It is also worth to put the focus on the excellent message that is hidden behind the words, a revindication of body autonomy, portraying how also women have always been (and still are) harmed by the prejudices that are still rooted in medical science.
The Redemption of Morgan Bright is a perfect novel if you are looking for an excellent gothic horror with mystery and psychological elements; a compelling story that will keep you glued to the page.
The Redemption of Morgan Bright is a gothic horror novel, written by Chris Panatier and published by Angry Robot Books. With a style that mixes the own narration with different documents such as police registries, news and phone calls, Panatier weaves a complex story which blends mystery with horror and that encloses a powerful message about body autonomy and guilt.
Morgan's sister, Hadleigh, died on the road leading away from Hollyhock Asylum; the reasons are unknown, but Morgan blames herself. Moved by guilt, she decides to create the identity of Charlotte Turner, a trouble housewife, who is entered into Hollyhock under the diagnosis of domestic hysteria; soon she discovers there's something off in the Asylum, leading to strange episodes.
In the best way of psychological horror, Panatier slowly builds the setting, introducing small elements that are off and that point towards a bigger secret that we must unveil; a reflection of Morgan's experience. To add salt to the wound, not only Morgan is having a complicated time in the Asylum, but we can see how Charlotte starts gaining its own sentience, an escalation of what it was supposed to be a simple 30 days stay in the Asylum.
I don't really want to enter into spoilers, outside of assuring you that Panatier's prose does an excellent job at painting unsettling images from Morgan's visions; the atmosphere is simply superb, taking a classic horror setting but elevating it a step more. It is also worth to put the focus on the excellent message that is hidden behind the words, a revindication of body autonomy, portraying how also women have always been (and still are) harmed by the prejudices that are still rooted in medical science.
The Redemption of Morgan Bright is a perfect novel if you are looking for an excellent gothic horror with mystery and psychological elements; a compelling story that will keep you glued to the page.
May 21, 2024
This is a beautifully told story that reveals layer after layer of bizarre complexity and horror. At times, jaw-dropping, at others gag-inducing, but always gripping, this is the story of a woman enveloped by grief and guilt that finds herself in a perpetual nightmare. I want everyone to read this book. And now I'm off to read everything else Chris has written so far...
Read
December 29, 2025This book was quite odd. I enjoyed most of the story but my only quibble is that it could have been shortened a bit. I was confused most of the time. However, I think I understood what I read lol. I need to think on my rating.
September 4, 2023
To be honest, I'm not even entirely certain what I read here. And it's very rare for me that this is a good thing. There's something truly brilliant about this book, and since I finished it, it's been rattling in the back of my mind like Marley and his chains. I cannot shake the unease of what's buried in these pages, and very much like Morgan's own mind with its fractured spikes of memory and layers of pain and sheer anguish, I am not entirely sure what is reality and what isn't.
This book is terrifying. And I need to read it again.
Like with my other reviews of horror books written by white, cis-presenting men, I always go into their pages with trepidation and are rarely pleased with the end result. This book delighted me from the very first page, and never, ever did I believe Panatier was using the womens' stories as fodder for some creepy, truly weird obsession with women as sexual objects. Honestly, this book is a fucking breath of fresh air, and Panatier is an author to watch.
All that being said, reviewing this book is rather difficult because I'm NOT sure what I read but I know it's bloody brilliant. I cannot recommend this book enough.
This book is terrifying. And I need to read it again.
Like with my other reviews of horror books written by white, cis-presenting men, I always go into their pages with trepidation and are rarely pleased with the end result. This book delighted me from the very first page, and never, ever did I believe Panatier was using the womens' stories as fodder for some creepy, truly weird obsession with women as sexual objects. Honestly, this book is a fucking breath of fresh air, and Panatier is an author to watch.
All that being said, reviewing this book is rather difficult because I'm NOT sure what I read but I know it's bloody brilliant. I cannot recommend this book enough.
June 6, 2024
After her sister Hadleigh Keene dies after leaving Hollyhock Asylum, main character Morgan Bright is consumed with grief and guilt. Hadleigh was sent there because she was suffering mental health issues. (Notably, domestic psychosis, which, oddly enough, only women are diagnosed with….) Hadleigh's case has never been solved by police.
At the story's open, a year later, Charlotte Turner is interviewed by Detective Abram Gastrell. Charlotte is the only survivor of Hollyhock Asylum, which no longer exists. Charlotte had been at the asylum because her husband wanted her to receive counselling for her mental distress, so that on her return they could start a family.
Then, Gastrell accidentally discovers that Charlotte is actually Morgan, who had checked herself into the asylum so she could find out what happened to her sister. Morgan relates how the inmates are all women who are there for domestic psychosis, or the like. The women are monitored constantly, and receive strange treatments, with all experiencing hallucinations. And a few seem to have disappeared.
Interestingly, while a few of the women seem to be resisting the conditioning, assumed identity Charlotte seems on board. Morgan, meanwhile, is trying her best to overcome the asylum's treatments. But Charlotte seems to be growing in strength daily, doing her best to keep Morgan frustrated and fighting but not in control of her body or mind. And during all this, Charlotte/Morgan gradually discovers what the horrifying goal behind the women's bizarre treatments at Hollyhock.
This is a difficult story to review, but not because it was bad. Rather, I really liked this, but needed to let my feelings and thoughts coalesce into something coherent, especially after that end.
Author Chris Panatier has created a deeply unsettling story of a woman barely tethered to reality, who has a past filled with addiction and jealousy for her older sister Hadleigh. But that's not what is actually unsettling. The following all make this story much darker: the number of women surrendered by their partners to the asylum because of bogus mental maladies, the beneficial, but really, quack treatments they receive, the ease with which they disappear, and the lack of interest subsequently.
Panatier's premise for the story, of women, at the behest of the men in their lives, are diagnosed by their doctors and sent to asylums for dubious treatments, echoes historical situations when men could send the troublesome women in their lives (mothers, wives, sisters, daughters) away to asylums, never to leave.
Morgan should not be a trustworthy protagonist. She already has a history of causing trouble in her family and later her sister's life, and of getting into addiction-related problems. Yet she undertakes a risky plan out of love and obligation, to determine what happened to Hadleigh, but finds herself losing herself in the process.
