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Martine LeDuc #1
Asylum
Martine LeDuc is the director of PR for the mayor's office in Montreal. When four women are found brutally murdered and shockingly posed on park benches throughout the city over several months, Martine's boss fears a PR disaster for the still busy tourist season, and Martine is now also tasked with acting as liaison between the mayor and the police department. The women were of varying ages, backgrounds and bodytypes and seemed to have nothing in common. Yet the macabre presentation of their bodies hints at a connection. Martine is paired with a young detective, Julian Fletcher, and together they dig deep into the city's and the country's past, only to uncover a dark secret dating back to the 1950s, when orphanages in Montreal and elsewhere were converted to asylums in order to gain more funding. The children were subjected to horrific experiments such as lobotomies, electroshock therapy, and psychotropic medication, and many of them died in the process. The survivors were supposedly compensated for their trauma by the government and the cases seem to have been settled. So who is bearing a grudge now, and why did these four women have to die?
Not until Martine finds herself imprisoned in the terrifying steam tunnels underneath the old asylum does she put the pieces together. And it is almost too late for her...
Not until Martine finds herself imprisoned in the terrifying steam tunnels underneath the old asylum does she put the pieces together. And it is almost too late for her...
302 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2015
21 people are currently reading
901 people want to read
About the author
Jeannette de Beauvoir
27 books343 followersJeannette de Beauvoir is the bestselling author of the Sydney Riley (Provincetown) mystery series and the Martine LeDuc (Montréal) mystery series. She also writes some historical fiction out of a true love of the past and a desire to make her decades of student loan payments for history degrees make sense.
She always writes about strong and smart female protagonists, perhaps in the hope that one day she'll be more like them.
She lives in a small cottage at the tip of Cape Cod and begins her days with a walk on the beach. Well, most days. February is a little challenging.
She always writes about strong and smart female protagonists, perhaps in the hope that one day she'll be more like them.
She lives in a small cottage at the tip of Cape Cod and begins her days with a walk on the beach. Well, most days. February is a little challenging.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
October 23, 2015
3.5 A spade of murders, and a chilling storyline dating back to Québec's past. This was a chilling read because interspersed between chapters are entries in a diary from an orphan who became a patient, a sane patient, in an asylum. What made it, chilling is that the story has a basis in actual fact, a dark period in Québec's and the Catholic Churches past.
Hard to read and definitely not for the faint of heart, but a good story with some likable characters.
ARC from NetGalley.
Hard to read and definitely not for the faint of heart, but a good story with some likable characters.
ARC from NetGalley.
April 20, 2023
3.5 Stars/rounded up. A quick read. Compelling mystery with cover ups and conspiracies. Orphans being classified as mentally ill because the government gave bigger stipends to hospitals than orphanages. Then the orphans were used as human test subjects for new drugs used by the CIA for torture and hypnosis. Drugs are big money. And many were willing to cross the line and push the limits of science and ethics to speed up their development. Years later women are being murdered to protect the secrets that were meant to be forgotten and buried at the asylum.
I liked how the story alternated between the past (told from one of the orphans point of view) and the present (told from Martine's point of view). A little far fetched that the publicity director of Montreal was better at solving the crime the crime than the police but I didn't mind. I enjoyed it enough to buy the next book in the Martine Mystery series.
I liked how the story alternated between the past (told from one of the orphans point of view) and the present (told from Martine's point of view). A little far fetched that the publicity director of Montreal was better at solving the crime the crime than the police but I didn't mind. I enjoyed it enough to buy the next book in the Martine Mystery series.
February 24, 2015
3.5 stars.
ASYLUM is the first book I have read by author Jeannette de Beauvoir. The story takes place in Montreal, Canada, and I quickly found that many of the sentences incorporated some French into them to accentuate the French-Canadian characters. Although French is the one other language I'm able to read (not quite fluently!), this took some getting used to. Several times I had to pause to translate something, which derailed the train of thought somewhat.
Thankfully, this did lessen as the book went on (or I just got more accustomed to it). In whichever case, I was able to enjoy this gripping mystery. Martine LeDuc, a public relations worker to the major, finds herself teamed up with a Detective named Julian Fletcher when the police are struggling to solve the murder/torture/displays of four women in the city.
Although I found it hard to believe that a public relations official would be the one to ultimately "outwit" the police force and find the real killer, the story's historic link to actual events made this stand out vividly. In the 1950's there were barbaric experiments being carried out on children from orphanages, that were secretly converted into asylums. The idea was that nobody would miss these "unwanted children" that were often the products of unwed mothers. Lobotomies/electroshock/hydrotherapy/drug induction, and other forms of torture were practiced on these poor children in the name of "science". This story is based upon the "Duplessis Orphans", and as such, I found the historical significance to be overwhelmingly gripping.
The characters were well-fleshed out and believable for the most part. (However, I did have a problem with the Madame LeDuc calling the Detective--who is known for never answering his phone--when she is in immediate trouble, instead of the police department.....)
Overall, a solid mystery that had me pouring over every clue to try to figure out who the murderer was, and why this mystery was brought to light after so many years.
Recommended!
*I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
ASYLUM is the first book I have read by author Jeannette de Beauvoir. The story takes place in Montreal, Canada, and I quickly found that many of the sentences incorporated some French into them to accentuate the French-Canadian characters. Although French is the one other language I'm able to read (not quite fluently!), this took some getting used to. Several times I had to pause to translate something, which derailed the train of thought somewhat.
Thankfully, this did lessen as the book went on (or I just got more accustomed to it). In whichever case, I was able to enjoy this gripping mystery. Martine LeDuc, a public relations worker to the major, finds herself teamed up with a Detective named Julian Fletcher when the police are struggling to solve the murder/torture/displays of four women in the city.
Although I found it hard to believe that a public relations official would be the one to ultimately "outwit" the police force and find the real killer, the story's historic link to actual events made this stand out vividly. In the 1950's there were barbaric experiments being carried out on children from orphanages, that were secretly converted into asylums. The idea was that nobody would miss these "unwanted children" that were often the products of unwed mothers. Lobotomies/electroshock/hydrotherapy/drug induction, and other forms of torture were practiced on these poor children in the name of "science". This story is based upon the "Duplessis Orphans", and as such, I found the historical significance to be overwhelmingly gripping.
The characters were well-fleshed out and believable for the most part. (However, I did have a problem with the Madame LeDuc calling the Detective--who is known for never answering his phone--when she is in immediate trouble, instead of the police department.....)
Overall, a solid mystery that had me pouring over every clue to try to figure out who the murderer was, and why this mystery was brought to light after so many years.
Recommended!
*I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
March 1, 2017
I think I have quite a realistic approach to life.
I have read some really good books with quite horrific subject matter.
