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Delaney & Murphy #1
Asylum
From author, Jack Adams – ‘Asylum’ – a psychological thriller series featuring childhood best friends – psychologist, Adam Murphy and private investigator, Nate Delaney – who learn that the mysteries of childhood can have wider impacts than ever imagined. Joe was their friend; the man they spoke to through the wire fence of the Lunatic Asylum, along the banks of the river, and 10-year-old best friends, Nathanial Delany and Adam Murphy, knew he wasn’t insane. He couldn’t be… he must have been locked up by mistake. Joe was an artist, and gentle, although sometimes he was confused and had burn marks on his skin.They were two boys from opposite sides of the track and firm friends. Nate lived in a modest house in the new Riverlink Estate and went to the public school. His dad worked in sales; his mother baked cakes for the school fete and Nate was the centre of their world. Adam Murphy lived on the rich side of the estate with a jetty and water access, and went to the private college. Adam’s media mogul father also managed the career of Adam’s model mother, Winsome – the IT girl, and they spent their days interstate, leaving Adam in the care of his eccentric widow grandmother, Audrey, who lived on the property.Outside of school hours, the two boys spent their days at the creek, climbing trees, fishing, riding on their bikes, and talking with their friend, Joe, who was old – at least forty.Then, one day, Joe was gone; life went on. Hitting their thirties—jobs and divorces in their wake—ex-cop, current P.I. Nate and psychologist Adam decide to share office space and a receptionist in Stones Corner, Brisbane… home to op-shopping and more coffee outlets than inhabitants. It’s there that the letter arrives advising them that they have received ‘Expectations’. A quaint, old-fashioned bequest delivered by a solicitor which amounts to an inheritance for two boys – left by Joseph O’Connell, a missing-believed-deceased former patient at the River Park Lunatic Asylum. Their friend, Joe.The two men begin to investigate the mystery of Joe’s disappearance and start sharing more than office space; this case needs both of their skills to find Joe. But Nate and Adam find the more they dig, the more dangerous it gets.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 2, 2019
357 people are currently reading
567 people want to read
About the author
Jack Adams
5 books12 followersJack Adams is a Brisbane-based writer. He grew up in Toowoomba, Queensland, and has lived and worked in London, Melbourne and Sydney. He is married, shares the house with a range of pets, most who have wandered in and stayed, and hopes to have kids when he grows up.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
December 5, 2019
WOW! This book was so much better than I imagined it to be. I was absolutely hooked right from the beginning all the way to the end. It was one of those books where you actually wanted to know how it was going to end, but then again, you didn’t cause you knew that would be the end.
Ten year old best friends Nathan Delaney and Adam Murphy knew their young friend Joe, whom they visited most days wasn’t insane, but they didn’t know why he was locked away in the asylum. Then one day when they turned up at the wire fence to see Joe he wasn’t there and they never saw him again.
Over twenty years later, Nate and Adam have still stayed close friends and now share an office space. The day they receive a letter from a solicitor informing them of an inheritance from Joesph O’Connell they are shocked. This has them wondering what really happened to Joe all those years ago, but will they find the answers?
What a fantastic debut novel, this was by Aussie author Jack Adams. If you are looking for a really good mystery, thriller or suspense novel, then look no further, this book is definitely for you. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I cannot wait for his next book to be published. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Ten year old best friends Nathan Delaney and Adam Murphy knew their young friend Joe, whom they visited most days wasn’t insane, but they didn’t know why he was locked away in the asylum. Then one day when they turned up at the wire fence to see Joe he wasn’t there and they never saw him again.
Over twenty years later, Nate and Adam have still stayed close friends and now share an office space. The day they receive a letter from a solicitor informing them of an inheritance from Joesph O’Connell they are shocked. This has them wondering what really happened to Joe all those years ago, but will they find the answers?
What a fantastic debut novel, this was by Aussie author Jack Adams. If you are looking for a really good mystery, thriller or suspense novel, then look no further, this book is definitely for you. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I cannot wait for his next book to be published. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
July 24, 2019
4.5★s
Ten-year-old best friends, Nate Delaney and Adam Murphy spent time by the river outside the grounds of the Lunatic Asylum as often as they could, but still that was only weekends and school holidays. Their friend Joe always spoke to them, treated them kindly, sketched them and intrigued them. Nate and Adam knew he wasn’t insane but didn’t know why he was in there. Then one day when they came back, Joe was no longer there.
Over twenty years later, ex-cop Nate, now a PI, was almost-divorced with a young daughter, while psychologist Adam was divorced – the two of them had just opened an office in Brisbane with Jessica as their joint receptionist. The contact from a solicitor regarding an inheritance was a shock to them both, and it started a chain of events stemming back to their boyhood and the River Park Lunatic Asylum, which had housed their good friend, Joseph O’Connell, along with many others.
As Nate and Adam’s investigation deepened, the horrific atrocities uncovered were terrible. But it seemed there was someone out there who didn’t want those secrets uncovered. And perhaps they would stop at nothing to keep it all hidden…
Asylum is the debut novel and 1st in the Delaney & Murphy series by Aussie author Jack Adams and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found the main characters well-defined with plenty of depth and particularly liked Adam’s persona. Brisbane Australia is where this fictional asylum is situated. The mental health institutions of the mid to late 1900s are notorious for what was done within the four walls to the inmates – how they got away with it all is baffling. The second in the series – Stalker – is one I’m looking forward to very much. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and Atlas Productions for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Ten-year-old best friends, Nate Delaney and Adam Murphy spent time by the river outside the grounds of the Lunatic Asylum as often as they could, but still that was only weekends and school holidays. Their friend Joe always spoke to them, treated them kindly, sketched them and intrigued them. Nate and Adam knew he wasn’t insane but didn’t know why he was in there. Then one day when they came back, Joe was no longer there.
Over twenty years later, ex-cop Nate, now a PI, was almost-divorced with a young daughter, while psychologist Adam was divorced – the two of them had just opened an office in Brisbane with Jessica as their joint receptionist. The contact from a solicitor regarding an inheritance was a shock to them both, and it started a chain of events stemming back to their boyhood and the River Park Lunatic Asylum, which had housed their good friend, Joseph O’Connell, along with many others.
As Nate and Adam’s investigation deepened, the horrific atrocities uncovered were terrible. But it seemed there was someone out there who didn’t want those secrets uncovered. And perhaps they would stop at nothing to keep it all hidden…
Asylum is the debut novel and 1st in the Delaney & Murphy series by Aussie author Jack Adams and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found the main characters well-defined with plenty of depth and particularly liked Adam’s persona. Brisbane Australia is where this fictional asylum is situated. The mental health institutions of the mid to late 1900s are notorious for what was done within the four walls to the inmates – how they got away with it all is baffling. The second in the series – Stalker – is one I’m looking forward to very much. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and Atlas Productions for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
April 18, 2025
A new to me series which opens extremely well!
Adam Murphy and Nate Delany meet Joe, an inmate at the local asylum, and spend time chatting to him through the fence. Twenty years later Nate is a private investigator and Adam is a psychologist. They have just set up a business together when events occur that lead them to try and discover what happened to Joe.
The book is written in two time lines, then and now. I am not keen on this structure except when it is handled well and the two stories are equally balanced. In this book it is balanced perfectly and I never felt that either story ever intruded on my interest in the other. The main characters were all very well written and I am looking forward to meeting them again in the next book.
