Killers & Cults

The Asylum Confession Files #4

by Jack Steen

They arrive alive. They always leave dead.
But first, they give me their confessions. My name is Jack Steen, and for those who arrive on my 'death' ward at the Asylum, I'm the last face many will see before they die. I am the night nurse at an Asylum for the Criminally Insane, and most of my patients know me as their Angel of Death. I know them as mass murderers, rapists, and serial killers - among other things. Here's what they come on my floor, they give me their deathbed confession, and I help to make their death less painful. There's a catch, I want the real story, the one they haven't told anyone else. The majority of these killers are expert manipulators. They could be playing their final game with me by messing with my head.
Now, maybe they're messing with yours too.

Inside this book are 5
One thought she gave birth to the antichrist.
One has the nickname of The Candyman - any guesses why?
One grew up in a cult and believes he's the first of a 'pure' race.
Another was part of a secret test by the government, and I've been waiting on his confession for a while! Then there's this kid who loved Halloween and believed in all the rules. I sure hope you didn't break any... WARNING : There is swearing in this book. And some stories might be a trigger for something you have a hard time handling. But, these are the confessions of serial killers, mass murderers, and such, so what do you expect?

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery, Adult, Ebooks, Suspense

236 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2021

Reviews

[chantalsbookstuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introducing yet another captivating edition brimming with addictive tales. One notable observation is Jack's tendency to reserve Bucket's room for extraordinary instances that cross his path. The room gives off the feeling of being a sacred shrine.

I really like the formatting of the confessions and the intriguing insight into Jack's thoughts. It adds a captivating dimension to this series. Cults is another highly addictive and an exceptional addition.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite volume yet.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disturbing

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Im so sad! I finished the last one! I loved all of the confessions and I'm now left wanting more!!

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - I actually rather enjoy these collections of stories by Jack Steen. Following someone who's interviewing these patients in the mental hospital is enjoyable and gives me those "Mindhunter" vibes. I enjoyed how much this one referenced Halloween films. What I really enjoyed though was how a couple of the patients were ones you can really feel for. Mainly, the girl, as her story is one that I think many people in religious families and areas of America are subjects and victims to.

[ChelseaRenee Lovell · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars; out of all the installments of this series, I think I enjoyed this one the most!! The thematic elements for this one hit all the high points for me (cults, brainwashing, Halloween, etc.), plus, something about the writing, or ‘storytelling’ seemed the most genuine in this book. I’m not sure what it was about this one, but I think if I had picked this one up first and was told it was a real collection of confessions, I may have been fooled.

[Amber Saleemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't my favourite edition of asylum Confessions!
But it wasn't terrible! Just a bit bland!
In this one, we have Alyssa - She thought she gave birth to the anti-christ. She definitely had some rough upbringings, and what she did kind of made sense!
next was Asher Smith - He never wanted to be a dad, but he fell in love with a woman who already had children. Let's just say he never did get used to being a dad. He joined an online forum that would end up making things worse.
Then we have Adam - He was brought up in a cult, thinking that he was a part of a new better race of humans. He led a very strange life.
Next was Harold - Tricked into going into a bunker without his family, was of the worst mistakes of his life. His story was by far the craziest story. I felt so bad for Harold, he did not deserve what happened to him!
And last we have Ryan (Sam) - He believes that he's possessed by a Halloween spirit named Sam, giving him powers of persuasion. His story was pretty out there!

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this probably the best one in the series though the stories we the most unbelievable (and yes I understand these are fictional but are written to sound real). Definitely a great read.

[Sherij · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting better! Asylum Confessions: Cults is another wild, unsettling ride through the minds of the asylum’s most twisted patients, and I couldn’t put it down. Harold’s story was a standout—chilling, layered, and impossible to forget. Jack Steen has a way of making even the most disturbing confessions feel real, like you’re sitting right there listening. The mix of horror, psychological tension, and dark humor is perfect. If you love creepy, addictive reads, this series is a must. I’ve read two so far and will definitely be reading more!

[Lisa Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book number 4 and once again it was really good.

This time we have confessions from:

Alyssa
Asher
Adam
Harold
Ryan

Each one had either been part of a cult or possessed in some way. Some of these ones I wasn't quite sure I believed, but they still told a good story.
Alyssa's was the one that shocked me the most. I felt sorry for her at first, but didn't by the end of it.