When it came to the parts where I was reading a child's diary as the pages unfolded and more of the diary was introduced, my gut started churning. It was reading matter very high on the emotional rector scale. So this is most definitely not a book to read for the faint hearted.
Or, if you are easily shocked.
The reason (for me) why I gave it 3.5 stars is because it's like watching a film with subtitles popping up when someone is speaking a different language. It's informative, essential but distracting.
This was the same whilst reading this. I have hardly no experience or knowledge of the French language apart from getting by on the essentials.
A book that has great impact.
My thanks to St Martins Press for my copy
I have read some really good books with quite horrific subject matter.
When it came to the parts where I was reading a child's diary as the pages unfolded and more of the diary was introduced, my gut started churning. It was reading matter very high on the emotional rector scale. So this is most definitely not a book to read for the faint hearted.
Or, if you are easily shocked.
The reason (for me) why I gave it 3.5 stars is because it's like watching a film with subtitles popping up when someone is speaking a different language. It's informative, essential but distracting.
This was the same whilst reading this. I have hardly no experience or knowledge of the French language apart from getting by on the essentials.
A book that has great impact.
My thanks to St Martins Press for my copy
February 10, 2015
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advance copy of Asylum. This book was an unexpected treat. Set in Montreal, it's a mystery focusing on the plight of orphans sent to an "asylum" in Montreal in the 1960s -- based on real and very sad historical events. What made this book a treat for me is that the author does an excellent job of depicting Montreal in its bilingual/bicultural complexity. The detective, Martine, is French Canadian, but married to an anglophone American. The book is full of details and observations about life in Montreal and the complex history of Quebec. Martine is no Armand Gamache and Jeannette de Beauvoir is not Louise Penney, but still she does a great job using this cultural context as the backdrop for her mystery. The mystery itself is fine, although it does read a bit like a first mystery -- too many coincidences and Martine had a bit too much good luck. But hopefully this turns into a series -- this is a very promising debut.
February 4, 2015
First Sentence: The woman sitting in the backseat shivered and drew the child closer to her side.
Four women have been murdered and left displayed on park benches in Montreal. With it being an election year, this is not good PR for the tourist season. Martine’s boss, the city’s mayor, asks her to act as liaison between his office and the police. Although both agencies would like a quick and easy solution, Martine and Lt. Dec. Julian Fletcher suspect there is much more to this case relating back to a very dark time in Montreal’s past.
The book opens with diary passage from the past. It is a very good, somewhat heartbreaking, chapter that compels you to keep reading. The diary is a second storyline which is tantalizing and intriguing. We don’t know how it fits, but we are certain we’ll find out. And do we ever. In fact, it provides for a very good twist at the end; one we should have seen coming, but didn’t. It is very well done.
How nice to have characters with professions that are different from what we ordinarily find. It is also refreshing to have a protagonist who is in a normal married relationship and a stepmother, with all both of those entail. Martine, is the publicity director for the City of Montreal and her husband, Ivan, is the director of poker operation for the Montreal Casino. It’s also nice to have a protagonist who decides to solve the murder on her own, but is brought into the investigation because of her job and is a somewhat reluctant investigator. One can also appreciate that Det-Lt. Julian Fletcher, the young, wealthy, attractive detective with whom Martine works, is not a love interest for her.
One can’t help but appreciate Martine’s humanity and empathy; worrying about one victim’s cat and, for another, “I wondered if she’d ever gotten her tomatoes, and what recipe she had needed them for.”
The author has a wonderful voice and dry sense of humor; “Every day is a special day for those of us whose professions are to provide fun and frolic to others.” She is very good about explaining the structure of the Canadian government and its police force in a way that is clear to all readers, as well as translating the French phrases as she goes.
De Beauvoir creates very good escalation of tension, as the story progresses, and Martine and Fletcher make the link between the victims through investigation, rather than coincidence. The tension, and a way to bring normality to Martine’s life, is offset through food; and wonderful food it is…”Ivan was pan-frying flounder, I was cooking green beans in garlic butter…pouring some of my glass of Pouilly Fumé into the beans…” The author also makes you think with excellent passages as to why it is important to seek justice for crimes from the past, Martine’s introspection about her faith, and her description of cemeteries.
Up to page 263, the book was excellent; compelling, exciting and with great characters. After that, it felt as though the author realized she only had a certain number of pages left to finish the story and things rather fell apart. The character committed the sin of being TSTL, and there were a couple major gaps in logic. One understands why it was done, but it was still disappointing and could have been reconstructed to have achieved the same goal without the faux-pas. It also felt there should have been a much stronger final, post-climactic scene.
Finally, the curse of the portent…”Maybe you’re right, maybe there’s nothing here.” But, as it turned out, there was.” There was no need for the last sentence. Why do authors do that? Rather than build anticipation—we already know things will get worse; it’s a mystery!—they do just the opposite. Portents are a quick jolt out of the story; they are unnecessary, and if anything, they are an implied insult to the reader as though we don’t understand the suspense will build and must be teased to continue reading. There is never a need for portent in a story and De Beauvoir used them as liberally as some use salt on their food.
“Asylum” is, for the most part, a very good read and certainly not one I’d wanted to have missed. No, it’s not perfect; yes, the author needs to hone her skills but I, for one, am very happy to have read it and look forward to another book, sans the weaknesses, in the future.
ASYLUM (Trad. Mys – Martine LeDuc – Montreal, Canada – Contemporary) – G+
De Beauvoir, Jeannette – 1st mystery
Minotaur Books; March, 2015
Four women have been murdered and left displayed on park benches in Montreal. With it being an election year, this is not good PR for the tourist season. Martine’s boss, the city’s mayor, asks her to act as liaison between his office and the police. Although both agencies would like a quick and easy solution, Martine and Lt. Dec. Julian Fletcher suspect there is much more to this case relating back to a very dark time in Montreal’s past.
The book opens with diary passage from the past. It is a very good, somewhat heartbreaking, chapter that compels you to keep reading. The diary is a second storyline which is tantalizing and intriguing. We don’t know how it fits, but we are certain we’ll find out. And do we ever. In fact, it provides for a very good twist at the end; one we should have seen coming, but didn’t. It is very well done.
How nice to have characters with professions that are different from what we ordinarily find. It is also refreshing to have a protagonist who is in a normal married relationship and a stepmother, with all both of those entail. Martine, is the publicity director for the City of Montreal and her husband, Ivan, is the director of poker operation for the Montreal Casino. It’s also nice to have a protagonist who decides to solve the murder on her own, but is brought into the investigation because of her job and is a somewhat reluctant investigator. One can also appreciate that Det-Lt. Julian Fletcher, the young, wealthy, attractive detective with whom Martine works, is not a love interest for her.
One can’t help but appreciate Martine’s humanity and empathy; worrying about one victim’s cat and, for another, “I wondered if she’d ever gotten her tomatoes, and what recipe she had needed them for.”
