Brian Kirk (3)

I like to consider myself a horror buff. So rarely does a book get under my skin. But this one. This one left me paranoid I legitimately checked the locks on my doors and rearmed my security system after reading it. This book is unbelievably twisted. It leaves more questions than it’s given answers. It’s depraved. It’s shocking. It’s gut wrenching and I loved every bit of it!

*ARC provided by Netgalley and Flame Tree Press*

A doctor motivated by greed and unchecked ambition believes he has created a cure for schizophrenia. But the only way to prove the drug's capabilities is through testing....so he decides to test it on mental patients. While that is horrific enough as it is....it gets worse. When he gives the drug to a famous serial killer, there is an unforeseen side effect. This wonder drug sets the mentally ill free from their demons...by releasing that darkness into the world. The dark halls of the Sugar show more Hill Asylum now hold the inner demons of The Apocalypse Killer.

This is a horror story with an underlying point about how society views and treats those with mental illness. This story means a bit more to me because my family is currently experiencing the deterioration of an elderly parent with bipolar and the beginning stages of dementia. As I finished reading this book, she was involuntarily hospitalized for the second time in six weeks, so I had a bit of a different reaction to this book than some readers might. Society has a mindset about those with mental illness, often viewing them as bothersome annoyances rather than people with a medical issue. And medical treatment, at times, seems to just be experimenting with mixes of medication to keep them controllable and quiet, rather than an attempt to return them to a condition where they can function/survive within the world. It's a world filled with medications, doctors appointments, fear of hospitalization, and fears/experiences that other people don't understand. The horror of dementia is that there is no going back....there's no way to return a wonderful woman to who she was for almost 80 years. That person is gone....locked inside a short circuiting brain. What people see now is just an out of control, elderly woman with a foul mouth and nasty disposition. They don't realize that up until a year ago I never heard a cross word come out of her mouth, let alone strings of curse words and horrible, hurtful insults. It is soul-crushingly sad to see someone deteriorate slowly and permanently. And it's hard to maintain patience and kindness when she is angry/abusive/out of control. So, this story about a doctor seeking fame and fortune at the expense of the mentally ill really hit home with me. What if medical staff, or the public at large, could see and experience the horrible things that the mentally ill deal with that come from their own minds? What if those who look at a medical career as a way to become rich rather than a chance to do good and heal people were confronted with the downside of their actions?

Very scary story....with a bittersweet edge to it for me.

This is the first book by Brian Kirk that I have read. I will definitely be looking for more by this author. Enjoyable story....with a hard truth beneath the horror.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Flame Tree Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own** show less

The title of this book is entirely accurate.

When I began reading, I was unsure I would enjoy the story, it seemed a bit raw for my taste, but determined to make it through, I kept on. The instant it was mentioned that this book was dangerous and I should stop reading, I became paranoid. Not because I’m a paranoid person or out of touch with reality, but the author’s ability to convince you that you’re in danger is incredible. Rationally, I knew I was perfectly safe, but when I visited show more the website that I was told not to visit, the really was a cold stone in the pit of my stomach. Pure dread. What did I just hear?

Throughout the book I had to continually remind myself that I was going to be okay, despite the frequent mentions that by reading this book I, too, would be forced to encounter the same horrors as the main character. The imagery was described in such vivid detail, creepy and disturbing, scary in its most primal form. To finish it is a relief, not because it’s terribly written, but because it’s so well done that you’re legitimately stressed out the entire time you’re reading. show less

Thank you Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Brian Kirk for allowing me to read this advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Honestly, I didn't know what the heck to expect. I saw the words asylum and horror and stopped reading the synopsis from there. Well, first let me say I'm not a big fan of dystopian or any zombie kind of books/movies. Second let me say, this book just may have changed my mind!

The author took his time and developed the characters in a way that made you care about show more them. The patients are not always the one that have "issues" in an asylum. The very ones taking care of them may have much more serious things that are hidden away in their subconscious.

This book to me was more than just a horror or dystopian theme. It makes you think that not all monsters are make believe. We all have a little monster in us, it's just how we choose to live our lives and deal with those monsters that make us who we are.

Well done Mr. Kirk, you converted me :) show less