Over the course of the novel, through text exchanges with Hadleigh prior to her sister's death, and interviews with Gastrell, we see that Morgan is an unreliable narrator of what she experienced at Hollyhock. Her descent into deep confusion and rage, alternating with Charlotte's perkiness and unquestioning adherence to her role as a happy homemaker, is chilling. We remain uncertain of what really happened, thanks to the complex, layered and twisty storytelling of this skilled author. And then, Panatier delivers a shock at the end, which explains certain things, but leaves you with more horror.
This story was tragic, infuriating, and horrifying, and so well done.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Angry Robot for this ARC in exchange for my review.
At the story's open, a year later, Charlotte Turner is interviewed by Detective Abram Gastrell. Charlotte is the only survivor of Hollyhock Asylum, which no longer exists. Charlotte had been at the asylum because her husband wanted her to receive counselling for her mental distress, so that on her return they could start a family.
Then, Gastrell accidentally discovers that Charlotte is actually Morgan, who had checked herself into the asylum so she could find out what happened to her sister. Morgan relates how the inmates are all women who are there for domestic psychosis, or the like. The women are monitored constantly, and receive strange treatments, with all experiencing hallucinations. And a few seem to have disappeared.
Interestingly, while a few of the women seem to be resisting the conditioning, assumed identity Charlotte seems on board. Morgan, meanwhile, is trying her best to overcome the asylum's treatments. But Charlotte seems to be growing in strength daily, doing her best to keep Morgan frustrated and fighting but not in control of her body or mind. And during all this, Charlotte/Morgan gradually discovers what the horrifying goal behind the women's bizarre treatments at Hollyhock.
This is a difficult story to review, but not because it was bad. Rather, I really liked this, but needed to let my feelings and thoughts coalesce into something coherent, especially after that end.
Author Chris Panatier has created a deeply unsettling story of a woman barely tethered to reality, who has a past filled with addiction and jealousy for her older sister Hadleigh. But that's not what is actually unsettling. The following all make this story much darker: the number of women surrendered by their partners to the asylum because of bogus mental maladies, the beneficial, but really, quack treatments they receive, the ease with which they disappear, and the lack of interest subsequently.
Panatier's premise for the story, of women, at the behest of the men in their lives, are diagnosed by their doctors and sent to asylums for dubious treatments, echoes historical situations when men could send the troublesome women in their lives (mothers, wives, sisters, daughters) away to asylums, never to leave.
Morgan should not be a trustworthy protagonist. She already has a history of causing trouble in her family and later her sister's life, and of getting into addiction-related problems. Yet she undertakes a risky plan out of love and obligation, to determine what happened to Hadleigh, but finds herself losing herself in the process.
Over the course of the novel, through text exchanges with Hadleigh prior to her sister's death, and interviews with Gastrell, we see that Morgan is an unreliable narrator of what she experienced at Hollyhock. Her descent into deep confusion and rage, alternating with Charlotte's perkiness and unquestioning adherence to her role as a happy homemaker, is chilling. We remain uncertain of what really happened, thanks to the complex, layered and twisty storytelling of this skilled author. And then, Panatier delivers a shock at the end, which explains certain things, but leaves you with more horror.
This story was tragic, infuriating, and horrifying, and so well done.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Angry Robot for this ARC in exchange for my review.
April 13, 2024
WTAF was THAT🤷♀️
Why did Morgan want a moving box at the end??
So I want to start talking about this now, but my blog tour date isn't until early May so, I will have to come back to this😅
Psychological horror fans this is for you
Why did Morgan want a moving box at the end??
So I want to start talking about this now, but my blog tour date isn't until early May so, I will have to come back to this😅
Psychological horror fans this is for you
December 16, 2025
„Odkupienie Morgan Bright”, to wiwisekcja ludzkiego umysłu, jego kruchości i niestabilności. Cała historia opiera się na tytułowej postaci, która to po śmierci siostry wpada w okropne poczucie winy, wpędzające ją w stan głębokiego smutku. Hadleigh Keene zmarła wracając ze Szpitala Psychiatrycznego Hollyhock, a przyczyny tego nieszczęśliwego zdarzenia pozostają nieznane. Nierozwiązana sprawa nie pozwala Morgan spać w spokoju, tworzy więc ona genialny w swoim mniemaniu plan rozwikłania tajemnicy i pod zupełnie wymyśloną postacią wkracza w szeregi pacjentek Hollyhock. Z każdym kolejnym dniem jej wykreowane alter ego tj. posłuszna małżonka z psychozą domową, zaczęła przejmować jej prawdziwe, wewnętrzne ja. Doprowadzając tym samym Morgan na skraj szaleństwa, Charlotte zdaje się nie tylko żyć jej życiem, ale dominuje nad swoją prawowitą „właścicielką”. Przejmuje jej myśli, kradnie chwile i wspomnienia, tworząc w głowie Morgan liczne fugi dysocjacyjne...
Rozdwojenie jaźni, czyli osobowość wieloraka jest tutaj głównym motywem, z którego Chris Panatier postanowił rozbudować złożony h0rror psychologiczny opierający się na traumie, tęsknocie, poczuciu winy i wyrzutach sumienia. Krucha psychika Morgan jest punktem wyjściowym prowadzącym nas w kierunku odkrycia mrocznych sekretów Hollyhock. Okazuje się, że w tym przybytku sporo rytuałów odbiega od normy, doprowadzając tym samym naszą główną bohaterkę na skraj irracjonalności. Pobyt w szpitalu się przedłuża, wymyka spod kontroli, a szaleńcze wizje zacierają granicę między jawą, a przywidzeniami. Oniryczne obrazy momentami przysłaniają pogląd na to, co rzeczywiste, wprowadzając ogromne poczucie chaosu i utraty panowania nad narracją, co odzwierciedla stan panujący w umyśle Morgan.
Narracja sporządzona jest w sposób niezwykle ciekawy - mamy tutaj przede wszystkim POV Morgan/Charlotte przebywających na oddziale opieki psychiatrycznej, które żonglują swoimi zeznaniami mieszając w głowach czytelnikom, wymianę korespondencji między siostrami, jak również policyjne przesłuchanie. Ten urozmaicony zabieg narracyjny nadaje tempa powieści psychologicznej (które często lubią być monotonne - a tutaj zdecydowanie tak nie jest!) i trzyma w zainteresowaniu do ostatnich stron.
