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The Institution: The gasp-inducing new crime thriller for 2023 from the million copy bestselling author of THE LAST GIRL TO DIE and the Perfect Series Paperback – February 20, 2024

by Helen Sarah Fields (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,952 ratings
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‘ Brilliant! The Institution is a harrowing, nonstop story that will grab you from the first page and not let go. Helen Fields is a master of suspense. You’ll consume it in one sitting .’ – International bestselling sensation JEFFERY DEAVER They’re locked up for your safety.
Now, you’re locked in with them. Dr Connie Woolwine has five days to catch a killer. On a locked ward in the world’s highest-security prison hospital, a scream shatters the night. The next morning, a nurse’s body is found and her daughter has been taken. A ransom must be paid, and the clock is ticking. Forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine is renowned for her ability to get inside the mind of a murderer. Now, she must go deep undercover among the most deranged and dangerous men on earth and use her unique skills to find the girl – before it’s too late. But as the walls close in around her, can Connie get the killer before The Institution gets her? A claustrophobic, haunting crime thriller that will keep you up at night, perfect for those who couldn’t put down The Sanatorium and Amy McCulloch’s Breathless . ‘ Terrifyingly brilliant and an absolute must-read for those who enjoy dark psychological thrillers.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A very dark and exciting read. If you want to stay up all night , love serial killers or just want a strong female heroine , The Institution is for you!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What a story! It gripped me right from the start of the opening chapter. Wow! ’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Haunting, scary, shocking … this is a book that you won't forget in a hurry .’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘ Dark and terrifying , The Institution had me committed to finishing it from the first chapter!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Very much a chewed-fingernails read … a real roller-coaster’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘ Dark, atmospheric, creepy and hauntingly good , and kept me guessing until the end. I loved it .’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    432 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Avon
  4. Publication date
    February 20, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 1.25 x 7.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0008533512
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0008533519
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Avon (February 20, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008533512
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008533519
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.25 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,952 ratings

About the author

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Helen Fields

Helen Fields

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A Sunday Times and million copy best-selling author, Helen is a former criminal and family law barrister. Every book in the Callanach series has claimed an Amazon #1 bestseller flag. 'Perfect Kill' was longlisted for the Crime Writers Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in 2020, and others have been longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize, Scottish crime novel of the year. Helen also writes as HS Chandler, and has released legal thriller 'Degrees of Guilt'. In 2020 Perfect Remains was shortlisted for the Bronze Bat, Dutch debut crime novel of the year. In 2022, Helen was nominated for Best Crime Novel and Best Author in the Netherlands. Now translated into more than 20 languages, and also selling in the USA, Canada & Australasia, Helen's books have won global recognition. She has written standalone novels, The Institution, The Last Girl To Die, These Lost & Broken Things and The Shadow Man. She regularly commutes between West Sussex, USA and Scotland. Helen can be found on X @Helen_Fields

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,952 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Eileen Goudge
5.0 out of 5 stars A nail biter
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2024
Verified Purchase
Love a locked-room mystery and this one gives the trope some fresh blood, literally. Set in an institution for the criminally insane, where the staff is as creepy as the patients, FBI profiler Connie doesn’t know who she can trust as she hunts for killer while undercover. The climax will keep you up reading past your bedtime!
2 people found this helpful
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Maggie
4.0 out of 5 stars gripping psychological thriller
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2023
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Often times I am so disappointed by “First Reads” but this is the exception. Although the setting is a bit imaginative, it is a true nail-biter.
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Martina Poliackova
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic story!
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2024
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By far the best I have read from Helen Fields and I read them all. Highly recommended!
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mehva
3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2023
This is a hard book for me to review, a lot of it was interesting but it was hard to read, a locked psychiatric ward with serial killers and staff that were often indifferent or possibly as dangerous. A staff member is murdered and her unborn child is taken from her body. Now the frantic search for the baby begins. It is a tense, disturbing book, often too detailed for me 3.5
8 people found this helpful
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metaldude30236
4.0 out of 5 stars Great dark story
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2023
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It starts a little slow, but once it kicked in I couldn't put it down.
One person found this helpful
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Annette J. Long
5.0 out of 5 stars Na
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2024
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Na
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Kindle Fanatic
5.0 out of 5 stars Lost sleep over it and it was worth it!
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2023
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What a great read! Emotional, spooky, it has it all. Perfect character development and satisfying end. I really liked how the author mixed action with psychological methods, and the smooth progression. Guaranteed insomnia!
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Kaceey
4.0 out of 5 stars Ready for a dark and disturbing thriller?!
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2023
I didn’t realize this was book two of a series when I requested it. I know this author writes notoriously dark thrillers that are some of my favorites. After noticing the psychological profilers’ name - Connie Woolwine, I knew I was in for an additional bonus. I loved her character in the previous book, The Shadow Man.

