I can't actually remember where I came across this. It's ok, but nothing special with a few significant errors.

It is clearly labelled as #2 in a series, and there's useful moments of reference to prior events (I assume), but the detective is fully recovered and back on duty. Her first case is the bizarre murder of a phycologist who's been tortured in the former Bedlam 'hospital' now part of the british museum - also invented by the author as that's not currently the case. While she's investigating this her friend and non-police partner with an extra-sensory ability goes missing (yes it's his turn to suffer as she was apparently the victim, in the first book). Should also have trigger warning for readers who are sensitive regarding matters of mental health and suicide. I think I prefer to call this a bold choice by the author, as it's not a topic often brought to the forefront of a novel.

Any sense of drama is then spoiled by the culprit being given a POV chapter tho -thirds of the way in. Utterly unnecessary.

Minus 1 star for a British author managing to conflate the Tower of London with Tower Bridge. At the very least very poor copy-editing and lack of beta-reading. Yes they're close by each other, but very different buildings, histories and purposes. ( )

Amazing intrigue! The reader is immediately at the edge of their seat in the opening scene, where we witness Dr. Christian Monro's physical and emotional trauma while being murdered. We are brought into the death scene, each agonizing step of the way. The detail and the pace are excellent. The suspense is high voltage.
The protagonist Detective Sergeant Jamie Brooke once again is challenged with high stakes. As in the first book of the series, Jamie is going through hell emotionally after the loss of her child, but she is also engaged in the case and wants to understand the true crime. The heroine strives to remain objective while gathering evidence, hoping to see the truth. Along the way many twists in the case elude her, and attempt to veer her from the true crime. She follows the leads and takes the reader down a road of unexpected horrors. Jamie is not faint of heart, but a woman who makes the tough decisions; she is the protector of her co-workers and friends. There is hope - as she is faced with danger even in her most fragile hours, yet somehow finds the strength to prevail.
The subject matter of this novel immediately jolts interest - the history of mental illness treatment and the reminder of abuse done to the mentally ill. This is a topic I too have strong feelings about, and so this story truly hit my heartstrings. The research was done well, as to be expected by this author who always delivers well developed background. This story is not for those wanting a light read, because the reader will be left with some concepts to think about - maybe even choices on how to view others who may not be as fortunate as most. In this world it is too easy to forget about those who suffer with mental illness. Society has swept them from public view, but we know in our heart that more needs to be addressed. I thank the author for writing this riveting story and bringing this topic to the forefront.
To date this is my favorite of J.F.Penn’s books. I truly enjoy reading about Jamie, and this is a great series. Delirium is for anyone who enjoys detective horror thrillers, and is a definite must read. ( )

D.S. Jamie Brooke and D.C. Alan Missinghall are brought in to investigate the death of a prominent psychiatrist who has been found in the old hospital of Bedlam. Her investigation leads her to the subject of madness and its definition and cause. Meanwhile her friend and psychic Blake Daniel has his own personal issues to deal with. Then there is another murder.
An enjoyable and interesting mystery ( )

Jamie is back to work, and Blake is the friend giving her space to work through her grief over the death of her daughter. Refer to the publisher's summary for clues without spoilers.
This tale brings forward the history of psychiatry, including some very uncomfortable truths, and shines a light on the resurgence of some of those treatments and dark attitudes. Woven into the fictional parts of this tale are some unusually clear insights into the perspective of the patient. There is real horror here, as there is far too much truth presented. Enjoy the exceptional writing and the interpersonal tale of these two damaged souls, but do not dismiss all of it as fiction. It is not. I have been a jail nurse; in the US, one fourth of our inmates are the truly mentally ill.
Once again, Rosalind gives an excellent performance and truly enhances the writer's brilliance. ( )

J.F. Penn’s Delirium is like Nancy Drew on acid. J.F. delivers a sensory overload on this one, by that I mean the way she describes everything from the oil slick on the street to the smell of rotted bodies, really takes the reader to that place in the story. At times I felt like there was too much information that didn’t really move the scenes forward but other times they worked really well. These books are not for the faint of heart, if you really get engaged in a book to where you smell and see the locations be aware.

I would have loved to learn more about Blake Daniel, I loved his character from the first novel in the series, Desecration. We got a little teaser about him when we found out that his estranged father was dying and he returned home. We even met his mother, but all of that was glazed over.
Blake has special powers that allows him to see the history of an object by holding on to it. Neat right? Not so much if you’re Blake, some of the things that he sees are absolutely horrendous! One scene that stuck out in my mind was of him seeing demons opening his dying father’s skull and eating his brain. Blake finds his father’s grimoire, and of course I wanted to know more, but Blake was kidnapped and that was kind of the end of that.

I would have liked to see more interaction between Blake and Jamie, they have such awesome similarities; they are both such broken characters and it left me yearning for them to turn to each other. Their paths crossed when Jamie asked him to help her on a case she was working on (Jamie is a detective), but Blake declined because he was dealing with facing his dying father who treated him like a demon seed all his life. By the way, his father was a man of the cloth. Jamie and Blake meet again towards the end. I’m not going to say more on that because I don’t want to give away anything. I would have prefered to read more about Blake than the politician. I love the way it ended, it had me shouting “you go girl!” about Jamie’s character’s making the decision to make her own destiny.

Overall I enjoyed this story but it didn’t connect for me like Desecration. Thank goodness I bought the next book in the series, Deviance I started reading it right away. It is the final book in the trilogy and I can’t wait to see where J.F. takes it.

One of the things I really love about J.F.’s novels are the research that she puts into it to make sure everything is accurate. At the back of the book she shares her experiences and I really appreciate that. Thank you J.F. for reminding us that we all have a little “crazy” in us and that is quite normal. ( )