"Odkupienie Morgan Bright" oblepia psychotycznym, ciężkim klimatem, przerzucając na czytelnika ogromny ciężar emocjonalny poprzez nawarstwienie paranoicznych wydarzeń i onirycznych wizji. Pacjentki szpitala dzielą się z naszą główną bohaterką licznymi brudnymi sprawunkami ze swojej przeszłości, a ona sama wciąż pozostaje dla nas ogromną zagadką. Ten h0rror należy do tych nieszablonowych, uderzających raczej swoim rzeczywistym wydźwiękiem i wciąż aktualnym ciężarem problematyki, aniżeli siłami nadnaturalnymi. Tych tutaj również nie brak, lecz to człowiek po raz kolejny udowadnia, iż skłonny jest do wyrządzenia najgorszego zła i manipulacji inną jednostką dla spełnienia swoich chorych żądz.
www.suspensebooks.pl
ig @suspense_books
Rozdwojenie jaźni, czyli osobowość wieloraka jest tutaj głównym motywem, z którego Chris Panatier postanowił rozbudować złożony h0rror psychologiczny opierający się na traumie, tęsknocie, poczuciu winy i wyrzutach sumienia. Krucha psychika Morgan jest punktem wyjściowym prowadzącym nas w kierunku odkrycia mrocznych sekretów Hollyhock. Okazuje się, że w tym przybytku sporo rytuałów odbiega od normy, doprowadzając tym samym naszą główną bohaterkę na skraj irracjonalności. Pobyt w szpitalu się przedłuża, wymyka spod kontroli, a szaleńcze wizje zacierają granicę między jawą, a przywidzeniami. Oniryczne obrazy momentami przysłaniają pogląd na to, co rzeczywiste, wprowadzając ogromne poczucie chaosu i utraty panowania nad narracją, co odzwierciedla stan panujący w umyśle Morgan.
Narracja sporządzona jest w sposób niezwykle ciekawy - mamy tutaj przede wszystkim POV Morgan/Charlotte przebywających na oddziale opieki psychiatrycznej, które żonglują swoimi zeznaniami mieszając w głowach czytelnikom, wymianę korespondencji między siostrami, jak również policyjne przesłuchanie. Ten urozmaicony zabieg narracyjny nadaje tempa powieści psychologicznej (które często lubią być monotonne - a tutaj zdecydowanie tak nie jest!) i trzyma w zainteresowaniu do ostatnich stron.
"Odkupienie Morgan Bright" oblepia psychotycznym, ciężkim klimatem, przerzucając na czytelnika ogromny ciężar emocjonalny poprzez nawarstwienie paranoicznych wydarzeń i onirycznych wizji. Pacjentki szpitala dzielą się z naszą główną bohaterką licznymi brudnymi sprawunkami ze swojej przeszłości, a ona sama wciąż pozostaje dla nas ogromną zagadką. Ten h0rror należy do tych nieszablonowych, uderzających raczej swoim rzeczywistym wydźwiękiem i wciąż aktualnym ciężarem problematyki, aniżeli siłami nadnaturalnymi. Tych tutaj również nie brak, lecz to człowiek po raz kolejny udowadnia, iż skłonny jest do wyrządzenia najgorszego zła i manipulacji inną jednostką dla spełnienia swoich chorych żądz.
www.suspensebooks.pl
ig @suspense_books
July 13, 2024
**4.5⭐**
This is a book I'll be thinking about for a long time. It's not something I will probably ever fully grasp, but I loved the experience. It's the same way I feel about Donnie Darko, Fight Club, The Blackcoat's Daughter, American Psycho, The Voices, Black Swan, Antiviral, Braid, etc. - psychological stories about identity that I'm drawn to over and over even though I don't always have a perfect understanding of them.
I listened to the audiobook, and while the production/performance were great, this is not a linear story, and it was difficult to follow at times on audio. I had to rewind multiple times, and found myself wishing I would have read a physical copy or ebook instead. I imagine it's a little easier to process that way.
I was impressed by the author's ability to write a cast of mostly women characters because it definitely doesn't always turn out well with horror written by men (and I actually didn't know this was written by a man until I went to the author page at some point while listening, and that's definitely a nice change).
The mental health storylines were handled respectfully, and I was also happy about that since it doesn't always come across that way in horror stories.
This is a strange and confusing book, but it's a good one.
This is a book I'll be thinking about for a long time. It's not something I will probably ever fully grasp, but I loved the experience. It's the same way I feel about Donnie Darko, Fight Club, The Blackcoat's Daughter, American Psycho, The Voices, Black Swan, Antiviral, Braid, etc. - psychological stories about identity that I'm drawn to over and over even though I don't always have a perfect understanding of them.
I listened to the audiobook, and while the production/performance were great, this is not a linear story, and it was difficult to follow at times on audio. I had to rewind multiple times, and found myself wishing I would have read a physical copy or ebook instead. I imagine it's a little easier to process that way.
I was impressed by the author's ability to write a cast of mostly women characters because it definitely doesn't always turn out well with horror written by men (and I actually didn't know this was written by a man until I went to the author page at some point while listening, and that's definitely a nice change).
The mental health storylines were handled respectfully, and I was also happy about that since it doesn't always come across that way in horror stories.
This is a strange and confusing book, but it's a good one.
December 28, 2025
3.5 rounding up.
I enjoyed the first half more than the second, still haven’t read anything quite like it.
I enjoyed the first half more than the second, still haven’t read anything quite like it.
May 15, 2024
This is a very very creepy and unsettling book LOL. Like the setting alone - an asylum - is already enough to make things creepy lol.
I love the writing in this, it has a mix of the story and then interviews and articles about what happened after. I love stories that mix in different media into the book to tell the story, it’s always so cool. I think the pacing of this one and the way the story was mixed with the interviews was so well done.
If you're looking for unsettling horror definitely don't miss out on giving this one a try.
I received a copy for a book tour with the publisher. My thoughts are my own.
I love the writing in this, it has a mix of the story and then interviews and articles about what happened after. I love stories that mix in different media into the book to tell the story, it’s always so cool. I think the pacing of this one and the way the story was mixed with the interviews was so well done.
If you're looking for unsettling horror definitely don't miss out on giving this one a try.
I received a copy for a book tour with the publisher. My thoughts are my own.
February 9, 2025
This book started out very weird, original and creepy. Ended as run of the mill pregnancy body horror. Not really my thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
February 23, 2024N.B. I do not rate on Goodreads.
First of all I love the cover and back matter, and those are what drew me in. An asylum setting is always a winner as far as I'm concerned.
The novel is part epistolary, with excerpts of transcriptions, text messages and historical documents related to the asylum itself which provide valuable insight into what lies beneath the actual story.
