The Institution

By: Helen Fields

Narrated by: Genevieve Swallow

‘Deliciously dark and utterly compelling – I couldn’t put it down.’ – CLARE MACKINTOSH

They’re locked up for your safety. Now, you’re locked in with them.

How do you find a murderer in a prison full of killers?

On a locked ward in the world’s highest-security prison hospital, a scream shatters the night.

A nurse has been murdered and her daughter has been taken.

And with only five days to find the girl, the clock is ticking for Dr Connie Woolwine to find a killer hiding in plain sight…

Welcome to The Institution. The locked room thriller listeners don't want to leave.

©2023 Helen Fields (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

‘Brilliant! The Institution is a harrowing, nonstop story that will grab you from the first page and not let go. You’ll consume it in one sitting.’ – Jeffery Deaver

‘Quite simply, wow! One of the best high concept thrillers I've read in forever. I raced through this riveting thriller in a single, breathless session of oh-my-God-what-is-going-to-happen-next.’ – New York Times bestseller Lisa Gardner

‘Absolutely AMAZING. Tense, engrossing and gripping with a truly unique main character.’ Angela Marsons

‘An intense, fast paced, locked room thriller. A brilliant concept which kept me guessing right until the end. Fields is at the top of her game.’ John Marrs

‘Dark and atmospheric with some brilliantly horrific characters. Compelling and unputdownable.’ – Catherine Cooper

‘A terrifying, shocking, pulse racing thriller. One of the best crime novels I've read in a long time.' – Jacqui Rose

‘Criminally compulsive, claustrophobic and captivating, The Institution is Helen Fields at her just-one-more-chapter best.’ – Neil Broadfoot

'Scary, tense and totally absorbing, I just couldn't put it down. Wonderful.' – Simon McCleave

‘A wonderful, compulsively gripping rollercoaster of a read.’ – Liz Nugent

‘A white-knuckle ride that is completely addictive. Chillingly effective.’ – B P Walter

So many Twists!!

This was SO FUN & Exciting to listen too!! The reader was perfect & the whole story kept me on the edge of my swat. Loved all the Twists & turns in it as well, very Good & FUN!!!

Loved it!

The whole book kept me wondering who did it. I don’t see the twist coming and loved it! Definitely worth reading.

Ok story; poor performance

The reader kept confusing her accents, which was distracting. The storyline was ok but not great.

Just ok

Tired story line and way too drawn out. I liked narrator more than I liked the story..

Repetitive and Psychologically Preachy

I feel I may in the minority with my review but I found this one to be extremely repetitive and every turn was met with a suggestion on how to handle emotions (my psychologically preachy comment). If just some of the repetitiveness was cut the book wouldn’t have taken approximately 12 hours. While the narrator was good and the story was well written, it is not one that I am going to go around recommending. I was just irritated throughout this reading.

Terrible narrator

Story was not bad but it was so hard to listen to this book with the narrator. Inconsistent accents, overinflection, just really terrible audio version.

Solid story with new characters

I've been a fan of Helen Fields and her other novels. This one takes a break from her other, well established characters to introduce us to a new set.

The characters are interesting and generally well-rounded, with a solid plot with a couple of small points that I found to be distracting, but overall, quite the story.

I enjoyed the characters who were very flawed, but each given their own unique balance of good vs. evil.

Interviews

SLOOOWWW BURN!! Wish it would’ve been faster past. I feel like all this could have been summed up differently and way better!

Good story

There were lots of twists that I didn't see coming! I enjoyed this author and will seek out more of her books!

Twists & turns

Loved how it kept me wanting to hear more! Definitely didn’t see the killer be who it was!