The author has a wonderful voice and dry sense of humor; “Every day is a special day for those of us whose professions are to provide fun and frolic to others.” She is very good about explaining the structure of the Canadian government and its police force in a way that is clear to all readers, as well as translating the French phrases as she goes.
De Beauvoir creates very good escalation of tension, as the story progresses, and Martine and Fletcher make the link between the victims through investigation, rather than coincidence. The tension, and a way to bring normality to Martine’s life, is offset through food; and wonderful food it is…”Ivan was pan-frying flounder, I was cooking green beans in garlic butter…pouring some of my glass of Pouilly Fumé into the beans…” The author also makes you think with excellent passages as to why it is important to seek justice for crimes from the past, Martine’s introspection about her faith, and her description of cemeteries.
Up to page 263, the book was excellent; compelling, exciting and with great characters. After that, it felt as though the author realized she only had a certain number of pages left to finish the story and things rather fell apart. The character committed the sin of being TSTL, and there were a couple major gaps in logic. One understands why it was done, but it was still disappointing and could have been reconstructed to have achieved the same goal without the faux-pas. It also felt there should have been a much stronger final, post-climactic scene.
Finally, the curse of the portent…”Maybe you’re right, maybe there’s nothing here.” But, as it turned out, there was.” There was no need for the last sentence. Why do authors do that? Rather than build anticipation—we already know things will get worse; it’s a mystery!—they do just the opposite. Portents are a quick jolt out of the story; they are unnecessary, and if anything, they are an implied insult to the reader as though we don’t understand the suspense will build and must be teased to continue reading. There is never a need for portent in a story and De Beauvoir used them as liberally as some use salt on their food.
“Asylum” is, for the most part, a very good read and certainly not one I’d wanted to have missed. No, it’s not perfect; yes, the author needs to hone her skills but I, for one, am very happy to have read it and look forward to another book, sans the weaknesses, in the future.
ASYLUM (Trad. Mys – Martine LeDuc – Montreal, Canada – Contemporary) – G+
De Beauvoir, Jeannette – 1st mystery
Minotaur Books; March, 2015
July 16, 2016
This book had everything I should like in it. It is about Montreal, a city I love; it is a murder mystery, which I love; it has a connection to a true historical event; it has great characters and is well written. Unfortunately there is one thing that drove me insane. It probably is a case of me being nit-picky but when an author, who supposedly lives in Canada, continuously refers to our Prime Minister as the Premier of Canada, I want to scream. If it had only happened once I could have dismissed it but it was constant. IF YOU LIVE IN CANADA YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE!!
Anyway, I didn't finish the book and I won't be reading the next in the series.
Anyway, I didn't finish the book and I won't be reading the next in the series.
March 4, 2023
I decided to give Asylum by Jeannette de Beauvoir a generous two stars, simply because I managed to finish it. The story starts from a strong place, as the reader gets a glimpse into the life of an orphan girl through excerpts from her journal. These journal entries, based on true events in the history of Montreal, offer the one compelling force that held my attention. The journal entries kept me going when everything else in the book screamed at me to stop.
The present-day main character, Martine LeDuc, got on my ever-loving nerve. I found her to be both obnoxious and naïve. I think the author was trying to make her a compassionate character, but Martine comes across as uptight and humorless. As an amateur detective trying to catch a serial killer, Martine is a blithering idiot with no common sense. She continually charged into situations with no tact and, often, with no real plan. She missed very obvious connections, and she seemed more concerned with the food and coffee than with the conversations.
Of course, it’s not poor, inept Martine’s fault that the book frequently focused on food. At times, I wondered if the author had simply googled lists of the top tourist spots and best restaurants of Montreal. Martine seemed to spend most of the novel bouncing from café to restaurant, and traipsing from one end of the city to another, even making time for a visit to the third-largest cemetery in North America!
None of the characters are great, though. Most are flat and lifeless with no real depth. Martine’s husband Ivan is the perfect, supportive man who always knows just the right thing to say, and he quietly supports his wife’s ambition to run after a murderer. Julian is Martine’s partner in the police force. A quirky outsider, he is funny and charming, but he is an awful driver and never answers his phone. These are just two of the characters who never waiver, change, or grow, who just serve as background noise for Martine’s chaotic hunt for justice.
By the end of the novel, I was rooting for the serial killer, whom I had identified less than a quarter of the way through the book. While I’m grateful to now know a bit about the Duplessis orphans, so that their memory will not be forgotten, I’m very sad that I had to suffer through three hundred pages of Martine’s inadequate sleuthing.
The present-day main character, Martine LeDuc, got on my ever-loving nerve. I found her to be both obnoxious and naïve. I think the author was trying to make her a compassionate character, but Martine comes across as uptight and humorless. As an amateur detective trying to catch a serial killer, Martine is a blithering idiot with no common sense. She continually charged into situations with no tact and, often, with no real plan. She missed very obvious connections, and she seemed more concerned with the food and coffee than with the conversations.
Of course, it’s not poor, inept Martine’s fault that the book frequently focused on food. At times, I wondered if the author had simply googled lists of the top tourist spots and best restaurants of Montreal. Martine seemed to spend most of the novel bouncing from café to restaurant, and traipsing from one end of the city to another, even making time for a visit to the third-largest cemetery in North America!
None of the characters are great, though. Most are flat and lifeless with no real depth. Martine’s husband Ivan is the perfect, supportive man who always knows just the right thing to say, and he quietly supports his wife’s ambition to run after a murderer. Julian is Martine’s partner in the police force. A quirky outsider, he is funny and charming, but he is an awful driver and never answers his phone. These are just two of the characters who never waiver, change, or grow, who just serve as background noise for Martine’s chaotic hunt for justice.
By the end of the novel, I was rooting for the serial killer, whom I had identified less than a quarter of the way through the book. While I’m grateful to now know a bit about the Duplessis orphans, so that their memory will not be forgotten, I’m very sad that I had to suffer through three hundred pages of Martine’s inadequate sleuthing.
February 17, 2015
Review at http://thebookishgod.wordpress.com
I have a love/hate relationship with mystery novels. I used to read a ton of them a couple of years ago but I’ve grown tired of how predictable some of them are. Right now, I rarely read mysteries or thrillers at all. It had been a very long time since my last thriller read so when I saw this title on NetGalley I became interested and decided to give it a chance. This book was extra cool because I got to learn some Canadian history that I didn’t know about!