Adam Murphy and Nate Delany meet Joe, an inmate at the local asylum, and spend time chatting to him through the fence. Twenty years later Nate is a private investigator and Adam is a psychologist. They have just set up a business together when events occur that lead them to try and discover what happened to Joe.
The book is written in two time lines, then and now. I am not keen on this structure except when it is handled well and the two stories are equally balanced. In this book it is balanced perfectly and I never felt that either story ever intruded on my interest in the other. The main characters were all very well written and I am looking forward to meeting them again in the next book.
November 4, 2022
Asylum (Delaney & Murphy #1) by Jack Adams
Synopsis /
Ten-year-old best friends, Nathan and Adam, really liked Joe. He was their friend, an artist, the man they spoke to through the wire fence of the lunatic asylum.
But something happened behind those walls, in those rooms, on the grounds, at the river. Joe sketched it all – fine lines, truth in the negative space, truth in the pencil strokes. And then, he was gone.
Twenty years later, Nathan and Adam receive a letter. But can they find what's hiding between the lines?
My Thoughts /
One inmate. Two young boys. One letter, and 20 years.
Sounds cryptic? Maybe not, but they are all important elements of Australian author, Jack Adams debut novel called Asylum.
Set in Australia, Asylum is the first book in the Delaney & Murphy series, and if the standard of this debut book is anything to go by, I am definitely keen to read on.
THEN.
Nathan Delaney and Adam Murphy are best friends, and, like most ten-year-olds, they like nothing better than playing outside. Nathan and Adam both live in River Park estate. The estate is full of new formula suburban homes, with neutral coloured tile roofs and neatly manicured yards. It follows along the curves of the Bremer River with each house being more spectacular than its predecessor as the river travels further along. Adam’s family have a waterfront home with a jetty. The boys have a favourite spot where they like to play along the river. It was where the spotted gums and ground covering rainforest fronds combined to smell like perpetually damp earth. It just so happened that where they liked to play abutted the grounds of the River Park Hospital, or, as it was unofficially known, the Lunatic Asylum. They kept this place a secret, for as Nate tells Adam, “Mum said if she catches us here I’m grounded for a week, and she’ll call your parents”.
Each time the boys visit their special spot they look over into the grounds of hospital and every time they see the same man. A man with clipped brown hair flecked with strands of grey, sitting in a chair in the sun. He’s leaning flush against the wire fence as if by sitting so close, it didn’t exist. The man’s name is Joe O’Connell.
The boys, naturally curious, befriend Joe and strike up a friendship of sorts. Asking him all sorts of youthfully innocent questions. They tell Joe about themselves and how they love to explore. And the boys often talk about Joe between themselves, wondering why he’s in the hospital and what’s wrong with him.
NOW.
Twenty years on. The boys, now grown men, have begun working together. Nate as a PI and Adam, a psychologist.
River Park Hospital is closed. It’s now a deserted empty shell. The grounds full of abandoned buildings reeking of decay and misery.
Nate and Adam are back at the hospital because of a letter they received, advising them that they were left an inheritance by a man called Joseph O’Connell (Joe).
Nate fished a folded letter out of his pocket and directed his torch to it; it was written on official letterhead from a solicitor who claimed to be representing his missing client, Joe O’Connell.
The chapters are written with a ‘now’ and ‘then’ perspective; with each chapter ebbing and flowing 20 years. The to-ing and fro-ing, far from being an annoyance, seemed to suit the flow of the story really well. The main thread revolves around Joe’s disappearance. Joe has been declared legally dead, despite no body having ever been found and no sign of Joe since Nate and Adam saw him last - 20 years ago. Joe’s solicitor hires the boys to find out what happened to Joe all those years ago. And, what went on at the asylum? As the story progresses, Nate and Adam work their way through the mysteries surrounding Joe and the inmates of River Park Hospital.
I loved the characters of Nate and Adam but, more importantly, I loved ALL the characters in this book. Everything just felt so real. Like Alice in Wonderland falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world, here you are inserting yourself into the pages and feeling like part of the story. The writing is brisk and compelling; sharp. An added bonus for me was the location. I live maybe an hour’s drive away.
I am looking forward to seeing what Adams has in store for this duo next. Stalker is the second book in the series, and I’m just itching to read it.
Synopsis /
Ten-year-old best friends, Nathan and Adam, really liked Joe. He was their friend, an artist, the man they spoke to through the wire fence of the lunatic asylum.
But something happened behind those walls, in those rooms, on the grounds, at the river. Joe sketched it all – fine lines, truth in the negative space, truth in the pencil strokes. And then, he was gone.
Twenty years later, Nathan and Adam receive a letter. But can they find what's hiding between the lines?
My Thoughts /
One inmate. Two young boys. One letter, and 20 years.
Sounds cryptic? Maybe not, but they are all important elements of Australian author, Jack Adams debut novel called Asylum.
Set in Australia, Asylum is the first book in the Delaney & Murphy series, and if the standard of this debut book is anything to go by, I am definitely keen to read on.
THEN.
Nathan Delaney and Adam Murphy are best friends, and, like most ten-year-olds, they like nothing better than playing outside. Nathan and Adam both live in River Park estate. The estate is full of new formula suburban homes, with neutral coloured tile roofs and neatly manicured yards. It follows along the curves of the Bremer River with each house being more spectacular than its predecessor as the river travels further along. Adam’s family have a waterfront home with a jetty. The boys have a favourite spot where they like to play along the river. It was where the spotted gums and ground covering rainforest fronds combined to smell like perpetually damp earth. It just so happened that where they liked to play abutted the grounds of the River Park Hospital, or, as it was unofficially known, the Lunatic Asylum. They kept this place a secret, for as Nate tells Adam, “Mum said if she catches us here I’m grounded for a week, and she’ll call your parents”.
Each time the boys visit their special spot they look over into the grounds of hospital and every time they see the same man. A man with clipped brown hair flecked with strands of grey, sitting in a chair in the sun. He’s leaning flush against the wire fence as if by sitting so close, it didn’t exist. The man’s name is Joe O’Connell.
The boys, naturally curious, befriend Joe and strike up a friendship of sorts. Asking him all sorts of youthfully innocent questions. They tell Joe about themselves and how they love to explore. And the boys often talk about Joe between themselves, wondering why he’s in the hospital and what’s wrong with him.
NOW.
Twenty years on. The boys, now grown men, have begun working together. Nate as a PI and Adam, a psychologist.
River Park Hospital is closed. It’s now a deserted empty shell. The grounds full of abandoned buildings reeking of decay and misery.
Nate and Adam are back at the hospital because of a letter they received, advising them that they were left an inheritance by a man called Joseph O’Connell (Joe).
Nate fished a folded letter out of his pocket and directed his torch to it; it was written on official letterhead from a solicitor who claimed to be representing his missing client, Joe O’Connell.
The chapters are written with a ‘now’ and ‘then’ perspective; with each chapter ebbing and flowing 20 years. The to-ing and fro-ing, far from being an annoyance, seemed to suit the flow of the story really well. The main thread revolves around Joe’s disappearance. Joe has been declared legally dead, despite no body having ever been found and no sign of Joe since Nate and Adam saw him last - 20 years ago. Joe’s solicitor hires the boys to find out what happened to Joe all those years ago. And, what went on at the asylum? As the story progresses, Nate and Adam work their way through the mysteries surrounding Joe and the inmates of River Park Hospital.
