Inside the Asylum
(Kathy Ryan Book 3) Book Review
By Mary SanGiovanni
Finished 06-10-2019
Genre: Thriller
Basic Plot: Kathy Ryan, an occult and cult investigator, is facing her past like never before. She has heard rumors of strange happenings at the very psychiatric hospital in which her own brother, a serial killer previously associated with the Hand of the Black Stars cult, is institutionalized. Another inmate is possibly causing creatures from another dimension to infiltrate our world, it’s up to Kathy, and some unlikely help, to stop them.
This one was...ok. I don’t think the second book in this series is in danger of be dethroned as a favorite by this one. The characters this time didn’t really pull my interest, nor did the actual plot. The creatures were, again, a little cheesy and overall just not very much of this was enticing enough to be a “thriller.” I would describe this one as flat. That being said however, I do want to note, I went into this one with the highest hopes yet. The way the last book had ended with her brother and the fact that this was solely based in a psychiatric hospital (my personal favorite setting) and the one in which her brother himself is located, I expected a great deal more delving into that. I did like the parts of this that did focus more on the two of them and I can appreciate the actual flow of this particular novel, but overall, just a little let down.
I gave it a 3 out of 5 because even though it wasn’t the edge sitting, nail biting, plot twisting thriller I was hoping for, it was still enjoyable. I will comment on that fact that SanGiovanni can delve into the human psyche well and I did find those plot points very enjoyable. I don’t think her fear tactics are exactly my style which is why I may find the plot line surrounding her occult details to be a little less enticing. I do think she is a good writer, her plot if clear and she gives us things to dwell on regarding how we act and think, but overall I just don’t find her stories themselves to meet expectations.