Premise off GoodReads:
Martine LeDuc is the director of PR for the mayor’s office in Montreal. When four women are found brutally murdered and shockingly posed on park benches throughout the city over several months, Martine’s boss fears a PR disaster for the still busy tourist season, and Martine is now also tasked with acting as liaison between the mayor and the police department. The women were of varying ages, backgrounds and body types and seemed to have nothing in common. Yet the macabre presentation of their bodies hints at a connection. Martine is paired with a young detective, Julian Fletcher, and together they dig deep into the city’s and the country’s past, only to uncover a dark secret dating back to the 1950s, when orphanages in Montreal and elsewhere were converted to asylums in order to gain more funding. The children were subjected to horrific experiments such as lobotomies, electroshock therapy, and psychotropic medication, and many of them died in the process. The survivors were supposedly compensated for their trauma by the government and the cases seem to have been settled. So who is bearing a grudge now, and why did these four women have to die?
Not until Martine finds herself imprisoned in the terrifying steam tunnels underneath the old asylum does she put the pieces together. And it is almost too late for her…in Jeannette de Beauvoir’s Asylum.
The cover gave me major horror novel feels and, to be honest, that’s what caught my interest in the first place. When you read the book and get into the story you’ll realize that in fact it is pretty terrifying. Something else that made me want to read this book was the way the victims were found. I love the way the killer presented his/her victims mainly because I had never seen it before!
One of the strong points of this novel is the complex back story and how well it flows with the present assassinations. At the very end of every chapter we get to peek inside a girl who lived in the asylum’s life and it kept me wondering who that girl was and how it linked to the present. The writing is not the best I’ve seen but it is very good. I found myself enjoying the story a little bit too much! This book kept my mind working through the 320 pages and I literally devoured them.
Some of the passages are thought-provoking which I always love and to think that this actually happened in real life (not the killings but the orphans’ abuse) is heart-wrenching.
One of my favorite quotes is…
“Just because a crazy person did it doesn’t mean there’s not a sane reason behind it.”
I had two major problems with this novel though. While I loved the writing, the flow of the story, and the complexity of the plot I found the characters flat and with no personality. The relationships between the characters felt forced and fake and I just couldn’t buy any of it. The main character’s relationship with her husband seemed too perfect to be true. He seemed like a puppet following her orders. The only character that was genuine to me was Julian Fletcher, the policeman that helps our main character through the investigation. He was a complete mess of a policeman but funny and utterly entertaining!
The second issue I found was that I was able to predict the end about 80 pages before the novel ended which made it very hard for me to continue with it. At the very end, I found myself skipping through the final pages as I found the finale totally anticlimactic when it should’ve felt the complete opposite.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it if you are a fan of thrillers and mysteries. If you don’t mind flat characters and you don’t usually predict the endings then you are going to love it!
I have a love/hate relationship with mystery novels. I used to read a ton of them a couple of years ago but I’ve grown tired of how predictable some of them are. Right now, I rarely read mysteries or thrillers at all. It had been a very long time since my last thriller read so when I saw this title on NetGalley I became interested and decided to give it a chance. This book was extra cool because I got to learn some Canadian history that I didn’t know about!
Premise off GoodReads:
Martine LeDuc is the director of PR for the mayor’s office in Montreal. When four women are found brutally murdered and shockingly posed on park benches throughout the city over several months, Martine’s boss fears a PR disaster for the still busy tourist season, and Martine is now also tasked with acting as liaison between the mayor and the police department. The women were of varying ages, backgrounds and body types and seemed to have nothing in common. Yet the macabre presentation of their bodies hints at a connection. Martine is paired with a young detective, Julian Fletcher, and together they dig deep into the city’s and the country’s past, only to uncover a dark secret dating back to the 1950s, when orphanages in Montreal and elsewhere were converted to asylums in order to gain more funding. The children were subjected to horrific experiments such as lobotomies, electroshock therapy, and psychotropic medication, and many of them died in the process. The survivors were supposedly compensated for their trauma by the government and the cases seem to have been settled. So who is bearing a grudge now, and why did these four women have to die?
Not until Martine finds herself imprisoned in the terrifying steam tunnels underneath the old asylum does she put the pieces together. And it is almost too late for her…in Jeannette de Beauvoir’s Asylum.
The cover gave me major horror novel feels and, to be honest, that’s what caught my interest in the first place. When you read the book and get into the story you’ll realize that in fact it is pretty terrifying. Something else that made me want to read this book was the way the victims were found. I love the way the killer presented his/her victims mainly because I had never seen it before!
One of the strong points of this novel is the complex back story and how well it flows with the present assassinations. At the very end of every chapter we get to peek inside a girl who lived in the asylum’s life and it kept me wondering who that girl was and how it linked to the present. The writing is not the best I’ve seen but it is very good. I found myself enjoying the story a little bit too much! This book kept my mind working through the 320 pages and I literally devoured them.
Some of the passages are thought-provoking which I always love and to think that this actually happened in real life (not the killings but the orphans’ abuse) is heart-wrenching.
One of my favorite quotes is…
“Just because a crazy person did it doesn’t mean there’s not a sane reason behind it.”
I had two major problems with this novel though. While I loved the writing, the flow of the story, and the complexity of the plot I found the characters flat and with no personality. The relationships between the characters felt forced and fake and I just couldn’t buy any of it. The main character’s relationship with her husband seemed too perfect to be true. He seemed like a puppet following her orders. The only character that was genuine to me was Julian Fletcher, the policeman that helps our main character through the investigation. He was a complete mess of a policeman but funny and utterly entertaining!
The second issue I found was that I was able to predict the end about 80 pages before the novel ended which made it very hard for me to continue with it. At the very end, I found myself skipping through the final pages as I found the finale totally anticlimactic when it should’ve felt the complete opposite.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it if you are a fan of thrillers and mysteries. If you don’t mind flat characters and you don’t usually predict the endings then you are going to love it!
August 9, 2017
Honestly, I only started reading this because I confused Asylum, in the Martine LeDuc series, with Asylum by Madeleine Roux.
March 10, 2015
Asylum is a mystery thriller that takes place in Canada. Jeannette de Beauvoir took actual events from Montreal's past, the skeleton in the closet that no one likes to talk about and and weaves a fictional story around these events. The fact that this was based on actual events makes the story all that more enjoyable and heart breaking. This book is not a romance it is strictly a mystery thriller. The main character Martine LeDuc is the head PR for the mayor's office, she is married to a quite a character, I almost wish he was in it more. Martine gets partnered up with a stereotypical rich boy who disappointed the family by going into social services, ie. Police Detective. It's a wonderful mystery and it satisfied my craving for one. It keeps you guessing up until the very end.
Martine loves her job as the director of PR for the mayor's office, the mayor not so much. Montreal has had a series of murders over the summer and the mayor is afraid it will affect the upcoming tourist season, so he puts Martine in the position of liaison between the mayors office and the police. Martine isn't pleased with it but she finds out one of her workers was dating the latest victim, and she promises to do her best. Police Detective Julian Fletcher is assigned to help Martine. The theory on the serial murders is sexual, they were all raped and posed on different park benches, they were also mutilated. Julian has a different theory. All the woman didn't have anything in common, that they have found yet. Together with Martine's help they uncover that each of the woman were looking into the past, specifically the orphanages and asylums back in the fifties and sixties.
