Torment

by H.E. Joyce

Less than normal behaviour is only to be expected in a psychiatric hospital. But at The Manor, the strange behaviour appears to come from the staff. Doctor Helen Ross, after ending an affair with a fellow doctor, decides to make a career move to a hospital far away from London. She soon realises, however, that all is not as it should be at the hospital. Patients being removed from their beds in the dead of night and the odd behaviour of the staff prompt her to investigate. What secrets does the hospital hold? And why are the staff so obedient to the enigmatic Professor Kirkby and his strange rules?

142 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 2015

About the author

Although having had a variety of jobs during my life, some very interestIng, some not so interesting, I have, throughout the years, always had a burning desire to be a writer. I was a firefighter for eighteen years which was extremely rewarding, and I could, and perhaps will at some point, write about certain events I witnessed. I also worked for a newspaper, as a photographer, and later as a freelance artist.

It is a strange thing to want to do in many ways, shutting oneself away for hours and hours at at time, until finally reaching the end of your current book, months, or even years later. Yet it hardly seems like work - the hours and days go by almost unnoticed, and where would we be without books? It seems unthinkable, doesn't it?

I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoyed writing them. I am currently busy working on my next books, a series of psychological thrillers.

Thank you for reading this, and I really do welcome any feedback, and I'll be delighted to answer any questions you may have. Visit www.hejoyce.com and drop me a line.

If you read my book , please take a little time to leave a review - good, or bad. I would really appreciate it.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

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[mzbeastle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story was somewhat interesting, writing was good, but it was predictable and quite drawn out. I skimmed at least 20% of the book, because I was running out of patience but wanted to see how it ended. It ended pretty much as I predicted.

[Geoffrey West · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a top-rate thriller. As with all his books, this H E Joyce thriller has a background of sinister menace that infiltrates every page like an ever-thickening fog, building the tension gradually, like the master storyteller he is.

Young psychiatrist Helen arrives at a new job at a mental asylum whose staff appear to be as unwelcoming and grizzly as its stark morbid exterior and lonely location way-out-in-the-wilds suggests. Her colleagues seem to be a miserable bunch who are very much under the thumb of the director, Professor Kirkby, whom everyone respects but no one seems to like. Or do they? Helen thinks she’s found a friend in one young colleague, who seems to lack the confidence to stand up to the dictatorial Kirkby.

Why is everyone so miserable? Why does no one talk to her? Why does Kirkby act as he does, demanding company but giving nothing in return? And why are patients shifted around at night for no apparent reason? It’s precisely this kind of unanswered question that keeps you glued to the page. Helen has left her previous job in order to escape from a broken affair with a married man, she’s upset and unsure if she made the right decision but she’s burnt her boats and has to make the best of it. But making the best of it is much harder than she thought it would be.

And the more grisly unpleasantness that Helen discovers the more you fear for her safety, indeed her sanity, as she discovers that something ghastly is going on, but what?

Friendships are tested, allies are found lost and found again, and what happens keeps you guessing until the last page.

This is a chilling thriller that’ll keep you gripped, with sinister revelations throughout. I couldn’t put it down.

[Chel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Torment is a chilling and haunting story that will draw you in from the prologue and keep it hooked throughout. This is a must read for fans of mystery and suspense novels and is truly an outstanding offering amongst them. Helen is the kind of character you can't help but root for and as she explores the mysteries of her new work place, the reader is taken on an unforgettable and intense journey alongside her. This book kept me awake at night, and no not because I was scared (I might have been) but because I couldn't put it down and sleep! ;) I honestly cannot recommend this read enough, it's completely worth it!

[Charmaine Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coincidentally I was visiting Auschwitz Birkenau at the time that I was listening to this book. It paled into insignificance as I heard the first hand account of a Mengeler child survivor and listened to our brilliant guide talk of the improved barracks where children were confined for experimentation in the Camps. Perhaps if I had not been at the site of the prototype for this story it would have been more gripping, interesting and appealing.