[Maxine-Eloise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Next is the series. Cults. Wow. I’ve read cult stories before but this was on another level. The pov of those trapped scared and unknowing. Really interesting and enjoyable

[Gee Rothvoss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm gonna go back to 5 stars for this installment, because I love to see stories about people who aren't just murderers - they're victims as well. The first and fourth patients gave incredible confessions, and although the Candyman wasn't as innocent as he'd want us to believe, the confession does leave room to pity him in some ways. Really enjoyed this installment, which felt like quite a nice exploration of group mentality, peer pressure, and in some cases - yes, cults.

[Megan Wintrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This time around Jack gets confessions from:
* Alyssa
* Asher Smith
* Adam
* Harold
* Ryan

As usual I absolutely love this series and so happy I've got the next 4 books to read 😂 and I believe there is another one coming out soon! Which makes me very happy.

I love the style of writing and the stories that these patients tell Jack, they are very intriguing. And I specifically like this one because it's a Halloween Edition 😍🖤🎃

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my second Jack Steen novel and I enjoyed it just as much.

Some of these confessions end up making me feel bad for the culprit while some others make me glad that the world was rid of a monster.

Mostly, the crimes involving a mother and her child are what impact me the most and the first story of the book was the most bone chilling. I cannot imagine the horror honestly.

[Candy Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the other books, this author takes the personal confessions from his patients on the death wing of his asylum. Sometimes it’s hard to not give empathy to these patients, but like he states in every book “these patients aren’t here because they’re good people.” I can’t wait to tackle his 5th and newly released 6th book!

[cerealtime · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though the stories were well delivered, the pacing felt inconsistent—sometimes slow, sometimes fast. The interactions between Jack (the author) and other staff often seemed unnecessary and could be interpreted as arrogance and bullying (or maybe it's just me). Also, there were quite a few typos. I get that the author doesn’t write for a living, but a peer review could have fixed that.

[Hannah Huffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay so the only good “confessions” were Harold’s and Sam’s. First off Harold’s story was SOOOO interesting with the bomb shelter/bunker i totally wanna read more stories that take place during that time. Sam’s story was rushed and unfinished but the idea of it was interesting

[Shayla Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A step up from number 3! This book had me absolutely gripped and the story's hit all the good (and sad) feelings at the right moments! Onto book 5!

[readwkayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every ‘confession’ in this book was super interesting and had me honestly hooked. There was some that just made sense as to why they did what they did. Alyssa- girl who would want a demon child? She personally had a hard upbringing to begin with!
Harold~ his story was crazy and to me didn’t make sense as to why he was put into an asylum when he was set up? I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. These two i couldn’t help but feel bad for them and feel for them😣. The other three stories, yea kind of deserved to be in an asylum🤷🏻‍♀️there was definitely different emotions while reading this book. As always great writing format and great guessing game🤩

[Ellareadsbooksss · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Put on your big girl panties for this one. Hold onto your balls cause you’re in for a wild ride”

This one was a good, easy read but there was a few repeat chapters in the Adam Chapter and Ryan Chapter where you were reading the same sentence or paragraph twice in two different chapters… so that’s why I rated this book 3 stars. It would’ve been a 4 but those chapters were weird and felt like it was a HUGE editing error

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I genuinely thought this one would be my first five star Asylum Confessions read, especially as a big fan of cults! However it just fell slightly short of that as I felt some stories were incomplete or cut off.
As you can see, I was still obsessed with this story and ate it up!! I just wanted more from some stories, especially Adam's experimental cult and his role as a protector!!

Maybe I'm being greedy.. I'm still obsessed with this series! 10/10 craic is being had!

[Marie Wikle · Rating 5 out of 5]

completely addicted

I cannot get enough of these confessions. I could read one a week or more. I love this entire series and am excited about the next book!

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wild group of confessions. Looking forward to more craziness in the next one.👩🏼‍🍼😈🍎🐍🍭🍬🔐💥🎃

[Amanda Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am obsessed with the confessions series. This might be the first author I pay to read on patreon. Phenomenal work. I am captivated by every single story, every single time.

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read! I listen to these books on the way to work in the morning and definitely kept me engaged and interested me with everything that happened with cults.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

brilliant reading experience
best installment so far in my opinion
4.5 🌟

[Geethika · Rating 4 out of 5]

What even😭😭 I wanted to know the whole store of ryan man. Harold’s story was the most heartbreaking. Alyssa was just straight up diabolical

[Rachael Cornell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy this concept but because there are so many confessions that make up one book (usu. 4-5), it’s hit or miss which of them I personally find intriguing. Sometimes, like this one, it’s filled with more TWs or disturbing stories than I’d prefer.

[clumsyplankton · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn’t great not going to lie

[Rory Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

these books are so damn good