Neil Root

A dark and twisted historical murder mystery that's not for the faint of heart! This historical thriller is set in the 1930s at a mental hospital/asylum for children in England. The story unfolds from multiple POVs and by a wide range of believable characters. It's gritty and has a film noir feel throughout with the main plot completed (although there are some side stories with open endings) . A couple parts were predictable but there's also plenty of surprises even for an avid crime novel show more reader. Overall, a good scary story. For adults.

LibraryThing Early Reviewer show less

1936. A Mrs Hopkins approached reporter Harry Rose as her daughter Dorothy, fifteen, has disappeared from the Sunnyside Asylum near Milston. She employs him to trace her whereabouts as she was last seen nearly three weeks earlier. To aid his investigation he is employed as an orderly. But progress is slow as he is without any help.
An interesting and well-written historical mystery with its plot twists. With its cast of varied and complicated characters it makes for an enjoyable read.

An intriguing story set in an asylum for young children
A young girl has disappeared and one of the senior staff has ‘fallen’ down the stairs and died. A private detective has been called in to investigate the disappearance of the girl and as part of his investigation he must talk to the ‘residents’.
In a race to find the girl, he becomes enmeshed in the fantasy world of one of the residents; what is real and what is fantasy. Will he find out before it is too late?
A very well written show more book which was definitely worth the read; full of intrigue. show less

On the south coast of England lies the Sunnyside asylum, a place for children. When a girl goes missing, journalist Harry Rose decides to investigate.

This book wasn't really my style. It felt very detective noir, which I generally do not read. It was well written, the pace moved nicely, and the characters were well developed. However, as I said, just not my style. I think many will enjoy.