One of my favourite movies is A Cure For Wellness, and this has a similar vibe in that the story is NOT your straightforward/predictable tale of someone with mental health issues but something far deeper that includes supernatural elements and keeps the reader guessing. Which brings me on to my next point...if you're expecting the former (i.e. a simple scary story set in an asylum) then you might be disappointed, because this is anything but. The Redemption of Morgan Bright is far more complex. I would describe it as 'a trip of a tale that depicts the nightmarish fervour of the treatment of DID in a uniquely handled way, leaving the reader uncertain of the outcome right to the end.'
There were moments during the reading where I needed to pause and consider the character's plight as well as other things, such as how compliant we are as a species in our interactions with those in authority, how conditioned and unquestioning. It's a terrifying thought, and at times it made me feel claustrophobic.
Of course, the main character is an unreliable narrator, and if you're the kind of reader who requires every question answered and every box ticked it might not be the one for you. However, if you enjoy a challenge and a story that leaves you to consider the reality (if such a thing exists) of what happened, then I highly recommend you read it.
A final note before I finish: An aspect I particularly enjoyed was the use of metaphorical imagery throughout. It provided a surreal mood to the writing, which I personally enjoy.
My thanks to the author and publisher (Angry Robot) for providing an ARC of this novel via Netgalley.
First of all I love the cover and back matter, and those are what drew me in. An asylum setting is always a winner as far as I'm concerned.
The novel is part epistolary, with excerpts of transcriptions, text messages and historical documents related to the asylum itself which provide valuable insight into what lies beneath the actual story.
One of my favourite movies is A Cure For Wellness, and this has a similar vibe in that the story is NOT your straightforward/predictable tale of someone with mental health issues but something far deeper that includes supernatural elements and keeps the reader guessing. Which brings me on to my next point...if you're expecting the former (i.e. a simple scary story set in an asylum) then you might be disappointed, because this is anything but. The Redemption of Morgan Bright is far more complex. I would describe it as 'a trip of a tale that depicts the nightmarish fervour of the treatment of DID in a uniquely handled way, leaving the reader uncertain of the outcome right to the end.'
There were moments during the reading where I needed to pause and consider the character's plight as well as other things, such as how compliant we are as a species in our interactions with those in authority, how conditioned and unquestioning. It's a terrifying thought, and at times it made me feel claustrophobic.
Of course, the main character is an unreliable narrator, and if you're the kind of reader who requires every question answered and every box ticked it might not be the one for you. However, if you enjoy a challenge and a story that leaves you to consider the reality (if such a thing exists) of what happened, then I highly recommend you read it.
A final note before I finish: An aspect I particularly enjoyed was the use of metaphorical imagery throughout. It provided a surreal mood to the writing, which I personally enjoy.
My thanks to the author and publisher (Angry Robot) for providing an ARC of this novel via Netgalley.
November 22, 2025
It’s so hard for me to put my feelings into words about this book. Beautiful, heart wrenching, and layered are but a few. I had no idea what I was in for when I started this book, but Chris, you hooked me immediately ! Family secrets, coping mechanisms and women’s rights are some of the themes of this book. My heart ached for Morgan, and all of the women. The female voices were so real I can’t believe a woman didn’t write them. This is the story of Morgan who is on a quest to find the truth, whether if it’s the truth she seeks or not. I feel like she was a good friend that I was consoling the whole book, and wanted her to feel whole again. I cannot recommend this book enough, it is just mind blowing. Also, I forgot to note that this man made me do research! I’ve only done that for two other books before, the reformatory and Whalefall. This book imho is in the same league.
November 9, 2023
This book is fantastic and will suck you in quickly. Chris has a bright future in horror. Here’s my blurb for the book.
A powerful new voice in horror, Panatier skillfully delivers a mind bending tale that blurs the line between reality and insanity while leaving readers to distinguish fact from fiction. An enthralling story that I didn’t want to put down, I’ll be thinking about this one for some time to come.
A powerful new voice in horror, Panatier skillfully delivers a mind bending tale that blurs the line between reality and insanity while leaving readers to distinguish fact from fiction. An enthralling story that I didn’t want to put down, I’ll be thinking about this one for some time to come.
July 24, 2024
What in the haunted cult mental health hospital is this? It was gross. It was confusing. It was not okay.
May 14, 2024
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for a fair review!
I was really excited about it, and I was right to be so, as this book is absolutely fantastic. It’s a thriller meets horror meets social commentary that uses an engaging structure to take the unreliable narrator trope and ramp it up to eleven.
The book uses a mix of police interviews, text exchanges, and first-person point-of-view narration to tell the story. This is a great structure because it makes the story fly by, yet also keeps you grounded, as without the interspersed moments in the present, the main story could get very lofty and almost too confusing. The novel deals with a common trope in psychological horror/thriller that often gets too weird for its own good, but it’s created and functions here in a way that not only allows for an unreliable narrator and the main plot to flow well together, but reinforces the message behind the story in a way that feels organic.
And what a message. This book is about bodily autonomy, it’s about the rollback of women’s rights in the United States (especially regarding Roe vs Wade), and it’s about how, not too long ago, women could be put into an asylum and essentially tortured just for not conforming to society or their husband’s standards. It’s also a story about betrayals, mistakes, trauma, sibling rivalry, and drug addiction. There’s a lot here.
It’s extremely compelling - I couldn’t put it down. The mystery behind what is going on at the asylum is constantly lurking in the background, even when the characters are focused on something else momentarily, and the author does a fantastic job of making you understand why everyone seems complacent or complicit. It’s engrossing and, at times, harrowing.
The novel carries a gothic atmosphere with a mix of 1950s and late 1800s elements woven into what is a contemporary novel. This sense of feeling almost “back in time” adds to the narrator’s dilemma and contributes to the oozing anxiety and eerieness behind the novel. While there are moments of horror, most of the novel is quite tame in that it’s more insidious than outright menacing - it really starts to ramp up near the end though. As such, this isn’t a ‘woman locked in a mental institution and constantly abused story’, but something else entirely. The writing is absolutely lovely, a compelling mix of descriptive and lyrical, with emotion just gushing from the page. He’s adept at bringing us into the story in a memetic way, where we are just as invested in Morgan as we are in Charlotte, given how confused the two become.
