Confinement

Love and Madness #1

by Gabriella Murray

Set in an experimental hospital for the criminally insane in the 1950s, CONFINEMENT is loosely based on the author’s one year residency in a psychiatric center, when lobotomies and other equally cruel treatments were rampant, and when the highly-experimental “Insulin Therapy” was in vogue. Duffino, an attractive girl in her early 20s, is sent to a mental hospital when she refuses to defend herself at trial for the highly publicized, gang-related murder of her boyfriend’s rival. Refusing to speak, Duffino is ordered locked-up until she’s willing to talk. The richness of the story unfolds with Duffino’s relationship to the other inmates, all in for violent crimes, including her obese roommate, Charlotte, sentenced for murdering a nun. Charlotte becomes obsessed with Duffino, and will not let up until she speaks.The inmates slowly come to learn why they did the crimes they did, as they make us question the true nature of guilt. Between the horrifying treatments, the group therapy sessions, the flashbacks to violent crimes, the question of whether Duffino will talk, and the constant hope of escape, CONFINEMENT is a page-turning psychological thriller, in the vein of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.This is Book #1 in the Love and Madness Series. Book #2--LOCKED AWAY--is also available on Kindle.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Drama, Suspense, Mental Health

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2011

Reviews

[The Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting story from the first person perspective of an inmate at a psychiatric facility for the criminally insane.

[Barbara Brabank · Rating 2 out of 5]

If it was the authors intent to get the reader as confused as one of the portrayed inmates, then she did a bang up job of it as I am still trying to figure out what happened in this book. Like a mental patient's thought process, the storyline meandered and wandered aimlessly around.

The author did do a fairly good job of creating the characters of the inmates and staff in the mental hospital, especially Charlotte. I give the book a low rating because of quite a few spelling and grammatical errors, a storyline that was twisted and hard to follow, and a confusing ending.

[Lori Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise -- a woman is put in a mental institution for the criminally insane because she refuses to speak in her defense at her trial. In fact, she refuses to speak at all. Another patient at the mental institution is determined to exonerate the new woman by helping her gain her voice again.

A bit bumpy in places, but certainly unique.


Lori Anderson

[Mummy's Naughty Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started of strong but gradually fizzled out for me. It was a good look inside an asylum but I felt that there wasn't really much off a story line. The writing was good and I didn't think about quitting but still I was left feeling a little disappointed.

[HannahBug · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whoever decided to advertise this book as like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest did it a disservice. Cuckoo's Nest this is not. It falls quite short in comparison. The characters are forgettable and one-note. The writing is just not very good... The protag keeps talking about her "fat hands" for some reason. Read Cuckoo's Nest and/or The Silent Patient instead. They'll do you better

Not emetophobia safe. Characters mebtion feeling and are physically ill multiple times

[Clivemichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly weird

[✨the one with all the books✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember enough of this a couple of months later that I would probably pick up the second book in the series to keep going.

[Eddy Ream · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, bad editing

Interesting storyline that kept my attention. Unsure if it’s just the kindle edition, but there were numerous editing mistakes that were very distracting.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy...insane...

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book had potential. but it's so fat phobic in the grossest way. it's so bad I won't pick up the second book.

[Steen · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the story line and the development of Charlotte was interesting, there were way to many grammar and punctuation errors that I found really distracting. When you see a quotation mark at the start of a sentence it means someone is speaking. I don't know how many times I had to reread and figure out exactly where the speaker started talking because those quotations were in the wrong spot. There were also many sentences that really didn't make any sense or were incomplete.

Despite that I was drawn into the story and was curious about Duffino's story and why she decided to not talk about what happened. However, the ending was not satisfying and really confusing.

Duffino spends 95% of her time in the book not saying a word. It's only because Charlotte decoded her diary that we get to learn what happened on the night that Duffino's boyfriend died. Now that I think about it, they sent her to the institution because she refused to tell the court what happened. When the story comes out there were TONS of people there, even if the ones involved ran after it happened didn't some other resident on the street SEE anything? Did the police not question Duffino's boyfriends friends? I also thought it was only her bf that was killed. Now it was both her boyfriend and a rival gang's leader? Even more confusing is the really short court scene where after she starts to speak, her lawyer interrupts and objects saying that what she is saying has already been established. The judge says sustained and then she goes on with her story. I'm sorry but WHAT? Considering she hasn't been in court for a few months and I believe she is in front of a jury isn't it a good idea for a refresher on what happened? Also she is telling it herself for the first time not by what the police had figured out. She just says she is innocent and that it was self defense. There is nobody to back her up or to say otherwise and she is freed of all charges. Not satisfying at all and it almost seems rushed.

