The Asylum

by Debra Meller

At the turn of the twentieth century, a woman finds herself prisoner of a nefarious hospital in this thriller by the author of Finding Elizabeth.

Patty Miller, a paraplegic, is discovered at home barely clinging to life. Her infant son, already dead, lies on her chest still clinging to his mother.

On the morning that is Patty found, she is not expected to survive but is taken to hospital where she eventually recovers. But, severely emotionally disturbed, Patty soon finds herself a patient at Hillside Asylum. There, Patty’s condition deteriorates, and the staff and doctors perform unnecessary experimental procedures on their patient.

But when someone from Patty’s past learns about her incarceration, they vow to get her out. And those responsible for the abuse will be made to suffer . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 21, 2020

Reviews

[Julie (JuJu) · Rating 3 out of 5]

After an engaging Prologue, I struggled to connect with this one. I found the writing style very flat, and couldn’t finish. A disappointing read with a fabulous cover.

Thank you to Pigeonhole for this free digital ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

[Mags Schofield · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good story badly told.
Very strange writing style with a total lack of warmth, almost as though written by a child. I could not develop any empathy for the characters as the writing was so factual with no details and very little speech. It actually reads like a report rather than a novel. I almost gave up as I found the clunky writing style and incongruous details very annoying, but I wanted to know what happened to the main characters. I felt very short changed when one was dismissed in just a couple of lines and hardly mentioned again.
I'm also not sure the author had done any research on Canada in 1907 as many things seemed wrong for the time.
This has to be one of the strangest, and certainly the most disappointing book I've ever read. Can't say that I enjoyed it.
Thanks to the author and Pigeonhole

[Nadene (Totally Addicted to Reading) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a hard time connecting with the story and the characters. It read more like a report than a story. I could not continue.

[Barbara Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Loved the writing style. I found it read like a true story. Well done! Will definitely be reading more by this author!

[Fay Flude · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so sorry to award this book just 2 stars but it really was very strange. Much less a story and more of a report or a factual account that moved between tenses and made reading it more of an endurance test than a pleasure.
The subject matter is grim. Set in the early 1900s in Ontario, Canada, more specifically Elmvale, this is a tale of the suffragette movement and the atrocities that went on in asylums.
This book focuses on one asylum known as Hillside, owned by the despicable Andrew Potter whose staff, namely Nurse Margaret Reid and Dr Asher, carry out unspeakable treatments, torturing patients, abusing them and leaving them to become frail and ill in the most filthy and degrading of situations. And that doesn't include the electric shock treatments, the electric baths, the lobotomies and the experiments that kill patients.
The characters are hard to connect with. One is simply a psychopath, the others brave but at times stupid with connections to the constabulary, the local newspaper and midwifery in a way that was jumbled and bizarre.
It is sort of a macabre thriller and it its defence, although I didn't think the book was well written, it has left an impression on me that other books I enjoy (but are ten a penny in their genre) don't.
Lila is the main character determined to have Hillside Asylum shut down.
Will she achieve this or will she become yet another victim?
I was just relieved to finish!

[Veronika Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is very rare for me to leave a review less than three stars (I don't think I ever have) because I would have given up long before I got to this stage. But in this case it's only about the writing style and not the story. This could have been so good, suspenseful and exciting, but instead it reads like a news report or school history book. I'm expecting to sit a test now.

When we discover the truth about a character their back story could have been written as a flash back making it more 'in the moment'. It's all so flat including the characters. Nurse Fiona lives alone with three cats - so what! We need more. We hear about the deliveries of babies that do not have any relevance. Characters are introduced and then disappear. Detective Broad should be a main character but we need to know more about him. Events need to move the story forward. There is virtually no dialogue to break up the tedium. But worst of all is the constant 'this would happen in the future'.

It's all tell and no show like the before and after in a creative writing course. I wanted to scream at times. I apologise to the author who must have put in so much work and done so much research but it needs editing to make it the sad, exciting novel it should be.

Many thanks to the Pigeonhole for giving me the opportunity to read along with my fellow Pigeons.

[Susan Bailey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rare for me not to finish a book but this really was impossible to continue with. Sorry but this just wasn’t for me. I hate to discredit anyone who takes on the monumental task of writing a book but this is just too stilted and laborious. It reads like a report rather than a novel and the basic style and repetition of the writing is just not holding my attention. The characters have no depth and the supposed drama and tension of the story just isn’t there. I’ve only read two staves via The Pigeonhole but I’m not going to invest any more of my time into this one when I have a mountain of other books on my ‘to read’ pile that I’m sure will offer a far more rewarding experience.

[Gail Wylde · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very hard book to review. The storyline was an interesting one but the writing style didn’t live up to expectations. It read a bit like a first draft or it was being told by the young daughter of our heroine. I really wanted to enjoy it but sorry I didn’t ( even though I stuck it out to the end!)

