Review: Asylum by Amy Cross

Print Length: 535 pages
ASIN: B009OKRB3Q
Find it on Amazon or Goodreads 
My rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★

Book Description:
After shooting her little brother dead, Annie Radford is sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. Hearing voices in her head, Annie is forced to undergo experimental new treatments devised by a mysterious old man who lives in the hospital's attic. It soon becomes clear that the hospital's staff, led by the vicious Nurse Winter, are involved in some dark and horrific plans.

As Annie struggles to survive the hospital, she learns more about Nurse Winter's own story. Once a promising young medical student, Nurse Winter also heard voices in her head. What kind of signals are being transmitted from the basement of the hospital? Who is the old man in the attic? Why are living human brains kept in jars? And what is the dark secret that lurks at the heart of the hospital?

This volume contains all 8 books in the series.

Book 1: The New Girl
Book 2: Doctor Lava
Book 3: Husk
Book 4: A Case of Crows
Book 5: Life of Horror
Book 6: The Nun and the Janitor
Book 7: Tragedy Day
Book 8: Burning Down the House 

As some people have griped about (especially on Amazon), this book DOES jump around quite a bit but as long as you read the chapter titles, you'll know whose POV you're reading about. People complain about books where you don't learn much about the main characters & then they complain when you DO actually learn a fair bit about the main characters. 

This book lets you know some back-story to the main characters & then lets you see their POV when certain things are happening.. Yes, this means there's some repetition to it, but it works for the story. For example (no, this isn't in the book).. You have Nurse Winter & Eddie eating lunch together & it's Nurse Winter's POV. She sees Morris walking down the hallway & sneers at him. Then in the next chapter you're reading Morris' POV & he's walking down the hallway, sees Nurse Winter & Eddie eating lunch & then sees her sneer at him & thinks she's a bitch. (If any of that made sense) 

These books draw you in & have you wanting to know whats going on. This is the first series (or book in general) that I've read in a LONG time where the entire story isn't predictable. Every time I though I had something figured out, I soon found out I was completely wrong! These books are twisted & disturbing. The main disturbing part of them is that some of the treatments of these patients used to happen awhile ago & most likely STILL do. Mental hospitals used to take advantage of their patients & do inhumane experiments on them because well, whose going to believe them? If you want to be left wondering what's going on until the very end, I highly suggest these books!