I also don't get the whole thing with Dr. Ethan? Why was he so infatuated with Duffino! He was so in love with her that he told her so! I mean what a dick move Dr. She is trying to overcome some really horrible crap and your like dumping more crap on her. Glad that they fired him though.

Then the ending with Charlotte. I knew she wasn't really crazy, just put someone like her in that setting and the things she said can be taken in a context that insinuates that she is insane. Anyways, she is also freed and is told that she will be set up somewhere near Duffino. Then the doctor that was always annoyed with her does a 180 and am I the only one that got the vibe that he loved her? He is all depressed that she will be gone and he will be there trapped and alone. WHAT? Maybe not in the physical sense but my goodness DR. you can LEAVE and enjoy not being trapped in that place with no CHOICE. Pretty sure none of the people there for life would appreciate hearing that. He almost made it seem like he was a patient and not a DR.

One of the sisters at the convent that she lived at when she was younger was present with a lawyer and I think one of the doctors to tell her that she was going to be free. I'm not really sure I get why she wanted to be there. She didn't seem sorry or remorseful at all. Did she feel guilty at what they did to her as a child or what. It was described that the nuns and priests were horrified at what she had done and believed the best place for her was at the institution so I can't really see that. After all that Charlotte decides that she needs to stay in the place she has been imprisoned without a fair trial for most of her life. I guess I can get that since it was all she had known but is she going to be able to leave if she wants to?


The story line itself was interested but I think with more editing would have been a good thing. The errors that I saw where glaring that they were distracting. I also think the ending fell short considering it was built up so much. The ending to Duffino's story was so anti-climactic considering it is so easy to figure out that she hadn't done anything. Glad it was a free ebook because I would have been really annoyed that I wasted money on this. I won't be continuing with the series and from comments I have read about the second book has more of the same problems that were found in this one.

[Ana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like much this story, but i can't say is bad either. I think it had an interesting plot but there were too many cliches and that made me lost interest on it.
I think the blurb wasn't accurate, i would be more attracted to the story with some changes, like the fact that it displays Duffino as the main character and i didn't see her as that, i think Charlotte was the main character or at least the one of them that made more interesting the story; and also the fact that is not understood that Duffino doesn't speaks up only to defend herself but she doesn't speak at all, and, for me , that is much more intriguing, and if i would know from the blurb that there was a mute main character, i would probably start reading this book a long time ago.
Charlotte saves the story for me, its a great character, and is the only one that made me feel something, even if was annoyance, because there were several times that i just wanted her to just shut up. I saw that as a possitive thing because i didn't get any feeling from Duffino.
The reasons i didn't like the story are very subjective, and i do believe some people might be able to enjoy this story.

I want to talk about the things that i didn't like but it will have spoilers.
I understand that the book is placed in a moment of time were insuline therapy is experimental as treatment for mental illness, but going from use it as a treatment to use it as a punishment, that it just make me feel truly angry about this book, and is one of the things i said before as being used too many cliches. When this start happening i was just about to stop reading the book, but i did wanted to know what would happen so i kept reading.
Also it was all the same bad guys from every story (bad psychiatry, bad nurse, bad parents, catolic school, etc).
The ending was reasonable, it was good to finaly know what had happen, but there were no surprises there either. The only thing that surprise me was the fact that they let Charlotte go, a delusional person that might actualy be some sort of threat to others, but i liked that, it was a good ending for a nice character.

[Lynnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fabulous find to simply stumble across! I've always been intrigued by the history of mental institutions/treatment in this country, and Ms. Murray tapped into its' horrors and tragedies with her engaging story.

Although the synopsis from Amazon leads you to believe this story is about the young girl Duffino, it is much more the mental evolution of Charlotte as she immerses herself in Duffino's life. Charlotte's struggle with guilt, faith, obsession, loneliness, and potential madness draw you into her world. Add to that her interactions with her fellow inmates (which are a quirky, interesting lot), and the growing respect of institution personnel....you have an amazing story to lose yourself in for awhile.

In response to Amazon reviews that say that Charlotte is "not likable", I'm not sure what more the author could have done. She is an overweight, slightly clumsy inmate who was abandoned at a convent at birth. No, she isn't the tragically beautiful girl that Duffino is, but she does have a beauty of spirit.

I've seen others mention their disappointment with Charlotte's back story being sketchy on details. I may be wrong, but I believe that Ms. Murray did this deliberately. Charlotte's journey in this book is more about her obsession with all things Duffino, and how she grows and learns from that obsession. Much like Duffino telling Charlotte that it was HER (Duffino's) trial, shifting away from Charlotte's back story (with only a few teasers), placed the emphasis on the real story line.