The mystery’s resolution was wild and unexpected. In truth, this novel twists and turns in ways that you really don’t expect. The novel is claustrophobic, confounding, creepy, and confining. It’s also an allegory of how society still controls women, and the fact that a man wrote this is really impressive. While there are great women characters created by men, often when men write about women’s inner lives so deeply, they miss some of the nuances of being a woman even if their heart’s in the right place, but this novel absolutely nails it. I kept forgetting this book was written by a dude despite having a signed copy of said dude’s other book! I found it a mark of allyship, and it’s always heartening to know that men care so much about women’s autonomy. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that, especially with some of the nonsense you see online.
You can also read the novel entirely at face value - the themes are obvious when you think about it but subtle if you’re there just for the ride.
If you couldn’t tell, I thought this novel was an absolute 10/10. There was nothing I’d change about it. It’s intelligent, exciting, horrific, pulse-pounding, and sad. I wish I could read again anew.
Thank you again to Angry Robot for the review copy.
I was really excited about it, and I was right to be so, as this book is absolutely fantastic. It’s a thriller meets horror meets social commentary that uses an engaging structure to take the unreliable narrator trope and ramp it up to eleven.
The book uses a mix of police interviews, text exchanges, and first-person point-of-view narration to tell the story. This is a great structure because it makes the story fly by, yet also keeps you grounded, as without the interspersed moments in the present, the main story could get very lofty and almost too confusing. The novel deals with a common trope in psychological horror/thriller that often gets too weird for its own good, but it’s created and functions here in a way that not only allows for an unreliable narrator and the main plot to flow well together, but reinforces the message behind the story in a way that feels organic.
And what a message. This book is about bodily autonomy, it’s about the rollback of women’s rights in the United States (especially regarding Roe vs Wade), and it’s about how, not too long ago, women could be put into an asylum and essentially tortured just for not conforming to society or their husband’s standards. It’s also a story about betrayals, mistakes, trauma, sibling rivalry, and drug addiction. There’s a lot here.
It’s extremely compelling - I couldn’t put it down. The mystery behind what is going on at the asylum is constantly lurking in the background, even when the characters are focused on something else momentarily, and the author does a fantastic job of making you understand why everyone seems complacent or complicit. It’s engrossing and, at times, harrowing.
The novel carries a gothic atmosphere with a mix of 1950s and late 1800s elements woven into what is a contemporary novel. This sense of feeling almost “back in time” adds to the narrator’s dilemma and contributes to the oozing anxiety and eerieness behind the novel. While there are moments of horror, most of the novel is quite tame in that it’s more insidious than outright menacing - it really starts to ramp up near the end though. As such, this isn’t a ‘woman locked in a mental institution and constantly abused story’, but something else entirely. The writing is absolutely lovely, a compelling mix of descriptive and lyrical, with emotion just gushing from the page. He’s adept at bringing us into the story in a memetic way, where we are just as invested in Morgan as we are in Charlotte, given how confused the two become.
The mystery’s resolution was wild and unexpected. In truth, this novel twists and turns in ways that you really don’t expect. The novel is claustrophobic, confounding, creepy, and confining. It’s also an allegory of how society still controls women, and the fact that a man wrote this is really impressive. While there are great women characters created by men, often when men write about women’s inner lives so deeply, they miss some of the nuances of being a woman even if their heart’s in the right place, but this novel absolutely nails it. I kept forgetting this book was written by a dude despite having a signed copy of said dude’s other book! I found it a mark of allyship, and it’s always heartening to know that men care so much about women’s autonomy. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that, especially with some of the nonsense you see online.
You can also read the novel entirely at face value - the themes are obvious when you think about it but subtle if you’re there just for the ride.
If you couldn’t tell, I thought this novel was an absolute 10/10. There was nothing I’d change about it. It’s intelligent, exciting, horrific, pulse-pounding, and sad. I wish I could read again anew.
Thank you again to Angry Robot for the review copy.
April 8, 2024
The nitty-gritty: Unsettling and eerie, Chris Panatier's latest is a skillfully written story that delves into the horrors of psychiatric care gone wrong.
“Charlotte lurks at the edge of my thoughts, pulling strings in the shadows of my psyche. She is my creation, not the other way around. I say it aloud when I’m alone. But I’m not alone, am I?”
If anyone can come up with a completely original story combining asylum and pregnancy horror, it’s Chris Panatier, one of the most unique genre writers around. The Redemption of Morgan Bright is weird, upsetting, and gross (at times), with an eerie Gothic sensibility and a couple of slow burn mysteries at its core. Most of the story is told in standard prose format, but the author includes some epistolary content in the form of police interviews, articles, texts and more, which are critical as the story unfolds. This is an ambitious, intricately plotted piece of fiction that should be on every horror fan’s TBR.
Morgan Bright’s sister Hadleigh was found gravely injured, wandering a snowy road after apparently escaping from Hollyhock Asylum. Morgan is distraught and will do anything to figure out what happened to Hadleigh, and so she and her friend Darius hatch a plan to sneak Morgan into Hollyhock so she can investigate and hopefully get some answers. In order to execute their plan, Morgan and Darius take on fake personas and become Charlotte and Andrew Turner. "Andrew" insists on having his wife committed, and “Charlotte” is diagnosed with “domestic psychosis” and admitted to Hollyhock, where she’ll spend thirty days in the care of the asylum’s staff, hoping to recover from her condition. In reality, Morgan will get to experience first hand what goes on behind closed doors and perhaps even expose the truth.
But stepping through the doors of Hollyhock is like stepping into the past. Morgan is shocked at the antiquated and dangerous methods the staff uses on their patients. The other women seem eager to participate, in the hopes of getting better, but once in a while a woman goes off for a procedure and never returns. And when Morgan begins to experience periods of forgetfulness, she’s drawn into the mind of her creation—Charlotte. If Charlotte isn’t real, then why is Morgan struggling to control her own actions?
In between chapters are interviews between the Scottsbluff Police Department and a “witness” (Morgan/Charlotte) that take place after Morgan leaves Hollyhock. These interviews serve as a way to explain what Morgan went through, and they also give readers a peak into the weird relationship between the two characters. I loved these sections, and Panatier did a great job of creating lots of mystery and tension, since we don’t yet know the full story.