Running parallel to Martine's story are what looks like diary excerpts from a girl who was forced into an orphanage for being a bastard. At the end of most chapters is a little bit of what she went through and what she uncovered in her time at the orphanage and then the move to the asylum. Its adds a touch of drama and foreshadowing. I read this straight through, it was so good. The Author's note at the end separates truth from fiction and the truth of the story makes you cry.
Martine loves her job as the director of PR for the mayor's office, the mayor not so much. Montreal has had a series of murders over the summer and the mayor is afraid it will affect the upcoming tourist season, so he puts Martine in the position of liaison between the mayors office and the police. Martine isn't pleased with it but she finds out one of her workers was dating the latest victim, and she promises to do her best. Police Detective Julian Fletcher is assigned to help Martine. The theory on the serial murders is sexual, they were all raped and posed on different park benches, they were also mutilated. Julian has a different theory. All the woman didn't have anything in common, that they have found yet. Together with Martine's help they uncover that each of the woman were looking into the past, specifically the orphanages and asylums back in the fifties and sixties.
Running parallel to Martine's story are what looks like diary excerpts from a girl who was forced into an orphanage for being a bastard. At the end of most chapters is a little bit of what she went through and what she uncovered in her time at the orphanage and then the move to the asylum. Its adds a touch of drama and foreshadowing. I read this straight through, it was so good. The Author's note at the end separates truth from fiction and the truth of the story makes you cry.
September 4, 2015
I was given a copy of Asylum: A Mystery, in exchange for a fair and honest review. The city of Montreal is being terrorized by a serial killer who has murdered four people and put them on public display. Martine DeLuc, publicity director for the City of Montreal, is picked by the Mayor to be the liaison between his Office and the Police. Julian Fletcher, a Detective Lieutenant with no real clout in the department, was chosen to be her contact person to keep them out of any serious investigation. Following their own set of leads, Julian and Martine soon discover that the victims all have ties to an orphan scandal originating in the 1950's and 1960's. With many plot twists along the way, this book continues along at a fast pace until the explosive conclusion. Asylum has a well developed story and a great, but unlikely, crime solving duo in Martine and Julian. This book is a traditional police procedural with the unique twist of Martine being a liaison for the Mayor's office. I enjoyed reading Asylum, with the exception of Gabrielle's story being told piecemeal throughout the book. It made the story a bit disjointed and lessened the impact of her experiences. I highly recommend this book and it is my sincere hope that the author will continue the adventures of Martine and Julian in future books.
July 4, 2015
I thought I was getting a police procedural similar maybe to Chris Carter or Linda Fairstein. So was really pleasantly surprised that actually this was a completely different story. One that was based on true facts.
The book is centred around Martine LeDuc the public relations director for Montreal. After four women have become the victims of what at first appears to be a rapist serial killer, Martine is ordered to liaise between the police and the mayor, providing daily reports of the progress the police are making in the capture of the offender.
As the book progresses you find out each of the women are connected to the " Duplessis orphans", One is the daughter of an Orphan, another was an orphan before being adopted by one of the doctors, another is an investigative journalist, and the fourth is doing research.
It was a compelling read, especially the voice from the past Gabrielle, although Gabrielle's story is not as compelling as it could have been.
The book is centred around Martine LeDuc the public relations director for Montreal. After four women have become the victims of what at first appears to be a rapist serial killer, Martine is ordered to liaise between the police and the mayor, providing daily reports of the progress the police are making in the capture of the offender.
As the book progresses you find out each of the women are connected to the " Duplessis orphans", One is the daughter of an Orphan, another was an orphan before being adopted by one of the doctors, another is an investigative journalist, and the fourth is doing research.
It was a compelling read, especially the voice from the past Gabrielle, although Gabrielle's story is not as compelling as it could have been.
March 19, 2016
I wanted to looove this book. It has everything I love: mystery, psychological twists, a bad-ass lady, and murder. Unfortunately "Asylum" didn't quite make it. I thought the premise and story were really great, and I like Martine LeDuc as a protagonist, but what de Beauvoir did with all these elements just stopped short. The twist was mild compared to what I was imagining, and I was disappointed in the way everything wrapped up. I do really appreciate the lack of romance in "Asylum" between Martine and Julian, and I thought Ivan was an interesting husband character. I don't regret reading this book, but I do think it fell a little flat.
May 11, 2016
This was an interesting read, especially knowing that the events in the book were based loosely on actual events in Canadian history. This kind of made the read a little more dark and upped the disturbance level. I do have to say I was disappointed at the path the book ultimately took. I thought when I started reading that I was getting a serial killer/police investigation storyline, but the story turned into a more historical/political/big corporation/investigation. The author did keep the story interesting and did a nice job with the characters. The alternating point of view kept the pace pretty steady.
July 24, 2018
I just couldn't get into this book. There is a lot of French dialogue that isn't used in a context that I could figure out the meaning and I felt like I was missing things. The murder mystery that needs to be solved is a bit far fetched and requires the reader to suspend belief of the way actual criminal investigations are handled. As someone who works in the legal field I am unable to do that. Another reader may enjoy this book more than I did, but I simply couldn't.
February 8, 2015
thanks to minotaur books and netgalley.
Edge of you seat, biting your fingernails suspense! This book has history, romance, and mystery. Canada has some great authors, must be the long winters
Edge of you seat, biting your fingernails suspense! This book has history, romance, and mystery. Canada has some great authors, must be the long winters
June 12, 2015
if you like mystery and historical fiction together, then this is your book. it's a bit disturbing but a fast read book
September 23, 2016
A good mystery based on disturbing real-life events. Starts off a little slowly, but builds momentum well.
Want to read
June 9, 2019Synopsis: Martine's job is to serve as liaison with the police department for the Mayor of Montreal. Then four women were murdered.
October 12, 2017
Summary from Goodreads:
"Martine LeDuc is the director of PR for the mayor's office in Montreal. When four women are found brutally murdered and shockingly posed on park benches throughout the city over several months, Martine's boss fears a PR disaster for the still busy tourist season, and Martine is now also tasked with acting as liaison between the mayor and the police department. The women were of varying ages, backgrounds and bodytypes and seemed to have nothing in common. Yet the macabre presentation of their bodies hints at a connection. Martine is paired with a young detective, Julian Fletcher, and together they dig deep into the city's and the country's past, only to uncover a dark secret dating back to the 1950s, when orphanages in Montreal and elsewhere were converted to asylums in order to gain more funding. The children were subjected to horrific experiments such as lobotomies, electroshock therapy, and psychotropic medication, and many of them died in the process. The survivors were supposedly compensated for their trauma by the government and the cases seem to have been settled. So who is bearing a grudge now, and why did these four women have to die?
