The #Bookvent Calendar 2020 – Day 6

#Bookvent – Celebrating my top reads of 2020

Sometimes when you are stuck in the middle of lockdown or a pandemic, all you really want is something that is going to act as a comfort blanket. My day six #bookvent pick comes from an author who really is one of those comfort blankets, someone I turn to when I want a book that will be full of thrills, brilliant characters and a storyline that will keep me completely engaged and take me away from reality for a while. Now this may be one of her newer characters, but they have fast become a firm favourite and the psychology based aspects of the books really do fascinate me. Yep, my sixth choice is …

Bedlam by LJ Ross

In a world gone mad, who can you trust?

Fresh from a high-profile case in the Paris fashion world, elite forensic psychologist and criminal profiler Dr Alexander Gregory receives a call from the New York State Homicide Squad. The wife of a notorious criminal has been admitted to a private psychiatric hospital and can no longer testify in his upcoming trial. Without her, their case will collapse but, amidst reports that the staff are as unpredictable as their patients, who can the police trust?

In desperation, they turn to an outsider and now Gregory must find the courage to step inside the fortified walls of Buchanan Hospital to uncover the truth. The question is, will he ever be the same again?

Murder and mystery are peppered with dark humour in this fast-paced thriller set amidst the spectacular Catskill Forest.

I loved this book. This time Gregory heads stateside, initially to attend an FBI conference, but soon finding himself sucked into the middle of an investigation that will bring him to the attention of a vicious Mob family. Willingly heading undercover at an exclusive psychiatric hospital, Gregory has to battle not only those who mean harm to the woman he is there to find, but also his own demons as he is forced to confront his own past and his own vulnerabilities during his time in isolation. I loved getting to know more about Gregory, to see him in an environment that he cannot entirely relax in and where his word is no longer revered. At the Buchanan Hospital he is just another patient, but he is also a threat and he faces his toughest and possibly most jeopardy filled case yet. You can tell that the author has had fun with this one, exploring the darker side of her writing and incorporating the organised crime element. Don’t get me wrong, this is still the cosier side of crime, but the setting and the plot combine to make a very exciting and fast paced read that I devoured. And the fact that Gregory is an expert in psychology really adds something to these books as we look beyond the basic crime to the driving factors behind it. Ryan will always be special for reasons that are obvious to fans of the series, but Gregory is very much winning that place in my heart too. I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Happy #bookvent reading all

Jen