There are a lot of layers to unpack in this story. You have the fraught relationship between Morgan and Hadleigh which is revealed mostly through text messages. We know that something happened between the sisters that fractured their relationship and caused Hadleigh to be committed to Hollyhock. These details are slowly revealed over the course of the book until the final shocking revelation, and there’s a lot of bitterness and heartbreak between them. Then there’s the equally unsettling relationship between Morgan and Charlotte, which is really the crux of the story. Morgan is real, Charlotte is a fabrication—or is she? Panatier brilliantly weaves their stories together, where reality and dreams are hard to tell apart. Is Morgan trapped in her own body? Or is Charlotte the victim? It’s not always easy to tell.
The strange relationship between Morgan and Charlotte is made even more surreal as the many horrors of Hollyhock Asylum come to light. When Charlotte first arrives, she’s sent to a “welcome room” and fed exotic foods. Later she's introduced to different types of therapies, like Housework, where she spends hours cleaning and making beds (to what end, well that’s the question, isn’t it?). It all feels sort of innocent, until Morgan “awakens” and begins to experience what Charlotte is doing. It’s at this point that the dirty secrets of the asylum are revealed, led by the director Althea Edevane, who has her own terrible agenda.
Panatier sets his story in the present, but Hollyhock is clearly stuck in the past, utilizing illegal methods of “curing” women and inventing maladies that don’t exist. “Domestic psychosis” in this story is a horrifying term that allows husbands to have their wives committed to a psychiatric hospital for any reason they want, an outdated idea that Edevane uses for her own diabolical plans. We also glimpse such “cures” as electroshock (which Panatier describes in horrifying detail), the Elizabeth collar that keeps patients contained in the dark, and the Utica crib, another device to restrain a patient from moving. This last one has a particularly gruesome use at the end of the story. And I won’t ever look at butterflies in quite the same way again. Edevane and her hairstreak cage play a roll in Charlotte’s treatment that gave me nightmares, to be honest (hairstreaks are a type of butterfly in case you didn’t know. I didn’t.)
And if these horrors weren’t enough, the author touches on the hot button topic of women’s reproductive rights, adding an emotionally charged layer to his story. Under the guise of “health care,” Morgan, Charlotte and all the other women in the story are brainwashed into thinking Edevane’s methods will actually cure them. I mentioned in the beginning of this review that the book contains pregnancy horror, and while I won’t spoil the details for you, do be aware of triggers like rape and forced pregnancy, which should upset every single person who reads this book.
After everything that happened, I wasn’t quite prepared for the final chapters, which were emotional and shocking. Morgan learns the unfortunate truth about Hadleigh, but the nightmares of Hollyhock will be with her for a long time. The Redemption of Morgan Bright does what the best horror stories do—it leaves the reading feeling both satisfied at finally learning the answers, but uncomfortable with the horrors those answers reveal.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
“Charlotte lurks at the edge of my thoughts, pulling strings in the shadows of my psyche. She is my creation, not the other way around. I say it aloud when I’m alone. But I’m not alone, am I?”
If anyone can come up with a completely original story combining asylum and pregnancy horror, it’s Chris Panatier, one of the most unique genre writers around. The Redemption of Morgan Bright is weird, upsetting, and gross (at times), with an eerie Gothic sensibility and a couple of slow burn mysteries at its core. Most of the story is told in standard prose format, but the author includes some epistolary content in the form of police interviews, articles, texts and more, which are critical as the story unfolds. This is an ambitious, intricately plotted piece of fiction that should be on every horror fan’s TBR.
Morgan Bright’s sister Hadleigh was found gravely injured, wandering a snowy road after apparently escaping from Hollyhock Asylum. Morgan is distraught and will do anything to figure out what happened to Hadleigh, and so she and her friend Darius hatch a plan to sneak Morgan into Hollyhock so she can investigate and hopefully get some answers. In order to execute their plan, Morgan and Darius take on fake personas and become Charlotte and Andrew Turner. "Andrew" insists on having his wife committed, and “Charlotte” is diagnosed with “domestic psychosis” and admitted to Hollyhock, where she’ll spend thirty days in the care of the asylum’s staff, hoping to recover from her condition. In reality, Morgan will get to experience first hand what goes on behind closed doors and perhaps even expose the truth.
But stepping through the doors of Hollyhock is like stepping into the past. Morgan is shocked at the antiquated and dangerous methods the staff uses on their patients. The other women seem eager to participate, in the hopes of getting better, but once in a while a woman goes off for a procedure and never returns. And when Morgan begins to experience periods of forgetfulness, she’s drawn into the mind of her creation—Charlotte. If Charlotte isn’t real, then why is Morgan struggling to control her own actions?
In between chapters are interviews between the Scottsbluff Police Department and a “witness” (Morgan/Charlotte) that take place after Morgan leaves Hollyhock. These interviews serve as a way to explain what Morgan went through, and they also give readers a peak into the weird relationship between the two characters. I loved these sections, and Panatier did a great job of creating lots of mystery and tension, since we don’t yet know the full story.
There are a lot of layers to unpack in this story. You have the fraught relationship between Morgan and Hadleigh which is revealed mostly through text messages. We know that something happened between the sisters that fractured their relationship and caused Hadleigh to be committed to Hollyhock. These details are slowly revealed over the course of the book until the final shocking revelation, and there’s a lot of bitterness and heartbreak between them. Then there’s the equally unsettling relationship between Morgan and Charlotte, which is really the crux of the story. Morgan is real, Charlotte is a fabrication—or is she? Panatier brilliantly weaves their stories together, where reality and dreams are hard to tell apart. Is Morgan trapped in her own body? Or is Charlotte the victim? It’s not always easy to tell.
The strange relationship between Morgan and Charlotte is made even more surreal as the many horrors of Hollyhock Asylum come to light. When Charlotte first arrives, she’s sent to a “welcome room” and fed exotic foods. Later she's introduced to different types of therapies, like Housework, where she spends hours cleaning and making beds (to what end, well that’s the question, isn’t it?). It all feels sort of innocent, until Morgan “awakens” and begins to experience what Charlotte is doing. It’s at this point that the dirty secrets of the asylum are revealed, led by the director Althea Edevane, who has her own terrible agenda.
Panatier sets his story in the present, but Hollyhock is clearly stuck in the past, utilizing illegal methods of “curing” women and inventing maladies that don’t exist. “Domestic psychosis” in this story is a horrifying term that allows husbands to have their wives committed to a psychiatric hospital for any reason they want, an outdated idea that Edevane uses for her own diabolical plans. We also glimpse such “cures” as electroshock (which Panatier describes in horrifying detail), the Elizabeth collar that keeps patients contained in the dark, and the Utica crib, another device to restrain a patient from moving. This last one has a particularly gruesome use at the end of the story. And I won’t ever look at butterflies in quite the same way again. Edevane and her hairstreak cage play a roll in Charlotte’s treatment that gave me nightmares, to be honest (hairstreaks are a type of butterfly in case you didn’t know. I didn’t.)