I loved the characters of Nate and Adam but, more importantly, I loved ALL the characters in this book. Everything just felt so real. Like Alice in Wonderland falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world, here you are inserting yourself into the pages and feeling like part of the story. The writing is brisk and compelling; sharp. An added bonus for me was the location. I live maybe an hour’s drive away.
I am looking forward to seeing what Adams has in store for this duo next. Stalker is the second book in the series, and I’m just itching to read it.
July 22, 2019
Interesting and Intriguing....
This novel ( I did at times wonder if it was part biography but this is cleared up in the authors notes at the end ) is set in Australia and features 2 men, now in their 30’s, life long best friends who when they were 10 played near an asylum!, 20 plus years on and Joe, the patient they used to speak to through the security fencing is back, and about to change their lives
The book then goes from past to present and endeavours to put together, with various clues, just what happened to Joe, why he was in the asylum and then a broader bigger picture of the horrors that went on there, and can justice be brought for the survivors
It gives good insight into how attitudes to mental health have changed and also just how horrifyingly lonely and scary it must have been for the ‘patients’, tbh they were more like prisoners
The 2 main characters Nathan and Adam work well and they have great rapport and lifelong friendship, some of the other characters then, to me, felt slightly weak in comparison
The time line of events is explained well and in a book where reader concentration was vital you were kept ‘in the picture’
I felt that maybe a couple of ‘add on’ sub stories were not needed but they didn’t harm the story or take
away from it just seemed unnecessary
The writing and style was on the whole good and the dialogue between characters if at times clunky was always understandable
A really different idea for a book and I look forward to the authors next book ( again written about in the notes at the end )
7.5/10 4 Stars
This novel ( I did at times wonder if it was part biography but this is cleared up in the authors notes at the end ) is set in Australia and features 2 men, now in their 30’s, life long best friends who when they were 10 played near an asylum!, 20 plus years on and Joe, the patient they used to speak to through the security fencing is back, and about to change their lives
The book then goes from past to present and endeavours to put together, with various clues, just what happened to Joe, why he was in the asylum and then a broader bigger picture of the horrors that went on there, and can justice be brought for the survivors
It gives good insight into how attitudes to mental health have changed and also just how horrifyingly lonely and scary it must have been for the ‘patients’, tbh they were more like prisoners
The 2 main characters Nathan and Adam work well and they have great rapport and lifelong friendship, some of the other characters then, to me, felt slightly weak in comparison
The time line of events is explained well and in a book where reader concentration was vital you were kept ‘in the picture’
I felt that maybe a couple of ‘add on’ sub stories were not needed but they didn’t harm the story or take
away from it just seemed unnecessary
The writing and style was on the whole good and the dialogue between characters if at times clunky was always understandable
A really different idea for a book and I look forward to the authors next book ( again written about in the notes at the end )
7.5/10 4 Stars
July 7, 2019
First up, I have to say that the cover of this book is quite misleading, I was expecting some sort of gothic, horror story. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case, it was a book that did not portray 'mental health' as a threatening, frightful monster, it was in fact respectful of people who have been unfortunate enough to have suffered a mental illness.
The story is about Nate and Adam who as young boys live near an asylum and who befriend a patient at the asylum called Joe. He is an artist and talks to the boys through the fence encouraging them to do great things with their lives. He then disappears and they wonder what has become of him.
In the present day Nate is a private investigator and Adam a psychologist, they are surprised to find themselves the recipients of a trust set up by Joe in their names. As they try to discover who Joe was the past cover ups of the asylum start to come to light.
A very intriguing and well told story about mental health institutions in the 80's and 90's in Australia. If you are interested in finding how much of this story is true then read 'Inside Madness' by Melissa Sweet.
Thank you Atlas Productions and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
The story is about Nate and Adam who as young boys live near an asylum and who befriend a patient at the asylum called Joe. He is an artist and talks to the boys through the fence encouraging them to do great things with their lives. He then disappears and they wonder what has become of him.
In the present day Nate is a private investigator and Adam a psychologist, they are surprised to find themselves the recipients of a trust set up by Joe in their names. As they try to discover who Joe was the past cover ups of the asylum start to come to light.
A very intriguing and well told story about mental health institutions in the 80's and 90's in Australia. If you are interested in finding how much of this story is true then read 'Inside Madness' by Melissa Sweet.
Thank you Atlas Productions and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
August 5, 2019
This is a great suspense story, I really enjoyed it. Nat and Adam are nice characters, but not only them. It is a sad story when you think about it, so many people suffered, and for what? Sad.
Thank you Netgalley for this opportunity.
Thank you Netgalley for this opportunity.
May 8, 2019
This one had me at Asylum. And since that’s the title, we’re talking pretty much from the get go. I mean, has there ever been a more atmospheric place to set a story. And this one isn’t even scary, more along the lines of a thriller. Once upon a time two young boys, Nate and Adam, befriended a patient at a local insane asylum. Through the fence as such things go. He seems nice and mild, drew a lot. Then he disappeared and that was that. Now, nearly two decades later, Nate and Adam are all grown up with a business of their own as a private investigator and a shrink with a shared space and a shared secretary. They haven’t given their boyhood friend much thought, until suddenly they inherit his bequeathed expectations (think Magwitch). This is all very nice and generous, but it brings up a lot of memories and raises a lot of questions and the two men seem to be ideally suited by their respective professions to suss out the truth about what really went on at the Asylum all those years ago. Obviously nothing nice, it is, after all, an asylum, but still…pretty terrible, terribly disturbing the way those places used to be (maybe still are) and the way people were treated in there. So it’s something of a thriller, something of a quest novel, something of a pursuit of justice for the victims drama. It works because Nate and Adam are such nice guys and they make a very likeable team. It works because the writing is brisk and dynamic. It works because the rest of the characters are compelling in their own ways, especially the tragic artist at the center of it all. In fact, for a completely random find by an unknown author this book really had it going on from cover to context to editing even, all thoroughly professional. Small added bonus of the book being set down under, although that mainly means entertaining abbreviations. No page count listed anywhere, frustratingly enough, but by my estimations it’s about 225 to 250 pages and reads very quickly. Looks like Nate and Adam will be returning for further adventures in a sequel. Because that’s just how these things go. Ideally, it’ll be as much fun as this one was. Entertaining, certainly. Enjoyable, for sure. Very nicely done, especially for a debut. Thanks Netgalley.
July 16, 2019
What a delightful and well-written story this is. Two boys finding themselves becoming sort of friends with a man with a strange past. The story shows how easily we can make friendships if we try and see in other people what really matters. Joe is locked up in an institution; the boys have all the freedom in the world? Or do they? Nate can pretty much do what he wants but would love to have some more attention, and Adam practically lives in the golden cage his mother built for herself and her son.
Years later, as Nate and Adam are working together as private investigator and psychologist, they try and find Joe again... meanwhile learning a lot about themselves.
Very nice rounded characters, lots of atmosphere and well-written! I liked it to learn some new words - 'message bank' for 'voicemail' is my favorite!
I hope to read more of Jack Adams soon.
Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.