Yes, this book does have some GLARING errors that should have been caught in editing. While mildly annoying, they did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. If a story grips me, my mind sort of "autocorrects" and I found that to be the case with this book.

I look forward to reading the next installment in the series, although I honestly wish it was going to be about Charlotte instead of Duffino. *LOL*

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The human mind is an incredibly fascinating thing. It can be difficult to understand at times, but perhaps that's part of the draw. As a society, we have both discredited and created space for those suffering from mental issues. Perhaps in an effort to not only entertain but further education people on the mental health system, Gabriella Murray wrote Confinement.

To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.

Charlotte has been an inmate at Bingham since she was a young girl, after being committed by the convent she grew up in. She knows the ins and outs of the facility and has been plotting her escape for a long while--after all, she maintains that she's innocent of the crime that placed her there and sane, apart from the schizophrenia. But Charlotte's plans for escape become derailed at the sensational news of a teen girl, Duffino, who is on trial for murdering two men but refuses to speak up to defend herself. When Duffino joins the group at Bingham she becomes Charlotte's roommate and Charlotte is determined to help make Duffino better and get her talking again.

As a text with an unreliable narrator in Charlotte, it makes the whole concept rather interesting and allows an "inside" perspective into the mental healing process during the late 1950s when the book was set. Furthering the unreliable narrator is the rather unrealistic access that Charlotte seems to have to confidential conversations that the doctors are having about their patients. The story really points a light on the effect that holding in emotion until it suddenly bursts can have on a person. The text does need a thorough copy edit as there were some rather sloppy grammatical areas throughout the text. While Charlotte was an interesting narrator, she really had no sense of identity (apart from a religious nutter), which made it difficult to identify with her.

[Peggy Holloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started reading this book I almost gave up. I don't know what font the author used but it looks like it was written on an old fashioned typewriter. The author could use some help with the formatting and editing. However, the book redeems itself in the unique plot, the excellent character development, and the way the story moved along. I love a good psychological thriller and this one meets all criteria for me. I would suggest that the author join a good writers group..

[Susan Martens · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seemed like such an interesting premise - but it went no where very slowly. With all the angel and saint references set in an mental institution, I was hoping that the end would have left me wanting more from Charlotte - like there was divine intervention...instead, I was thinking, "how does the author have 7 more books in this series??"

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot going on. I was lost most of the time. I understand it was supposed to be from a "crazy" person's point of view, but I don't understand how she moved from one thought to another sometimes. Plus, was she really unaware of her surroundings that she misjudges the relationships between her and her doctor?

[Bri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was different. I couldn't really get into it, but I always want to finish what I start, so I kept reading. I have to say that it doesn't really become a page turner until near the end when you just have to know what happens. I can honestly say I really have never read a book quite like this one, it was just so different. I think that you'll either love it or hate it.

[Gina Clabo (Look at that Book!!!!) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just could'nt

Sorry I just could not finish this book...It was not interesting I thought it look good until I got to the fifth chapter and could not take anymore..just was not for me..I felt like I needed to be in the nut house, try for yourself..Sorry Gabriella this just was not for me..Gina Clabo

[Jessica Wirth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this. There were so many typos it was distracting and the story itself moved slow, slow, slow... As much as I love psychological thrillers and mental health institution settings, this is not a series I will continue with.

[Dana Merrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find this terribly interesting to read, and found myself really annoyed with the typos and grammatical errors. It seemed like a rough draft. I think with a little development and editing this could be a better story.

[Jessica Brauker · Rating 1 out of 5]

If the intent of the author of this book was to go absolutely nowhere and take forever to do it..then she succeeded. The story was long, drawn out, and I couldn't even finish it. I never leave a book unfinished. This one I did.

[Tkay Swisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

good story line

good story line

the story was okay but it was hard to enjoy for all the grammatical errors. with better editing, I might recommend it, but until then, I wouldn't want anyone I know to waste their time.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I was waiting for more to happen but nothing much did. Also, there were tons of grammatical errors to the point that it was distracting. Would not recommend.

[Briana Dorley]

This book is graffic but intriges you to the point where you can question your own insanity. It left me like whoa. Read this

[Karen Langston · Rating 2 out of 5]

A boring story of two girls in a mental institution and their relationship. All the characters are blah and there was a subplot that didn't seem to fit. Glad I just paid .99.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange, but interesting premise.

[Kyree Martin-Cotrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, not really what I was expecting it to be

[Justine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as disturbing as I thought it would be - considering it's about a mental asylum. The characters were rather rational... while unrational.

[Liz Chiodo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas developing throughout thsi book, but the storyline was a little too drawn-out and it seemed to move a little slowly.