[Alyson Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a small town near Ontario Canada in 1907, Patty Miller’s husband had grown tied of a wife who had no use of her legs. He had found a mistress and one day went off to her, never returning. Patty had a great friend, her former midwife Amelia Fern, who helped her daily. But no one knew Amelia was ill, both mentally and physically, and one day she walked out for supplies, took ill and never came back. Stranded, Patty and her baby son Ian were discovered days later, Ian dead and Patty in a terrible state. Before she died Amelia spoke at length to her doctor about Patty and her own daughter Lila, enabling him to track down a friend of hers, Elise, who in turn was able to inform Lila about her mother’s demise. Elise, her maid Mavis and Lila all felt terrible guilt at not being there in Amelia’s hour of need since she had done so much for the women of the area, and Lila makes up her mind to find Patty. She doesn’t know it at the time but Patty has been moved from hospital to Hillside Asylum, one of the very worst examples of everything that could be wrong in these places. With only one nice attendant and one kind decent nurse, the place has fallen foul to the merciless treatments of one particular nurse and doctor. Lila enlists help from a loyal friend and some good people in the town, and together they hatch a plan to rescue Patty. The story becomes bigger and more terrible as the desperate hunt for Patty leads to more and more devastating and unspeakable discoveries. Even when it looks like the story might be over and there may be a glimmer of happiness the whole situation in the town explodes into horror and fear.
Descriptions of the appalling squalid living conditions and the barbaric treatment of the patients make very hard reading and are difficult to stomach at times. The level of cruelty, neglect and terror feel a little too close to possible truth at times and are truly very very disturbing. Decades ago there were a lot of very terrible and to us non-sensical reasons for people to be put into asylums, such as simply because they were physically disabled and needed day to day help or men who had grown tired of their wives and wanted rid of them. Maybe things were worse for them as they realised they would live out their days incarcerated, as opposed to the poor souls who had already lost their minds and knew nothing of how or where they were living. Many relatives were eager to wash their hands of such relatives, easing their consciences by telling themselves they had done the best for them. What is worse is that history has shown that experiments were conducted in some such places in the quest for greater knowledge and understanding of mental health problems. Sad times.
I really haven’t touched on much of the story for fear of spoilers but I can say that it a book that will draw you in as the plot is revealed and the characters find themselves moving further into hell. I read this book in less than a day. It is well written and very easy to follow. Shocking and saddening but with some wonderful kind characters and some fantastic strong women, this book was completely gripping and I was totally absorbed from start to finish. 4.5*

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Asylum by Debra Meller in staves with other Pigeonholers as part of a group.

The Asylum is a fascinating and compelling tale although it took me a few chapters to become invested. Debra Miller had a very unusual writing style. Descriptions of the appalling squalid living conditions and the barbaric treatment of the patients made for some very hard reading and were difficult to stomach at times.

The characters were well-drawn and some of their actions and opinions were very brave for their era. I found myself rooting for Lila, Nurse Fiona, Loraine and Patty as well as a few others along the way. Lila, in particular, showed she had feistiness and determination, however, some of her methods and planning seemed rash and not fully thought through. Overall, a tense and gritty, absorbing read.

Thank you to Debra Meller and Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read this book. This review is my unbiased opinion.

[Nicola Mackenzie-Smaller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with The Pigeonhole.
A missed opportunity really. This has the makings of a fantastic story, let down by poor editing and a flat, reportage style of writing, which projects into the future, killing elements of suspense. It seems unsure of its main premise. Is it freeing a wrongly detained woman in an asylum or is it the tale of a mad nurse? Or something else?
The thing that annoys me about this is that I’m sure this tale will stay with me longer than some other books I have read. It has an almost “so bad it’s good” feel to it. Fair play to the writer for the plot. I wonder if some really sharp editing and a bit of a re-write might actually make this much more enjoyable?

[Catherine Rickard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to leave a bad review as I understand how hard the author will have worked to write this book and the amount of research that will have been conducted. The two stars I have given this book are purely for those reasons. There was a good story but I found the writing to be incredibly flat and with very little dialogue the characters were lifeless and I felt nothing for them at all. I don't want to be told that they spoke I want to hear them for myself. All tell.and no show, unfortunately. Thank you Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this via Pigeonhole, thanks to them and the author for advance copy.
This had the bare bones of an interesting story but was badly let down by the writing.
No characterisation, weird flits between different tenses, characters introduced, then dropped, no relevance to the plot, wrote like a teenagers attempt at a story for creative writing module. Had gruesome details that were unnecessary and characters behaved like naive idiots at times.
Such a let down as would have been an interesting, suspenseful read if written properly.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot had potential, but the story telling not! The writing itself makes you wonder whether the author forgot what storyline she was following. Too much tell and not show, too many horrors as though lots of extreme events make a good story.
Thank you, Debra for letting us read your book on Pigeonhole.