And if these horrors weren’t enough, the author touches on the hot button topic of women’s reproductive rights, adding an emotionally charged layer to his story. Under the guise of “health care,” Morgan, Charlotte and all the other women in the story are brainwashed into thinking Edevane’s methods will actually cure them. I mentioned in the beginning of this review that the book contains pregnancy horror, and while I won’t spoil the details for you, do be aware of triggers like rape and forced pregnancy, which should upset every single person who reads this book.
After everything that happened, I wasn’t quite prepared for the final chapters, which were emotional and shocking. Morgan learns the unfortunate truth about Hadleigh, but the nightmares of Hollyhock will be with her for a long time. The Redemption of Morgan Bright does what the best horror stories do—it leaves the reading feeling both satisfied at finally learning the answers, but uncomfortable with the horrors those answers reveal.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
February 18, 2025
It’s a 2.5 stars from me - more to add soon!
April 29, 2024
A very big thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the eARC!
Following the mysterious death of her sister within the halls of Hollyhock Asylum, Morgan Bright voluntarily commits herself to find the truth of what really happened. To do so, Morgan assumes the imagined identity of Charlotte Turner, a woman plagued with a rather interesting condition. Told through various formats, the reality of Hollyhock’s existence and the treatments that occur are otherworldly, a bleak truth Morgan discovers that speaks to a greater universal truth regarding the treatment of women.
I’m slowly discovering one of my favorite brands of psychological horror (and corporeal horror as well) stems from the innate feeling of disorientation. Panatier writes Morgan’s story in muddy waters as questions of what’s real and what is not, thrive in the halls of Hollyhock. The experiences Morgan endures in the name of justice for her sister bring about a sense of desperation especially when faced with the harsh treatments utilized. While asylums are not a new setting for horror stories, there’s a greater essence of transcendent fear in this novel that sets the story apart from others of a similar nature.
Mostly, I believe this stems from the extensive research and care Panatier takes in crafting this story about the psychological and physical anguish of women. The broader sentiment of this story, while incredibly bleak, manages to instill a greater feeling of unity. When authors manage to tell a captivating, enthralling story that also manages to encapsulate the broader fears of a population, it’s truly something special.
The Redemption of Morgan Bright is a story that continuously subverts expectations and delivers on a wide-reaching, primal fear of the loss of autonomy and reality. Chris Panatier has ALL of my respect for the care he takes with this story.
Following the mysterious death of her sister within the halls of Hollyhock Asylum, Morgan Bright voluntarily commits herself to find the truth of what really happened. To do so, Morgan assumes the imagined identity of Charlotte Turner, a woman plagued with a rather interesting condition. Told through various formats, the reality of Hollyhock’s existence and the treatments that occur are otherworldly, a bleak truth Morgan discovers that speaks to a greater universal truth regarding the treatment of women.
I’m slowly discovering one of my favorite brands of psychological horror (and corporeal horror as well) stems from the innate feeling of disorientation. Panatier writes Morgan’s story in muddy waters as questions of what’s real and what is not, thrive in the halls of Hollyhock. The experiences Morgan endures in the name of justice for her sister bring about a sense of desperation especially when faced with the harsh treatments utilized. While asylums are not a new setting for horror stories, there’s a greater essence of transcendent fear in this novel that sets the story apart from others of a similar nature.
Mostly, I believe this stems from the extensive research and care Panatier takes in crafting this story about the psychological and physical anguish of women. The broader sentiment of this story, while incredibly bleak, manages to instill a greater feeling of unity. When authors manage to tell a captivating, enthralling story that also manages to encapsulate the broader fears of a population, it’s truly something special.
The Redemption of Morgan Bright is a story that continuously subverts expectations and delivers on a wide-reaching, primal fear of the loss of autonomy and reality. Chris Panatier has ALL of my respect for the care he takes with this story.
April 5, 2024
I finished this last night. Even though I've been thinking about it since, I still have no idea what I read.
Morgan fakes her entrance to the psychiatric hospital where her sister lived before she went missing and was found dead. After that, the author lost me. I found it difficult to keep track of the characters and, while written with beautiful, image-invoking language, couldn't figure out what in the world was going on. I think this one will be a hit or miss for most people. It was a definite miss for me.
The worst part, however, was the pro-abortion rant the author felt necessary to add after the end of the book. Mr. Panatier, I do not care about your political views or leanings. I read for entertainment. Your opinion on abortion is not entertaining and including it is inappropriate.
Morgan fakes her entrance to the psychiatric hospital where her sister lived before she went missing and was found dead. After that, the author lost me. I found it difficult to keep track of the characters and, while written with beautiful, image-invoking language, couldn't figure out what in the world was going on. I think this one will be a hit or miss for most people. It was a definite miss for me.
The worst part, however, was the pro-abortion rant the author felt necessary to add after the end of the book. Mr. Panatier, I do not care about your political views or leanings. I read for entertainment. Your opinion on abortion is not entertaining and including it is inappropriate.
June 23, 2023
I read an advanced copy and trust me, this book is worth picking up!
April 29, 2024
4.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and to the Editor. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
This is a hard review to write and for a lot of different reasons, too. In part, it’s because this book is so outside my comfort zone. I shouldn’t have enjoyed it so much (but I loved it!), in part because it’s hard to talk about this book without doing any spoilers, and in part, because this book deserves to be read by a lot of people (and again, this is for a couple of different reasons, too) so… I don’t know how I can make justice to it, and how can I make you curious enough. Still, I really really hope that you will read this book!
When I saw this book on NetGalley I requested it because I have read and really enjoyed another book by this author, Stringers, (and I have The Phlebotomist on my TBR since it came out), so I was curious to read something other by him, and because the plot sounded like something I may like. Psychological thrillers are not my favorite but from time to time I enjoy them, and this one sounded too promising to ignore! I started having doubts after reading some reviews of it because it sounded like more horror than thriller, and I am so not a fan of horror, and because all the reviews hinted at a paranormal element, and I need my thriller to be rooted in reality, I really strongly deeply hate paranormal elements in thrillers. But I was still curious, even if cautious, so I just went with it. And I am so glad and grateful because I enjoyed this book (well, enjoyed may be the wrong word for this book, because it is dark and it is hard, it is painful and it is about bad things, really really bad things! But I couldn’t put it down, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it so… I’ll go with “enjoyed” but keep all of this in mind, please) and I appreciated what the author did with his work. The last part of the book, the Afterword was a surprise… well, not really surprising, because if you read the book you can see all that the author said, but it was a nice surprise to see the author recognize it, and what he said made me happy, and a tad more hopeful for humanity in general. It is a beautiful thing to do, and it moved me.