Years later, as Nate and Adam are working together as private investigator and psychologist, they try and find Joe again... meanwhile learning a lot about themselves.
Very nice rounded characters, lots of atmosphere and well-written! I liked it to learn some new words - 'message bank' for 'voicemail' is my favorite!
I hope to read more of Jack Adams soon.
Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.
August 1, 2019
A great new voice in Australian fiction.
This is a fantastic debut by Australian author Jack Adams, characters are well developed and empathetic, issued are presented in shades of grey, the locations are rich in detail and very visual. I particularly like how this narrative gives voice to the experience of the disenfranchised, those with illness/mental illness in the community and highlights the huge impact that non-judgemental friendship can have on an individual. And then there is the mystery.
A mystery recounted by reflections of two time periods, the not so long ago past and the current times, this is an enlightening read.
I cannot wait to see what Jack Adams writes next – it’s hard to believe this book is his debut, it is written with such skill.
This is a fantastic debut by Australian author Jack Adams, characters are well developed and empathetic, issued are presented in shades of grey, the locations are rich in detail and very visual. I particularly like how this narrative gives voice to the experience of the disenfranchised, those with illness/mental illness in the community and highlights the huge impact that non-judgemental friendship can have on an individual. And then there is the mystery.
A mystery recounted by reflections of two time periods, the not so long ago past and the current times, this is an enlightening read.
I cannot wait to see what Jack Adams writes next – it’s hard to believe this book is his debut, it is written with such skill.
August 8, 2019
Set in Australia, Asylum is a mystery story involving two young friends – Adam and Nate and a man who lives at a nearby Asylum that they meet and become friends with – Joe. Years later, Adam and Nate receive an inheritance from Joe, which then leads to questions such as “What happened to Joe?” and ‘What really went on at that asylum?”
When the story starts, the first several chapters are spent weaving between “Then” and “Now”. Sometimes this type of storytelling can frustrate readers and you will want to get back to a certain timeline, or you find you don’t want to leave a timeline. So it was very refreshing to find that in Asylum, I found the balance between the two to be perfectly executed. I can appreciate how much time the author must have spent trying to find this balance, because I am sure that it wasn’t easy.
Eventually, the story says mainly in the ‘Now’ as the characters work their way through the mystery and hunt down all the clues. The main story itself is very compelling and interesting, but what really sells the book are the characters. All the characters and not just the main 2 are interesting and feel real. You can tell that a lot of time and effort was spent in developing backstories and personalities because of how casually the characters were able to converse about current and past events with each other. They all just felt natural and real, which I really appreciated. While all the conversations and personalities were well written, a small thing that didn’t quite grab me were the romantic-ish relationships. I didn’t quite pick up on who was liked or wasn’t liked as the characters saw them.
I really enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend it to others to read. I will also add that I felt the end of the story was a bit rushed, or perhaps felt incomplete; however, I noticed that this is only the first book in a series so perhaps some of that is continued over into the next book – which I am looking forward to reading.
Rating: 4.5 stars
When the story starts, the first several chapters are spent weaving between “Then” and “Now”. Sometimes this type of storytelling can frustrate readers and you will want to get back to a certain timeline, or you find you don’t want to leave a timeline. So it was very refreshing to find that in Asylum, I found the balance between the two to be perfectly executed. I can appreciate how much time the author must have spent trying to find this balance, because I am sure that it wasn’t easy.
Eventually, the story says mainly in the ‘Now’ as the characters work their way through the mystery and hunt down all the clues. The main story itself is very compelling and interesting, but what really sells the book are the characters. All the characters and not just the main 2 are interesting and feel real. You can tell that a lot of time and effort was spent in developing backstories and personalities because of how casually the characters were able to converse about current and past events with each other. They all just felt natural and real, which I really appreciated. While all the conversations and personalities were well written, a small thing that didn’t quite grab me were the romantic-ish relationships. I didn’t quite pick up on who was liked or wasn’t liked as the characters saw them.
I really enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend it to others to read. I will also add that I felt the end of the story was a bit rushed, or perhaps felt incomplete; however, I noticed that this is only the first book in a series so perhaps some of that is continued over into the next book – which I am looking forward to reading.
Rating: 4.5 stars
April 14, 2021
I really liked this. I haven’t read many crime books set in Australia so the location intrigued me as much as the story. It’s an interesting premise: two young boys befriend an inmate of an asylum, chatting to him through the wire fence and 20 years later receive a letter from his solicitor which sends them off on a quest to find out what happened to him. You do feel from the writing that Nathan and Adam have known each other their whole life, I could easily pick that up and it felt natural. The setting of the asylum is creepy and adds a bit of a gothic twist. There was something about the treasure hunt part of the story with Joe’s son that made me wish for him to join the agency and have all of them off on quests. I would read that!
It’s not perfect. I couldn’t take to the back story of them both being close to 30, married and divorced. It felt a bit like trying to shoe horn a ‘past’ into the narrative. I would have had no issue with them being two young men with no past trauma off solving crimes. Having said that I did like Adam’s family history of a model mum and minister dad. Overall really liked it and will pick up more by this author
It’s not perfect. I couldn’t take to the back story of them both being close to 30, married and divorced. It felt a bit like trying to shoe horn a ‘past’ into the narrative. I would have had no issue with them being two young men with no past trauma off solving crimes. Having said that I did like Adam’s family history of a model mum and minister dad. Overall really liked it and will pick up more by this author
July 8, 2019
3.5 ⭐️ I have what some would consider to be an unhealthy obsession with asylums, personally I think it’s more to do with having spent many years working in psychiatric hospitals. I spotted the cover of Asylum by Jack Adams on NetGalley and then I read the book description, immediately I knew it was a book I had to read come hell or high water (despite the self-enforced NetGalley ban I might add). Normally I’m one of those readers who likes a book to have an immediate impact on me, whether it be a gory crime scene, or a shocking opening I need something to grab my attention from the start. Unusual for me but this book had neither, what grabbed my attention was the promise of a mystery, and the need to know one patients backstory and his experiences of living within the walls of the asylum.
The book opens with the introduction of Nathan and Adam two young boys who befriend one of the asylum’s inmates Joe, but then one day he just disappeared. Fast forward twenty years and the boys are all grown up, Nat’s just started up his own business as a PI and Adam’s a well respected Psychologist. When the men receive an inheritance from Joe, they find themselves investigating Joe’s disappearance. Adam and Nathan are well developed characters who I couldn’t help but warm to, each has an interesting and very different backstory. The author's depiction of their close friendship is spot on, as the reader you get a sense of how deep their friendship is from their dialogue which captures the humour and banter only life-long friends can have.
Asylum is narrated in now and then chapters, the ‘then’ chapters were the ones I found the most unsetting as the boys memories of Joe are innocent, they take him at face value, unaware of the subtle signs that suggest Joe is being mistreated by the very institution that should have been there to protect him. This book is one that centres on the mystery of joe’s disappearance, so the pace felt slower to my usual type of read. I really enjoyed Asylum it made for a quick read, but unfortunately when all was revealed I wasn’t surprised, which was a shame. Definitely worth a read if you are looking for a mystery that isn’t too complex.