Not until Martine finds herself imprisoned in the terrifying steam tunnels underneath the old asylum does she put the pieces together. And it is almost too late for her..."
My Thoughts:
This book originally went on my radar went it was first released but then it sat on my shelves unread. I'm so regretting this as I found this book to be absolutely fantastic! There is a very good chance that this one will make my top reads list for 2017! I loved the summary above which is why I originally wanted to read it. What I didn't realize is that this author based some of the events of this book on a true and terrible event in Canada's history. I don't want to say too much as it plays an important role in this mystery but I will say that it completely adds to this book even if it is horrifying to think about. I found myself absolutely sucked into the story from almost the very beginning. The book is set up in two parts. One is focused on Martine LeDuc and her hunt to figure out who is behind the killings of these women in Montreal. The other storyline focused on the story of one of the orphans and what happened to that individual so long ago. These two storylines tied together so perfectly and I just won't say any more than that. I was absolutely just blown away by how good this book was!
I also really enjoyed this book because it was set in Canada and the author managed to bring Montreal to life for me in this book. This is the second book I've read set in Canada this year and I have just adored the chance to read about this country that I've never had the chance to visit for myself. I loved the descriptions of Montreal that the author included and especially adored all of the French phrases that were included throughout. It really made me feel like I was there with the characters. I liked that Martine wasn't your usual detective - in fact she wasn't a detective at all but got involved with the hunt for this killer in a very realistic way. I found myself unable to stop reading this book for long. And the ending was so intense that I just gave up watching my son at football practice and lost myself completely in finishing this book. The ending was so flipping good and I won't say any more than that. I've tried to keep the spoilers to a minimum here but this is a book that I can't recommend enough!
Overall, I found myself so completely blown away by this book and I cannot even put into words how much I enjoyed it! I feel like it's kinda awful to say when you think about the actual historical events that this book was based around but I still really, really enjoyed it! I'm so excited that I have another book in this series to look forward to but I'm hoping the 3rd is on it's way. This is an author to watch for as this is only her very first book! Crazy! I'm really excited that I finally pulled this one off of my shelves (thanks to my husband) because I was missing out. I would recommend this one to both mystery and thriller fans alike! Just be warned that there are some definite triggers here so sensitive readers be warned. Highly recommended!
Bottom Line: A mystery that will stick with me for a long time thanks to the events it was based around. So good!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to a Goodread's giveaway and the publisher.
"Martine LeDuc is the director of PR for the mayor's office in Montreal. When four women are found brutally murdered and shockingly posed on park benches throughout the city over several months, Martine's boss fears a PR disaster for the still busy tourist season, and Martine is now also tasked with acting as liaison between the mayor and the police department. The women were of varying ages, backgrounds and bodytypes and seemed to have nothing in common. Yet the macabre presentation of their bodies hints at a connection. Martine is paired with a young detective, Julian Fletcher, and together they dig deep into the city's and the country's past, only to uncover a dark secret dating back to the 1950s, when orphanages in Montreal and elsewhere were converted to asylums in order to gain more funding. The children were subjected to horrific experiments such as lobotomies, electroshock therapy, and psychotropic medication, and many of them died in the process. The survivors were supposedly compensated for their trauma by the government and the cases seem to have been settled. So who is bearing a grudge now, and why did these four women have to die?
Not until Martine finds herself imprisoned in the terrifying steam tunnels underneath the old asylum does she put the pieces together. And it is almost too late for her..."
My Thoughts:
This book originally went on my radar went it was first released but then it sat on my shelves unread. I'm so regretting this as I found this book to be absolutely fantastic! There is a very good chance that this one will make my top reads list for 2017! I loved the summary above which is why I originally wanted to read it. What I didn't realize is that this author based some of the events of this book on a true and terrible event in Canada's history. I don't want to say too much as it plays an important role in this mystery but I will say that it completely adds to this book even if it is horrifying to think about. I found myself absolutely sucked into the story from almost the very beginning. The book is set up in two parts. One is focused on Martine LeDuc and her hunt to figure out who is behind the killings of these women in Montreal. The other storyline focused on the story of one of the orphans and what happened to that individual so long ago. These two storylines tied together so perfectly and I just won't say any more than that. I was absolutely just blown away by how good this book was!
I also really enjoyed this book because it was set in Canada and the author managed to bring Montreal to life for me in this book. This is the second book I've read set in Canada this year and I have just adored the chance to read about this country that I've never had the chance to visit for myself. I loved the descriptions of Montreal that the author included and especially adored all of the French phrases that were included throughout. It really made me feel like I was there with the characters. I liked that Martine wasn't your usual detective - in fact she wasn't a detective at all but got involved with the hunt for this killer in a very realistic way. I found myself unable to stop reading this book for long. And the ending was so intense that I just gave up watching my son at football practice and lost myself completely in finishing this book. The ending was so flipping good and I won't say any more than that. I've tried to keep the spoilers to a minimum here but this is a book that I can't recommend enough!
Overall, I found myself so completely blown away by this book and I cannot even put into words how much I enjoyed it! I feel like it's kinda awful to say when you think about the actual historical events that this book was based around but I still really, really enjoyed it! I'm so excited that I have another book in this series to look forward to but I'm hoping the 3rd is on it's way. This is an author to watch for as this is only her very first book! Crazy! I'm really excited that I finally pulled this one off of my shelves (thanks to my husband) because I was missing out. I would recommend this one to both mystery and thriller fans alike! Just be warned that there are some definite triggers here so sensitive readers be warned. Highly recommended!
Bottom Line: A mystery that will stick with me for a long time thanks to the events it was based around. So good!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to a Goodread's giveaway and the publisher.
October 7, 2017
I really liked this one.
The story takes place in Montreal, Québec, Canada, and this was a first for me. I've never read a book that takes place in any part of Canada, let alone a province that's primarily Francophone. But I loved it mostly because now I got to put my three years of high school French lessons to use. So far it's the one book that didn't intimidate me with its foreign language.
Anyway, there have been four separate murders committed in Montreal, all seemingly random, no connection, found posed nude on park benches, and the local police, the SPVM, aren't looking any deeper than a "serial killer sex crime." Not even serial killer, as they typically have an obvious pattern and type of victim, and this killer, the only connection these victims had to each other was that they were raped. They were all varying ages, one victim being in her 60s, I think.
This story is told in two POVs, Martine's and one of the children from the asylum who witnessed such horrors, from her arrival to the orphanage to the introduction of one of the victims.
So, you have Martine LeDuc, a publicity director for the city of Montreal, tasked with being essentially a "nanny" to the SPVM overlooking the case to report back to her boss, and lieutenant-detective Julian Fletcher, the nanny to the nanny, eventually going off on their own to do their own investigating into the murders because their guts aren't letting them believe that some random homeless man who happened to have a couple pieces of the victims' clothing is responsible for something so sinister.