No worries if you’re new to this author. You can easily jump in right here and still have all the background needed to enjoy thoroughly and not feel you’re missing out.

Connie Woolwine and Brodie Baarda take on a case of a baby abduction in a high security facility for the most dangerous, "criminally insane". Known simply as The Institution. So you ask…what was a baby doing there in the first place? Well, her mom was a nurse at the facility, brutally murdered. Her baby ripped from her womb. Leaving her family devastated, desperate to find her child before time runs out.

As Connie interviews each patient you’re given a rare glimpse into their depraved minds. Frightening!

What a premise right!? Wow! Helen Fields delivers the most diabolical and sinister reads!

Once again, the author held me captivate throughout! As with the previous read, I loved Connie’s tough character and the in-depth look into what made her the strong woman she is today.

I will absolutely be standing in line for the next book by this author. Hoping it will involve my favorite profiler, Connie!

My only drawback was listening to the audio this time, I believe it would’ve been a five-star for me if I’d have read it instead. The narrator did a great job, but there were so many changing accents she needed to deliver that it became a bit distracting at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK 🎧
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Tabatha
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!!
Reviewed in Canada on December 7, 2023
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Great read!!
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Darragh Murphy
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good plot with believable characters.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2024
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I am thoroughly enjoying Helen Fields novels and am ploughing through them and enjoying every one thus far. Brilliant plot, characters and descriptive scenes.
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Elisabeth Messner
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written. Not too difficult, even for non native speakerd
Reviewed in Germany on January 29, 2024
Verified Purchase
I like the description of the people in the story. Everybody with a criminal background head a different mental „desease“ and you could well capture the differences. This is valid also for the other people involved. You cannot stop reading. Difficult to know who is the murderer and why he did it?
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Tracy CompulsiveReaders
4.0 out of 5 stars The Institition
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
My Review:

I read and adored Degrees of Guilt written by Helen Fields under HS Chandler so when I saw her at Harrogate’s Theakston Crime Festival discussing The Institution I immediately downloaded it (currently 99p on Kindle).

I read this book with my fellow buddy readers over the course of a week and we all loved it. Fast paced, gripping, atmospheric and very disturbing… exactly what I love in a crime thriller.

The story is set in a high security prison hospital for the criminally insane which is located in the middle of nowhere with limited access and extreme weather conditions. A pregnant nurse has been found murdered and her unborn baby has been removed and abducted for ransom.

Forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine (who appears in Helen’s previous book The Shadow Man) is sent undercover as a nurse to try to find out who the murderer is and find the baby before it’s too late.

I will warn you now, this is really gory in places, highly disturbing in others and really not for the faint-hearted. It’s creepy and shocking, dark and chilling and kept me glued to my kindle throughout.

If you follow my reviews you will know that I never, ever, ever, read a book out of order if it is part of a series and I didn’t realise this was Dr Connie’s second book.. however I can promise you that this book can absolutely 100% be read as a standalone. I did however, download The Shadow Man and fully intend to read it soon to get more of Connie’s backstory which is fascinating.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Customer image
Tracy CompulsiveReaders
4.0 out of 5 stars The Institition
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2023
My Review:

I read and adored Degrees of Guilt written by Helen Fields under HS Chandler so when I saw her at Harrogate’s Theakston Crime Festival discussing The Institution I immediately downloaded it (currently 99p on Kindle).

I read this book with my fellow buddy readers over the course of a week and we all loved it. Fast paced, gripping, atmospheric and very disturbing… exactly what I love in a crime thriller.

The story is set in a high security prison hospital for the criminally insane which is located in the middle of nowhere with limited access and extreme weather conditions. A pregnant nurse has been found murdered and her unborn baby has been removed and abducted for ransom.

Forensic profiler Dr Connie Woolwine (who appears in Helen’s previous book The Shadow Man) is sent undercover as a nurse to try to find out who the murderer is and find the baby before it’s too late.

I will warn you now, this is really gory in places, highly disturbing in others and really not for the faint-hearted. It’s creepy and shocking, dark and chilling and kept me glued to my kindle throughout.

If you follow my reviews you will know that I never, ever, ever, read a book out of order if it is part of a series and I didn’t realise this was Dr Connie’s second book.. however I can promise you that this book can absolutely 100% be read as a standalone. I did however, download The Shadow Man and fully intend to read it soon to get more of Connie’s backstory which is fascinating.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
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9 people found this helpful
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KJS
5.0 out of 5 stars An Incredibly Powerful Book
Reviewed in Canada on March 7, 2023
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I don't think I have ever read anything that gripped me quite so intensely. Having been immersed in The Institution start-to-finish feels like being locked away in a setting like the title. Even if some of Connie's physical feats stretch credulity, and even though I don't necessarily agree with some of her opinions, this book is on a level beyond Fields' earlier books, much as I loved them. I hope we'll see more of Connie and Baarda is future works, but the sheer emotional power of this one will take some beating.
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