All my reviews can be found at http://thebookreviewcafe.com
The book opens with the introduction of Nathan and Adam two young boys who befriend one of the asylum’s inmates Joe, but then one day he just disappeared. Fast forward twenty years and the boys are all grown up, Nat’s just started up his own business as a PI and Adam’s a well respected Psychologist. When the men receive an inheritance from Joe, they find themselves investigating Joe’s disappearance. Adam and Nathan are well developed characters who I couldn’t help but warm to, each has an interesting and very different backstory. The author's depiction of their close friendship is spot on, as the reader you get a sense of how deep their friendship is from their dialogue which captures the humour and banter only life-long friends can have.
Asylum is narrated in now and then chapters, the ‘then’ chapters were the ones I found the most unsetting as the boys memories of Joe are innocent, they take him at face value, unaware of the subtle signs that suggest Joe is being mistreated by the very institution that should have been there to protect him. This book is one that centres on the mystery of joe’s disappearance, so the pace felt slower to my usual type of read. I really enjoyed Asylum it made for a quick read, but unfortunately when all was revealed I wasn’t surprised, which was a shame. Definitely worth a read if you are looking for a mystery that isn’t too complex.
All my reviews can be found at http://thebookreviewcafe.com
August 31, 2019
This book captured my attention from the first page and never let up. I enjoyed the story immensely with likeable characters and the asylum being a very creepy backdrop. I look forward to the next book in this series. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
August 12, 2019
A fantastic new voice in Australian mystery fiction, ASYLUM is the brilliant debut by Jack Adams!
Three things grabbed me about this book - one, the awesome cover and dark title; two, the thrilling rundown of its description; and three, it is Australian! Hailing from down under myself, finding authors from my part of the world with the ability to captivate and thrill readers with the ease of such seasoned writers as Mark Edwards and Val McDermid, is like striking gold. They truly are few and far between...or they simply disappear after a few books, never to be seen again. It is my fervent hope that Jack Adams remains firmly entrenched on the market for years to come.
The story begins with a haunting Prologue consisting of just five lines :
"Something happened here.
Behind these walls, in these rooms, on the grounds, at the river.
The inmate sketched it all - fine lines.
See there, in the negative space, the truth in the pencil strokes.
Then he was gone."
With these words, you just know you are in for one hell of an enthralling mystery. And I couldn't turn the pages or devour each chapter quick enough. It sounds almost spooky, and in a way, I guess it kind of is. But it's not a ghost story. It is about two boys and the friend they made through the boundary fence of an asylum. Then one day, he was gone.
Nate and Adam grew up together on the outskirts of Brisbane, although both were from very different backgrounds. Nate was from an anonymous working class family whereas Adam lived in the more affluent area, the son of a model once linked to a former Prime Minister and who drew the attention of the media at every turn. But as 10 year olds boys, they were best friends who loved exploring, imagining stories and enjoying the simplicity of their lives.
It was on one such exploration that they noticed a lone figure in white who always sat by the boundary fence within the confines of the River Park Lunatic Asylum. They watched him from their vantage point in a nearby tree as the man sketched relentlessly, and they imagined stories surrounding the man and other inmates of the asylum. It wasn't long before the boys struck up a conversation with the man, with incessant questions that the man happily answered in his own way. And soon, Nate and Adam found themselves looking for Joe each time they frequented the asylum boundary as the three of them became unlikely friends.
Nate and Adam spent as much time as they could there, as Joe regaled them with stories and insights - some of which befuddled them - and often sketched them. But he never told them why he was there. Still, Joe intrigued them.
Wondering what had led Joe to end up at River Park, regardless of whatever stories surrounded the asylum, Nate and Adam knew their friend wasn't insane. So why was he there?
But then one day, when they came to the boundary fence, Joe wasn't there. Each day they kept returning and looked for him but Joe was never there. He had gone.
Twenty years later, former police detective Nate Delaney was separated with a young daughter and was now setting up his own private investigation service. Adam Murphy was divorced and now a successful psychologist. Still best friends, the two men had just opened an office for their respective businesses with Jessica as their joint receptionist, whom Nate appropriated from his time in the police force.
Then one day, they receive a letter from a solicitor naming their childhood friend who had bequeathed them what Joe affectionately referred to as "expectations". The endowment was, in its essence, very Joe, as the men recall that he had once regaled them with the story of Pip from the Charles Dickens novel. Nate and Adam are speechless. They had not thought of Joe in long time. When had they stopped thinking about him, they wonder?
At the request of his wife, Joe has now been declared legally dead despite no body having ever been found and no sign of Joe since Nate and Adam last saw him 20 years ago. But the solicitor has a request of his own...and enlists Nate's professional services to find out what happened to Joe all those years ago - whether he escaped, or whether he was alive or dead. What ensues is an investigation that starts a chain of events discovering a mound of secrets that neither men knew existed as they both find themselves reminiscing about their childhoods...and their memories of their friend, Joe.
As their investigation deepened, the horrific atrocities uncovered were appalling. But someone doesn't want those shocking secrets revealed and will stop at nothing to keep them hidden.
But the secrets that the hollow walls of the abandoned asylum still held had been captured by Joe and a treasure map given to the then boys were to lead them to his sketches. If only they hadn't lost the map to a cycle in the washing machine all those years ago. Joe had trusted them with what they had seen as just a game and they owed it to him now to decipher the code he left them from memory and find out once and for all what really happened to their friend.
ASYLUM is a journey between these two men that we follow from childhood to adulthood and their search for the truth. It's like nothing else I've read and yet it is intriguing, compelling and completely gripping.
The characterisation of Nate and Adam was incredibly well-developed as they are not stereotypical in the way men are usually portrayed in fiction today. They are flawed and they know it. They are divorced - or in Nate's case, almost divorced - and yet they don't seek the next woman to warm their beds. Their relationships with their mothers are different and yet it doesn't define them. They are simply grown versions of the boys they were 20 years before when they befriended Joe. I enjoyed the quips between the two men, as well as those shared with Jess and Dan. They were fun and likable and I enjoyed being around them.
After the prologue, ASYLUM begins with the opening chapters weaving between "Then" and "Now". I love a good dual timeline narrative and the balance between each is perfectly executed as the story is fleshed out with impeccable timing at just the right juncture.
Aside from the ensuing mystery recounted in past and present and in Joe's diary, ASYLUM gives an insight into the difference in attitudes towards mental health and how they have changed. The appalling practices that would not be allowed today but were rife in days gone by and how patients were treated more like prisoners than people. Even to the extent where they are referred to as "inmates", a term usually reserved for those in prison rather than a hospital (of sorts).
When I requested this title, I wasn't aware that it was a series. Thankfully, it is just the beginning and after reading it I am now looking forward to more featuring this dynamic duo. We are given a taster of the second in the series STALKER in the notes at the end and I eagerly await this next installment of Delaney and Murphy.
An interesting and intriguing read, I thoroughly recommend ASYLUM - for its gripping story and the refreshing difference in setting, being in Australia - as Jack Adams skillfully weaves a tale of suspense and unravels it with the ease of more seasoned writers of our time.
I would like to thank #JackAdams, #NetGalley and #AtlasProduction for an ARC of #Asylum in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
Three things grabbed me about this book - one, the awesome cover and dark title; two, the thrilling rundown of its description; and three, it is Australian! Hailing from down under myself, finding authors from my part of the world with the ability to captivate and thrill readers with the ease of such seasoned writers as Mark Edwards and Val McDermid, is like striking gold. They truly are few and far between...or they simply disappear after a few books, never to be seen again. It is my fervent hope that Jack Adams remains firmly entrenched on the market for years to come.