Julian and Martine end up finding out the connection between all four victims, and then that leads them down the road to an old scandal from the 1950s in Montreal that involved a couple asylums, namely the Cité-de-St-Jean-de-Dieu, known as the Duplessis Scandal.
Basically, the Duplessis scandal was a time in Montreal history where the asylum would perform inhumane experiments on children by using methods such as electric shock, lobotomies, and various drugs provided by pharmaceutical companies in hopes of inventing a truth serum for the Cold War.
What I really loved about this story is the author note at the end, and her explaining that much of what happened in this book is based on actual history, and this is why I find asylums so damned fascinating. Almost all of them have such sordid pasts, and as depressing as it probably was to live through, and I can't imagine the pain and suffering and torturing that happened, I love how well the author incorporates the history into fiction. Much respect as well to the author for adding the names of the children who weren't sold to hospitals for $10 but instead buried in a mass grave. Not all of them have been identified, but those that were, I agree, they don't deserve to be forgotten.
I guess the mystery could be seen as pretty predictable, but in my personal experience reading this, my surprise was more on figuring out how the killer connected to the Duplessis orphans and putting two and two together. I'm sure if I think back I can say that I had an idea of who it was, and that it was maybe kind of obvious, but it really wasn't. Not for me. Mostly because I wasn't focused on the whodunnit aspect, but on just putting the pieces together to solve more than just the murders.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I don't know why I'm giving 4-stars, but there you go. I guess because it didn't blow me away. It was just such a fascinating read and until I read the author note, I was close to doing a Google search to see if there was any truth to this story. Now that I know, I'll be doing my own research still, because I'm still fascinated.
The story takes place in Montreal, Québec, Canada, and this was a first for me. I've never read a book that takes place in any part of Canada, let alone a province that's primarily Francophone. But I loved it mostly because now I got to put my three years of high school French lessons to use. So far it's the one book that didn't intimidate me with its foreign language.
Anyway, there have been four separate murders committed in Montreal, all seemingly random, no connection, found posed nude on park benches, and the local police, the SPVM, aren't looking any deeper than a "serial killer sex crime." Not even serial killer, as they typically have an obvious pattern and type of victim, and this killer, the only connection these victims had to each other was that they were raped. They were all varying ages, one victim being in her 60s, I think.
This story is told in two POVs, Martine's and one of the children from the asylum who witnessed such horrors, from her arrival to the orphanage to the introduction of one of the victims.
So, you have Martine LeDuc, a publicity director for the city of Montreal, tasked with being essentially a "nanny" to the SPVM overlooking the case to report back to her boss, and lieutenant-detective Julian Fletcher, the nanny to the nanny, eventually going off on their own to do their own investigating into the murders because their guts aren't letting them believe that some random homeless man who happened to have a couple pieces of the victims' clothing is responsible for something so sinister.
Julian and Martine end up finding out the connection between all four victims, and then that leads them down the road to an old scandal from the 1950s in Montreal that involved a couple asylums, namely the Cité-de-St-Jean-de-Dieu, known as the Duplessis Scandal.
Basically, the Duplessis scandal was a time in Montreal history where the asylum would perform inhumane experiments on children by using methods such as electric shock, lobotomies, and various drugs provided by pharmaceutical companies in hopes of inventing a truth serum for the Cold War.
What I really loved about this story is the author note at the end, and her explaining that much of what happened in this book is based on actual history, and this is why I find asylums so damned fascinating. Almost all of them have such sordid pasts, and as depressing as it probably was to live through, and I can't imagine the pain and suffering and torturing that happened, I love how well the author incorporates the history into fiction. Much respect as well to the author for adding the names of the children who weren't sold to hospitals for $10 but instead buried in a mass grave. Not all of them have been identified, but those that were, I agree, they don't deserve to be forgotten.
I guess the mystery could be seen as pretty predictable, but in my personal experience reading this, my surprise was more on figuring out how the killer connected to the Duplessis orphans and putting two and two together. I'm sure if I think back I can say that I had an idea of who it was, and that it was maybe kind of obvious, but it really wasn't. Not for me. Mostly because I wasn't focused on the whodunnit aspect, but on just putting the pieces together to solve more than just the murders.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I don't know why I'm giving 4-stars, but there you go. I guess because it didn't blow me away. It was just such a fascinating read and until I read the author note, I was close to doing a Google search to see if there was any truth to this story. Now that I know, I'll be doing my own research still, because I'm still fascinated.
February 1, 2018
Jojen said, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies”. It is important to find
just the right book to grab your attention as well as interest. The book Asylum by
Jeannette De Beauvoir is a thriller about women that were murdered in Quebec,
Canada, and it’s based on actual events that happened in the past.
To begin, this book is quite interesting because it has a very particular storyline.
It’s not every day that you hear about a serial killer that goes for women with no
specific body type or skin color. Since this story dates back to events in the past; it
makes the novel gorier than it already is. This book is amazing because it is full of
mystery. I recommend this book because not only are you getting to enjoy a book,
you’re learning about history all in one. A woman was killed unexpectedly and a
lady by the name Martine was put on the case. One of the officers was very nervous
and on the edge of a panic attack. Richard, Martine’s coworker said, “we went out
for coffee a couple of times, we liked each other, what can I say? We spent a lot of
time together. We took a long weekend, went up into the Laurentians…”. Which is
horrible because he saw her last on a Wednesday night, and she was killed the very
next day. Which makes Richard a suspect. This novel is full of suspense, and will
leave you biting your nails.
Furthermore, I recommend this book because there is a variety of language.
Martine said, “My job is to make sure that it does; my title is directrice de publicite”
She was explaining that her job is to be a public detective using the French
language. She also goes and talks about some of the buildings in Canada; she calls
them by their proper names in French. Though the French can be a little frustrating
to decipher since there isn’t a glossary. It’d be a good idea to keep a dictionary of
some sort on hand while reading the book. Overall the French used can boost your
vocabulary in a different language.
In conclusion, this book takes you back in time and put you in the lives of the
individuals that had went through this investigation. Asylum is defiantly worth the read.
just the right book to grab your attention as well as interest. The book Asylum by
Jeannette De Beauvoir is a thriller about women that were murdered in Quebec,
Canada, and it’s based on actual events that happened in the past.
To begin, this book is quite interesting because it has a very particular storyline.
It’s not every day that you hear about a serial killer that goes for women with no
specific body type or skin color. Since this story dates back to events in the past; it
makes the novel gorier than it already is. This book is amazing because it is full of
mystery. I recommend this book because not only are you getting to enjoy a book,
you’re learning about history all in one. A woman was killed unexpectedly and a
lady by the name Martine was put on the case. One of the officers was very nervous
and on the edge of a panic attack. Richard, Martine’s coworker said, “we went out
for coffee a couple of times, we liked each other, what can I say? We spent a lot of
time together. We took a long weekend, went up into the Laurentians…”. Which is
horrible because he saw her last on a Wednesday night, and she was killed the very
next day. Which makes Richard a suspect. This novel is full of suspense, and will
leave you biting your nails.