It made this book political, in a way, and I think that we need more of these around right now. We desperately need them. And for this, I am really grateful to the author. (And grateful was the latest thing I thought I would be while reading this book!).
That said, I’ll try to talk a bit more about the book per se, trying not to spoiler anything. (It is hard, but I am trying!). As I said before, this book is outside my comfort zone, for different reasons, and I should not have liked it. I mean, the beginning can be considered as a psychological thriller, and I was there for that. Then we have the creepy factor, which starts subtle and grows slowly, oh so slowly, because you know that there is something wrong (aside from the obvious)still, you don’t understand what it is, and you keep reading, trying to understand what is happening, and why, especially the why, because what you know at the beginning is different from what you are showed at the moment and it was just so captivating! Usually, this kind of narration does not work for me, but here I was glued to the pages!
What’s more, is that the narration is not linear, we have some chapters mixed with excerpts from an interrogation with the police, with text messages, articles, and research, and, again, this isn’t my favorite way but in this particular case I loved it. I think that the way in which the author decided to tell us his story is one of my favorite things in the book, if not my favorite!
The world of the author is the scariest ever because it is our world, but with a little twist, that regards institutionalization, and if things start out as not good, they will progress fast into bad territory. There is so much evil in this book, so many bad things, that are bad on so many different levels! And the creepiness is not only due to the paranormal element, and this is quite sad. Because this book is sadly (and scarily) so plausible!! (Paranormal elements notwithstanding, obviously).
Another great thing of this book is the characters. They are all humans, and all broken, in one way or another. And they all feel so real! I am not the biggest fan of Charlotte, for example, and yet she is so desperately human! I think that the author did an amazing job with everything here: the pace, the vibes, the story, the mystery, the characters… everything!
And last but not least, he manages to surprise me time and again. This book is surprising in many ways, and it is hard to put down. It is also quite a difficult book to forget, if I have to be honest!
And I guess that’s all. I know that I haven’t said a lot about the book but it is hard to say more and still not doing spoiler, so I will leave it at that. But really, this is creepy, it is painful, it is an amazing horror book that will stay with you for a time, and that is pretty hard to put down!
Thanks to NetGalley and to the Editor. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
This is a hard review to write and for a lot of different reasons, too. In part, it’s because this book is so outside my comfort zone. I shouldn’t have enjoyed it so much (but I loved it!), in part because it’s hard to talk about this book without doing any spoilers, and in part, because this book deserves to be read by a lot of people (and again, this is for a couple of different reasons, too) so… I don’t know how I can make justice to it, and how can I make you curious enough. Still, I really really hope that you will read this book!
When I saw this book on NetGalley I requested it because I have read and really enjoyed another book by this author, Stringers, (and I have The Phlebotomist on my TBR since it came out), so I was curious to read something other by him, and because the plot sounded like something I may like. Psychological thrillers are not my favorite but from time to time I enjoy them, and this one sounded too promising to ignore! I started having doubts after reading some reviews of it because it sounded like more horror than thriller, and I am so not a fan of horror, and because all the reviews hinted at a paranormal element, and I need my thriller to be rooted in reality, I really strongly deeply hate paranormal elements in thrillers. But I was still curious, even if cautious, so I just went with it. And I am so glad and grateful because I enjoyed this book (well, enjoyed may be the wrong word for this book, because it is dark and it is hard, it is painful and it is about bad things, really really bad things! But I couldn’t put it down, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it so… I’ll go with “enjoyed” but keep all of this in mind, please) and I appreciated what the author did with his work. The last part of the book, the Afterword was a surprise… well, not really surprising, because if you read the book you can see all that the author said, but it was a nice surprise to see the author recognize it, and what he said made me happy, and a tad more hopeful for humanity in general. It is a beautiful thing to do, and it moved me.
It made this book political, in a way, and I think that we need more of these around right now. We desperately need them. And for this, I am really grateful to the author. (And grateful was the latest thing I thought I would be while reading this book!).
That said, I’ll try to talk a bit more about the book per se, trying not to spoiler anything. (It is hard, but I am trying!). As I said before, this book is outside my comfort zone, for different reasons, and I should not have liked it. I mean, the beginning can be considered as a psychological thriller, and I was there for that. Then we have the creepy factor, which starts subtle and grows slowly, oh so slowly, because you know that there is something wrong (aside from the obvious)still, you don’t understand what it is, and you keep reading, trying to understand what is happening, and why, especially the why, because what you know at the beginning is different from what you are showed at the moment and it was just so captivating! Usually, this kind of narration does not work for me, but here I was glued to the pages!
What’s more, is that the narration is not linear, we have some chapters mixed with excerpts from an interrogation with the police, with text messages, articles, and research, and, again, this isn’t my favorite way but in this particular case I loved it. I think that the way in which the author decided to tell us his story is one of my favorite things in the book, if not my favorite!
The world of the author is the scariest ever because it is our world, but with a little twist, that regards institutionalization, and if things start out as not good, they will progress fast into bad territory. There is so much evil in this book, so many bad things, that are bad on so many different levels! And the creepiness is not only due to the paranormal element, and this is quite sad. Because this book is sadly (and scarily) so plausible!! (Paranormal elements notwithstanding, obviously).
Another great thing of this book is the characters. They are all humans, and all broken, in one way or another. And they all feel so real! I am not the biggest fan of Charlotte, for example, and yet she is so desperately human! I think that the author did an amazing job with everything here: the pace, the vibes, the story, the mystery, the characters… everything!
And last but not least, he manages to surprise me time and again. This book is surprising in many ways, and it is hard to put down. It is also quite a difficult book to forget, if I have to be honest!
And I guess that’s all. I know that I haven’t said a lot about the book but it is hard to say more and still not doing spoiler, so I will leave it at that. But really, this is creepy, it is painful, it is an amazing horror book that will stay with you for a time, and that is pretty hard to put down!
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