The story begins with a haunting Prologue consisting of just five lines :
"Something happened here.
Behind these walls, in these rooms, on the grounds, at the river.
The inmate sketched it all - fine lines.
See there, in the negative space, the truth in the pencil strokes.
Then he was gone."
With these words, you just know you are in for one hell of an enthralling mystery. And I couldn't turn the pages or devour each chapter quick enough. It sounds almost spooky, and in a way, I guess it kind of is. But it's not a ghost story. It is about two boys and the friend they made through the boundary fence of an asylum. Then one day, he was gone.
Nate and Adam grew up together on the outskirts of Brisbane, although both were from very different backgrounds. Nate was from an anonymous working class family whereas Adam lived in the more affluent area, the son of a model once linked to a former Prime Minister and who drew the attention of the media at every turn. But as 10 year olds boys, they were best friends who loved exploring, imagining stories and enjoying the simplicity of their lives.
It was on one such exploration that they noticed a lone figure in white who always sat by the boundary fence within the confines of the River Park Lunatic Asylum. They watched him from their vantage point in a nearby tree as the man sketched relentlessly, and they imagined stories surrounding the man and other inmates of the asylum. It wasn't long before the boys struck up a conversation with the man, with incessant questions that the man happily answered in his own way. And soon, Nate and Adam found themselves looking for Joe each time they frequented the asylum boundary as the three of them became unlikely friends.
Nate and Adam spent as much time as they could there, as Joe regaled them with stories and insights - some of which befuddled them - and often sketched them. But he never told them why he was there. Still, Joe intrigued them.
Wondering what had led Joe to end up at River Park, regardless of whatever stories surrounded the asylum, Nate and Adam knew their friend wasn't insane. So why was he there?
But then one day, when they came to the boundary fence, Joe wasn't there. Each day they kept returning and looked for him but Joe was never there. He had gone.
Twenty years later, former police detective Nate Delaney was separated with a young daughter and was now setting up his own private investigation service. Adam Murphy was divorced and now a successful psychologist. Still best friends, the two men had just opened an office for their respective businesses with Jessica as their joint receptionist, whom Nate appropriated from his time in the police force.
Then one day, they receive a letter from a solicitor naming their childhood friend who had bequeathed them what Joe affectionately referred to as "expectations". The endowment was, in its essence, very Joe, as the men recall that he had once regaled them with the story of Pip from the Charles Dickens novel. Nate and Adam are speechless. They had not thought of Joe in long time. When had they stopped thinking about him, they wonder?
At the request of his wife, Joe has now been declared legally dead despite no body having ever been found and no sign of Joe since Nate and Adam last saw him 20 years ago. But the solicitor has a request of his own...and enlists Nate's professional services to find out what happened to Joe all those years ago - whether he escaped, or whether he was alive or dead. What ensues is an investigation that starts a chain of events discovering a mound of secrets that neither men knew existed as they both find themselves reminiscing about their childhoods...and their memories of their friend, Joe.
As their investigation deepened, the horrific atrocities uncovered were appalling. But someone doesn't want those shocking secrets revealed and will stop at nothing to keep them hidden.
But the secrets that the hollow walls of the abandoned asylum still held had been captured by Joe and a treasure map given to the then boys were to lead them to his sketches. If only they hadn't lost the map to a cycle in the washing machine all those years ago. Joe had trusted them with what they had seen as just a game and they owed it to him now to decipher the code he left them from memory and find out once and for all what really happened to their friend.
ASYLUM is a journey between these two men that we follow from childhood to adulthood and their search for the truth. It's like nothing else I've read and yet it is intriguing, compelling and completely gripping.
The characterisation of Nate and Adam was incredibly well-developed as they are not stereotypical in the way men are usually portrayed in fiction today. They are flawed and they know it. They are divorced - or in Nate's case, almost divorced - and yet they don't seek the next woman to warm their beds. Their relationships with their mothers are different and yet it doesn't define them. They are simply grown versions of the boys they were 20 years before when they befriended Joe. I enjoyed the quips between the two men, as well as those shared with Jess and Dan. They were fun and likable and I enjoyed being around them.
After the prologue, ASYLUM begins with the opening chapters weaving between "Then" and "Now". I love a good dual timeline narrative and the balance between each is perfectly executed as the story is fleshed out with impeccable timing at just the right juncture.
Aside from the ensuing mystery recounted in past and present and in Joe's diary, ASYLUM gives an insight into the difference in attitudes towards mental health and how they have changed. The appalling practices that would not be allowed today but were rife in days gone by and how patients were treated more like prisoners than people. Even to the extent where they are referred to as "inmates", a term usually reserved for those in prison rather than a hospital (of sorts).
When I requested this title, I wasn't aware that it was a series. Thankfully, it is just the beginning and after reading it I am now looking forward to more featuring this dynamic duo. We are given a taster of the second in the series STALKER in the notes at the end and I eagerly await this next installment of Delaney and Murphy.
An interesting and intriguing read, I thoroughly recommend ASYLUM - for its gripping story and the refreshing difference in setting, being in Australia - as Jack Adams skillfully weaves a tale of suspense and unravels it with the ease of more seasoned writers of our time.
I would like to thank #JackAdams, #NetGalley and #AtlasProduction for an ARC of #Asylum in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
May 11, 2019
Loved this book! Well developed characters, fast paced, suspenseful and immersive. I loved the atmosphere and the mystery surrounding Joe. Definitely adding this author to my list of favorites. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you for the ARC, #Netgalley
Thank you for the ARC, #Netgalley
June 9, 2024
Don't let the cover deceive you like it did me. This is a story about mental health with a light mystery. I thought this would be a gothic horror read and, instead, found a well told story about 2 boys who befriend a man in a mental health facility. Later in life they find the man from the institution set up an account for them and they decide to find out what's happened to him.
It was an interesting story, once I figured out what I was getting into. The story was not nearly as haunting as the cover but it was a good story. I liked how the boys, as adults, dove into mental health and pushed to find their old friend. It held my attention and was entertaining, just not quite what I thought it would be.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
It was an interesting story, once I figured out what I was getting into. The story was not nearly as haunting as the cover but it was a good story. I liked how the boys, as adults, dove into mental health and pushed to find their old friend. It held my attention and was entertaining, just not quite what I thought it would be.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
August 24, 2019
A good suspenseful read, looking forward to Stalker, the next book. I was expecting a more dark, paranormal story, a little bit disappointed in the beginning but once i found out it was a murder mystery I very much enjoyed the book.
Asylum follows Nate and Adam on a journey that starts when they are 10 years old. They meet Joe, a resident of the local asylum, and the boys become friends with him. One day Joe disappears and they never heard of him again. Two decades later Adam and Nate receive a letter from joe's lawyer, it opens up pandora's box.
The storyline is intriguing, the characters very well developed and the story had just the right pace. I cant wait to read more from Jack Adams
Asylum follows Nate and Adam on a journey that starts when they are 10 years old. They meet Joe, a resident of the local asylum, and the boys become friends with him. One day Joe disappears and they never heard of him again. Two decades later Adam and Nate receive a letter from joe's lawyer, it opens up pandora's box.