Furthermore, I recommend this book because there is a variety of language.
Martine said, “My job is to make sure that it does; my title is directrice de publicite”
She was explaining that her job is to be a public detective using the French
language. She also goes and talks about some of the buildings in Canada; she calls
them by their proper names in French. Though the French can be a little frustrating
to decipher since there isn’t a glossary. It’d be a good idea to keep a dictionary of
some sort on hand while reading the book. Overall the French used can boost your
vocabulary in a different language.
In conclusion, this book takes you back in time and put you in the lives of the
individuals that had went through this investigation. Asylum is defiantly worth the read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2025
It seems almost presumptuous to review a book that brings a horrible piece of history to light and pays respects to children who died and remained nameless. Jeannette de Beauvoir has done a marvelous thing here (besides bringing me to tears), and this book is so unlike her Cape Cod mysteries that I know it took dedication to write it. I salute her.
If I consider the book as murder mystery fiction, I like it, too. Serial killers are not my favorite genre, and this one is particularly warped (although, as you will find out if you read it to the end, he has deeply rooted reasons for being the way he is). What the book has going for it is its sense of place (Montreal), history (the Cold War and the MK-Ultra criminal experiments by the CIA), the letters from young Gabrielle Roy that alternate with the main plot, and the heroine.
I admit I am biased in Martine's favor because she has a happy marriage with a Jewish man, who adores her, but the readers who found her cold astonish me. This is a woman who's both wryly humorous and passionate about finding out the truth, and doing right by the most vulnerable people. Yes, she puts herself in harm's way, but no more than professionals like Kinsey Millhone or V.I. Warshawski who are supposed to know better.
My library has only one more in this series, so I will have to decide after reading that one whether I want to go looking for more Martine LeDuc and/or more Sydney Riley books from used booksellers.
If I consider the book as murder mystery fiction, I like it, too. Serial killers are not my favorite genre, and this one is particularly warped (although, as you will find out if you read it to the end, he has deeply rooted reasons for being the way he is). What the book has going for it is its sense of place (Montreal), history (the Cold War and the MK-Ultra criminal experiments by the CIA), the letters from young Gabrielle Roy that alternate with the main plot, and the heroine.
I admit I am biased in Martine's favor because she has a happy marriage with a Jewish man, who adores her, but the readers who found her cold astonish me. This is a woman who's both wryly humorous and passionate about finding out the truth, and doing right by the most vulnerable people. Yes, she puts herself in harm's way, but no more than professionals like Kinsey Millhone or V.I. Warshawski who are supposed to know better.
My library has only one more in this series, so I will have to decide after reading that one whether I want to go looking for more Martine LeDuc and/or more Sydney Riley books from used booksellers.
Read
January 31, 2020Jeannette de Beauvoir’s novel "Asylum" is a real page-turner. I could’t put it down and read it in two days! Wonderfully crafted and written, it’s development is carefully and ingeniously layered for suspense and surprise. Four gruesome murders are traced back to a Catholic orphanage that was turned into an asylum to procure more government money. De Beauvoir ingeniously mixes fact, politics, and conspiracy involving the Catholic Church, Big Pharma, CIA and MK-Ultra, the secret drug and brainwashing program, and interleaves the development and action so smoothly and tantalizingly to guarantee the reader gets hooked and swept up its eye-popping, mind-bending drama. After the killer is finally exposed in a harrowing crescendo, this clincher nails it: “But corporations are far deadlier than any person… Take my advice you’re better off with a psychopath than you are with any corporation.” WHAMO and BRAVO!
Kenneth King, Author of "So Much For Posterity"
Kenneth King, Author of "So Much For Posterity"
September 28, 2022
A very frightening look at Montreal’s orphanages which held children then sent to asylums because they got more government funds than orphanages. The children who were confined where only the insane had lived were tortured and experimented upon. This is based on facts having to do with pharmaceutical companies that profited by using children to test the effects of drugs of interest to the American CIA and even the Canadian government. And of course, the evil Catholic Church, who had nuns and priests who went along with the horrible things carried out in the asylums. It’s so hard to believe that people could be so callous, but it’s true. It’s not really so surprising that the Catholic Church has yet another sin to account for in the afterlife, which I don’t believe in, but if there is a hell, I do hope they all burn for eternity.
September 1, 2024
As usual my rating is heavily influenced by a book set in Canada (Montreal) with a historical background. From the 1940s through the 60s, the Quebec government and the Catholic Church took advantage of additional federal funding for thousands of ‘orphaned’ children to move them from orphanages to asylums. Conditions were even worse in the asylums, exacerbated by the likelihood of medical experimentation.
It is the Cold War after all.
Once again in Canadian history, governments and religious organisations are responsible for forced separation of children from their mothers and families, with dreadful consequences. These children, known as the Duplessis Orphans (after the Quebec premier) truly are owed more than trite apologies and minimal compensation.
It makes me very upset that these things happened - and covered up.
An excellent read.
It is the Cold War after all.
Once again in Canadian history, governments and religious organisations are responsible for forced separation of children from their mothers and families, with dreadful consequences. These children, known as the Duplessis Orphans (after the Quebec premier) truly are owed more than trite apologies and minimal compensation.
It makes me very upset that these things happened - and covered up.
An excellent read.
March 8, 2018
An interesting book with plenty of detail of the unpleasant history of a certain period in my adopted city's history. Well written and readable (important that) ... but let down by two things. Firstly, the main character would never have been given such free rein to "investigate" the crime by real police. Secondly, the murderer turns out to be ... well, I won't spoil it for readers but far too many crime books have criminals who are, shall we say, somewhat unhinged. There are more than enough down to earth and understandable motives to commit murder than the one evinced by this quite unbelievable person. Having said that, I enjoyed the book (well, crime novels are fantasy after all) and will now try a second by the same author out of curiosity.
September 12, 2023
This was a great story! I was able to pick the bad guy out as soon as they were introduced, but I did not put together how everyone was connected until closer to the middle/end of the book. I really loved the dialogue and the voice of the protagonist. There were a lot of interesting aspects of this story about the history of mental health and orphans. In the back of the book was listed some of the resources that the author used to write the story. There is also a list of names for orphans that were effected by this spot in history. Really meaningful to have these names never be forgotten.
May 14, 2018
At first I thought “ok this is starting out kinda typical.” But the further I got into it the better it got, I couldn’t put it down. You really can identify with the main character. And the more she uncovers the more you feel for these human lives that brought on the murders. By the end it throughs a twist at which I did not see coming!! There is second book I’m guessing the author is going to make it a series and I will definitely be reading it!!
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