[Barb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written - almost like a nineteenth century serial - wooden characters and strange changes in perspective and focus. I read with Pigeonhole, so the only benefit is that it cost me nothing but time. I cannot recommend.

[Suzanne Sinclair]

Unreadable. Abandoned at 10%.

[Gail Danks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good storyline but sadly very poorly written. I wouldn’t recommend this book unfortunately

[Vanessa Wild · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disabled girl is found clinging to her dead baby and is consequently sent to Hillside Asylum to recover. The asylum is not as it at first seems and there are reports of mistreatment and experimentation on patients. Someone from the girl’s past decides to investigate by infiltrating the institution, posing as a patient.

Firstly, I would just like to say that I don’t like rating books below 3⭐️. However, I read this via the Pigeonhole app so I feel obliged to leave a review.

The writing style just didn’t gel with me at all, it is very simplistic. There are the bones of a great story within this book, but, sadly, the composition lets it down in my opinion. It reads like a newspaper report. According to the synopsis, it is written to read like non-fiction. I don’t think it works with this tale and, ultimately, I was just left disappointed.

[Alison Alice-May · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well I’m afraid that this book wasn’t really to my taste. It was an intriguing story, badly told I’m sorry to say. The characters were flat and weren’t brought to life at all. I think this was because we didn’t hear them speak. We were told what they said, more in the way of a newspaper report. It lacked emotion.

The book did get better towards the end, which is what saved the book for me. I disliked the way that death was dealt with, just so matter of fact. For example, a character that was important to the book was killed off in a couple of bland basic sentences. No sentiment involved.

It was a good story, but not well told. Great cover though.

[Clare · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate to leave bad reviews, I hardly ever do it, but I really struggled with this one. The style is just bizarre. The idea and storyline are both really intriguing, and I was excited to read it, but I just can't get over the narrative. Its so impersonal, I feel no connection with any of the characters at all. And for what is a very emotional subject, thats quite something. I'm really sorry Pigeonhole, I made it to the halfway point, and that was enough for me.

[Ruth Howes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this as it appeared to have some historical links but was terribly disappointed with the writing style. It seemed to have been written like a factual essay as opposed to a story.

[Julie W · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written, I struggled to finish it. Nothing more to say.

[Linda Kendell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very difficult to read due to the writing style. The story was good but was let down by the fact that it read like a report rather than a story. No feeling, very flat.

[Rhiannon Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Breath-taking? No.

This book sounded really enthralling but, although the story has the potential to be great, the writing is very thin without much character development or description necessary to build a narrative in a reader's mind. It is also very repetitive, meaning I could skim, or even skip, paragraphs but still know what was happening. If you fancy a quick read that doesn't take much thought then The Asylum might be okay but other than that I'd give it a miss.

[Diane Smillie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The storyline of this book had such great potential but lacked the story elements. Written almost like an extended news report and didn’t show the depth of characters that drew you in. I stuck with it to the end as wanted to know how it ended. No real surprises. Deaths were very much treated, they found the body and then nothing more and major characters at beginning were not given much thought of as they died. Was very matter of fact.
Read through pigeonhole, so thanks, but picking up each day was a chore and if had the book all at once, not sure I would have finished.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read through pigeonhole app and very grateful for the opportunity but not the book for me.

I thought the idea behind the story could have been good but the writing made this a very difficult read. I’m not sure it was edited very well either.
Some points repeated and sentences poorly constructed in places.
Didn’t really warm to any of the characters either. Found myself thinking “one more section to go”, which is never a good sign.
Definitely not the book for me.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very slow start which did get a bit better as the story continued. It’s a quick read if you are looking for something easy to read. Characters could have been expanded and more of an atmosphere built up. Not an awful read just could have been so much more as the story is a good one with lots of potential.

[Amanda Taft · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m really sorry to leave a 1* review but this book just isn’t for me. Thank you Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read it even though I did not finish it.

[Holly Guest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this!

Wow I loved this!! Based on 1902, you can imagine that asylums were exactly like described in this book.
Absolutely brilliant!

[Susanne Alethea Larssen · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is not often I am unable to finish a book, however, this one I only, with some effort, lasted 20% in.
The style is almost immature, dumping information and sub plots, made worse that what little space there is to develop, is occupied by repetition. You have no time to care about the characters.
Then it is the glaring lack of research. The treatment of the mentally ill is one long story of abuse and neglect, and each era had it's own gruesome twist. (And in some parts of the world, this continues with their own local and cultural elements) Here some of them is mashed together to, I assume, up the horror but discard the historical facts and quite a bit of somatic medicine as well. One place, a rat bite is given attention, while the most obvious problem for a paraplegic in such conditions, bedsores, are not mentioned as far. They would be worse than any rat bite.