The storyline is intriguing, the characters very well developed and the story had just the right pace. I cant wait to read more from Jack Adams
November 9, 2020
Asylum is great mystery, set around the coffee shops and offices of an Australian city, and flashing back to the unfortunate lives of patients in an asylum. The story is built around the friendship of two boys who used to play outside the grounds of the nearby asylum. The historical scenes in the asylum can be uncomfortable reading, as you'd expect. The modern day story has those two young boys grown up and doing private investigating, finding love, and trying to live their best lives. The modern day characters are really likeable and I'd definitely read another book featuring the boys, the girls in the office and the ritzy famous mum. Asylum reminds me of a classic Midsomer Murders mystery transplanted from an English village to the Australian suburbs. A good book to curl up with in bed!
August 3, 2019
Asylum by Jack Adams
Delaney & Murphy #1
BFF’s for life Nathan Delaney and Adam Murphy have set up in the same office. Adam is a psychologist and Nathan has left police work for private investigation and have decided to share a front office person named Jessica. When they find out that a man they new two decades ago when they were ten has left them some money they are surprised. They hadn’t really thought about Joe for years but for awhile they spent time on one side of the fence with him on the other spending time talking, sharing and being friends of a sort. Joe was never considered by the boys “insane” though he was on the side of the fence where the institution was.
This book moves between the past and present telling the story of the Joe’s friendship with two young boys. It also tells of the friends, now adults and still best friends, searching for what happened to Joe. Their search leads them down interesting paths of inquiry, introduces them to people that are good and to a few who are evil, exposes cruelty and inhumanity experienced in the asylum and reinforces the friendship they have shared for so many years.
What I liked:
* The friendship of Nathan and Adam
* The fact that both men have believable backstories
* That they are not cookie cutter heroes but flawed and dealing with real life issues
* Danielle, Jessica and the introduction of Kelsey
* Joe – a kind gentle man that deserved so much more
* The reality presented that bad things happen to good people for no good reason – I mean – I don’t LIKE it but I like that this book does not sugarcoat issues but presents them as they truly might have been
What I did not like:
* The administrators and workers in the asylum
* The sad reality of that life does not come with happily ever afters for everyone – and yet that is also what I found real about this book.
Did I like this book? Yes
Would I like to read more in this series? Definitely
Thank you to NetGalley and Atlas Productions for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
Delaney & Murphy #1
BFF’s for life Nathan Delaney and Adam Murphy have set up in the same office. Adam is a psychologist and Nathan has left police work for private investigation and have decided to share a front office person named Jessica. When they find out that a man they new two decades ago when they were ten has left them some money they are surprised. They hadn’t really thought about Joe for years but for awhile they spent time on one side of the fence with him on the other spending time talking, sharing and being friends of a sort. Joe was never considered by the boys “insane” though he was on the side of the fence where the institution was.
This book moves between the past and present telling the story of the Joe’s friendship with two young boys. It also tells of the friends, now adults and still best friends, searching for what happened to Joe. Their search leads them down interesting paths of inquiry, introduces them to people that are good and to a few who are evil, exposes cruelty and inhumanity experienced in the asylum and reinforces the friendship they have shared for so many years.
What I liked:
* The friendship of Nathan and Adam
* The fact that both men have believable backstories
* That they are not cookie cutter heroes but flawed and dealing with real life issues
* Danielle, Jessica and the introduction of Kelsey
* Joe – a kind gentle man that deserved so much more
* The reality presented that bad things happen to good people for no good reason – I mean – I don’t LIKE it but I like that this book does not sugarcoat issues but presents them as they truly might have been
What I did not like:
* The administrators and workers in the asylum
* The sad reality of that life does not come with happily ever afters for everyone – and yet that is also what I found real about this book.
Did I like this book? Yes
Would I like to read more in this series? Definitely
Thank you to NetGalley and Atlas Productions for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
May 17, 2019
Thankyou to NetGalley, Atlas Productions and the author, Jack Adams, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Asylum in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
OMG, I loved this book. I thought this was a fantastic read.
The storyline was well thought out and written with well developed characters. What I enjoyed the most was the unpredictability of where the story was going ( and the fact that the hospital I work for was mentioned by name. Hahaha.)
I was hooked from the start and had to finish reading it in one sitting.
I certainly can't wait for more from this author.
Well worth a read.
OMG, I loved this book. I thought this was a fantastic read.
The storyline was well thought out and written with well developed characters. What I enjoyed the most was the unpredictability of where the story was going ( and the fact that the hospital I work for was mentioned by name. Hahaha.)
I was hooked from the start and had to finish reading it in one sitting.
I certainly can't wait for more from this author.
Well worth a read.
November 15, 2023
Bit up and down this one
April 14, 2025
Asylum
Petty good book, would have liked if it was more scary.. I will be looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Petty good book, would have liked if it was more scary.. I will be looking forward to reading the next in the series.
January 28, 2024
This book was so much better than I expected. It had me hooked from the beginning and made me really want to find out how it ended. My only complaint was the switching between past and present. It got confusing at times but it really helped tie the entire story together. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series
May 4, 2019
I got this as a arc e book from Net Galley for my i pad. I enjoyed reading it. It had a good story to it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.
June 14, 2019
Asylum by Jack Adams
I can't say I've read a great deal of Australian fiction. I thought this was a promising mystery story which switches between two time frames, from the perspective of two boys, Adam and Nate, who live near an Asylum and befriend Joe, an inmate and Adam and Nate as adults investigating into what happened to him. The characters from the asylum are respectfully portrayed and it becomes clear that some dreadful things have happened there, which are harrowing to read about. There are a couple of scenes set inside, but most of the investigation takes place elsewhere. I think I would have liked a bit more description of the place. The central story is good, although I didn't find it gripping. I think that I had a few issues which brought the rating down. This is only my opinion though.
Firstly, a couple of the characters and plot lines. I thought Adam's mother Winsome was a completely pointless addition who slowed the story down at times. I didn't care that his mother was famous, I wanted to know what was going on with the plot, not with a woman who wasn't even in the story! The PA might as well have worn a badge wearing 'love interest', I found her a disappointing stereotype from the arrival with her diet Coke, low fat cottage cheese and motivational statements. She was supposed to be sassy but just ended up gossiping about the famous mother. However, I found Danielle, the PI much more interesting.
Finally, the writing. It's readable but I didn't think that so much time needed to be spent on describing drinks orders and attracting waitress's attention and other little things that somewhat slowed the narrative down. If the characters are in the middle of a conversation, you don't need to stop to describe how one of them finished their wine and ordered another. Maybe this was trying for realism.
Overall, not a bad mystery, and I can see that this is probably the start of a series.
I can't say I've read a great deal of Australian fiction. I thought this was a promising mystery story which switches between two time frames, from the perspective of two boys, Adam and Nate, who live near an Asylum and befriend Joe, an inmate and Adam and Nate as adults investigating into what happened to him. The characters from the asylum are respectfully portrayed and it becomes clear that some dreadful things have happened there, which are harrowing to read about. There are a couple of scenes set inside, but most of the investigation takes place elsewhere. I think I would have liked a bit more description of the place. The central story is good, although I didn't find it gripping. I think that I had a few issues which brought the rating down. This is only my opinion though.
Firstly, a couple of the characters and plot lines. I thought Adam's mother Winsome was a completely pointless addition who slowed the story down at times. I didn't care that his mother was famous, I wanted to know what was going on with the plot, not with a woman who wasn't even in the story! The PA might as well have worn a badge wearing 'love interest', I found her a disappointing stereotype from the arrival with her diet Coke, low fat cottage cheese and motivational statements. She was supposed to be sassy but just ended up gossiping about the famous mother. However, I found Danielle, the PI much more interesting.
Finally, the writing. It's readable but I didn't think that so much time needed to be spent on describing drinks orders and attracting waitress's attention and other little things that somewhat slowed the narrative down. If the characters are in the middle of a conversation, you don't need to stop to describe how one of them finished their wine and ordered another. Maybe this was trying for realism.
Overall, not a bad mystery, and I can see that this is probably the start of a series.
June 8, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley, Jack Adams, and Atlas Productions for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
|Expected Publication date: August 2, 2019|
River Park Lunatic Asylum was fenced off to the rest of civilization, however, an inmate - Joe - and two 10-year-old boys - Nathan Walker and Adam Murphy - managed to become friends. The boys would walk over to the fence to visit Joe, until one day, he just disappeared. But now in their 30s, Nathan and Adam receive notice of an inheritance left behind by Joe, but no one seems to know what actually happened to him...
I enjoyed the bantering between the main characters, throughout this novel. It made for a comedic interaction at times and showed the different personalities of Joe and Nathan. Additionally, I thought the story of Joe was woven through the novel well. I didn't find this thriller to be a rapid page-turner, however, there was a great deal of suspense built up and it was very fast paced.
I would recommend to those who are looking for a summer thrill!
Trigger words: sexual assault
|Expected Publication date: August 2, 2019|
River Park Lunatic Asylum was fenced off to the rest of civilization, however, an inmate - Joe - and two 10-year-old boys - Nathan Walker and Adam Murphy - managed to become friends. The boys would walk over to the fence to visit Joe, until one day, he just disappeared. But now in their 30s, Nathan and Adam receive notice of an inheritance left behind by Joe, but no one seems to know what actually happened to him...
I enjoyed the bantering between the main characters, throughout this novel. It made for a comedic interaction at times and showed the different personalities of Joe and Nathan. Additionally, I thought the story of Joe was woven through the novel well. I didn't find this thriller to be a rapid page-turner, however, there was a great deal of suspense built up and it was very fast paced.
I would recommend to those who are looking for a summer thrill!
Trigger words: sexual assault
August 18, 2019
Thank you NetGalley and Atlas Productions for the eARC.
Expecting a paranormal story, I was a little disappointed that it was basically a mystery.
That said, I did enjoy the book.
Nate and Adam have been best friends since they were 10. One of their favorite activities was visiting Joe, a man incarcerated in the River Park Insane Asylum; a gentle man who sketched the boys and gave them a beautifully drawn secret map. Even though separated by a fence, the three of them become good friends...until the time Joe mysteriously disappeared.
Years later, they are approached by Joe's lawyer which sets them on a search for Joe. Is he dead? What happened to him and what horrors did he and the other patients undergo in the asylum?
Searching the empty depressing asylum several times they are in danger from unseen elements trying to keep a lid on the truth.
It's a good story with likeable characters and a satisfying ending. I would read the second book if this became a series.
Expecting a paranormal story, I was a little disappointed that it was basically a mystery.
That said, I did enjoy the book.
Nate and Adam have been best friends since they were 10. One of their favorite activities was visiting Joe, a man incarcerated in the River Park Insane Asylum; a gentle man who sketched the boys and gave them a beautifully drawn secret map. Even though separated by a fence, the three of them become good friends...until the time Joe mysteriously disappeared.
Years later, they are approached by Joe's lawyer which sets them on a search for Joe. Is he dead? What happened to him and what horrors did he and the other patients undergo in the asylum?
Searching the empty depressing asylum several times they are in danger from unseen elements trying to keep a lid on the truth.
It's a good story with likeable characters and a satisfying ending. I would read the second book if this became a series.
May 22, 2019
Was a really hard book to put down, I love how it was written it kept my interest. A few of the people seemed thrown in there a little bit and had little back story hard to remember who was who. The whole thing about the famous mom and the wedding really didnt have anything to do with the story so I felt that was alot for no reason. The whole relationship thing with Dan or Jessica didnt pan out, and wasnt enough tension and it didnt end up with anything except for Adam going with basically the random girl, and they didnt even go to the wedding they just went to a funeral. The ending was bland, it was like why did I read all of what seemed like a really well written book to end up with this.
August 19, 2019
This was a great book to read, intriguing plot with the history of an old asylum and a possible missing patient from there. An easy style of writing that was quite descriptive and the book went between the present and the past but told you which time frame we were in, which I like.
We start in the past with two 10 year old boys who are good friends, hanging out near a lunatic asylum chatting to an old man called Joe, he is separated from them by a wire fence. Nathan and Adam realise he isn’t insane, so why is he there? They visit him often and then one day, he is gone.
Twenty years later, Nathan is a private investigator and Adam is a psychologist when they go into partnership together. They had received a letter from a solicitor who claimed he was representing his missing client, Joe O’Connell. They visited the old asylum. Natham had pulled some strings so they could get in and they followed the instructions in the letter so they could find Joe’s diary. It was still there. It was crammed full of information.and drawings. Made for some interesting reading for Adam. Joe’s solicitor wanted to hire them to find Joe which they agreed to. Also, they found there were some strange goings on at the asylum whilst it was open and even now that warranted investigation so they decided to do that too. They wanted to help those that would speak to them.
It turned out that Joe had been a wonderful artist and done some good drawings. Some of these he had managed to smuggle out of the asylum before the management realised what was going on. Some of the drawings showed the treatment given to the patients. The management were then trying to find out who was helping him. The diary had some good information in it. Someone was trying to stop them from continuing with their investigations, perhaps they were getting too close to the truth from all those years ago…..
A really good read, had me hooked and I found it more interesting as the plot thickened. Nice and creepy in places. 5 star rating from me.
We start in the past with two 10 year old boys who are good friends, hanging out near a lunatic asylum chatting to an old man called Joe, he is separated from them by a wire fence. Nathan and Adam realise he isn’t insane, so why is he there? They visit him often and then one day, he is gone.
Twenty years later, Nathan is a private investigator and Adam is a psychologist when they go into partnership together. They had received a letter from a solicitor who claimed he was representing his missing client, Joe O’Connell. They visited the old asylum. Natham had pulled some strings so they could get in and they followed the instructions in the letter so they could find Joe’s diary. It was still there. It was crammed full of information.and drawings. Made for some interesting reading for Adam. Joe’s solicitor wanted to hire them to find Joe which they agreed to. Also, they found there were some strange goings on at the asylum whilst it was open and even now that warranted investigation so they decided to do that too. They wanted to help those that would speak to them.
It turned out that Joe had been a wonderful artist and done some good drawings. Some of these he had managed to smuggle out of the asylum before the management realised what was going on. Some of the drawings showed the treatment given to the patients. The management were then trying to find out who was helping him. The diary had some good information in it. Someone was trying to stop them from continuing with their investigations, perhaps they were getting too close to the truth from all those years ago…..
A really good read, had me hooked and I found it more interesting as the plot thickened. Nice and creepy in places. 5 star rating from me.
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