Synopsis
What would guilt make you do?
Hadleigh Keene died on the road leading away from Hollyhock Asylum. The reasons are unknown. Her sister Morgan blames herself. A year later with the case still unsolved, Morgan creates a false identity, that of a troubled housewife named Charlotte Turner, and goes inside.
Morgan quickly discovers that Hollyhock is… not right. She is shaken by the hospital’s peculiar routines and is soon beset by strange episodes. All the while, the persona of Charlotte takes on a life of its own, becoming stronger with each passing day. As her identity begins unraveling, Morgan finds herself tracing Hadleigh’s footsteps and peering into the places they lead.
Review
A huge, huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
The halls of Hollyhock Asylum house secrets of the darkest variety, including the truth of what really happened to Hadleigh Keene. To uncover these truths, her sister Morgan voluntarily commits herself to this place that seems to covet so much darkness. Only, to do so, she cannot be Morgan, she must be Charlotte Turner, a woman who suffers from a seemingly perplexing condition in this day and age. Of course, nothing is as it seems, a reality that becomes glaringly obvious as Charlotte becomes more than just a cover, and Morgan must fight tooth and nail to keep herself grounded in reality.
At first glance, The Redemption of Morgan Bright sounds very much like a psychological horror novel given the key setting is that of an asylum. However, as events transpire, it becomes abundantly clear that the horrors of Hollyhock exceed this plane of existence by tapping into fears of the abstract. Questions of identity, presence, and culpability thrive in the treatment of patients at Hollyhock, which are unorthodox, to say the least. While horror surrounding mental health is not a new endeavor, Panatier manages to exaggerate our mistrust of unconventional mental health institutions, bringing the terror to a whole new level.
All of this is possible through the use of repeated disorientation. The structure of this novel is formed through a series of interview transcripts and recollections of events at Hollyhock from the witness being questioned police. While we may think we understand who is being interviewed and the various elements of the setting, our expectations are frequently subverted, breeding room for copious amounts of unease and uncertainty. This disorientation makes each scene of gore, inhumane treatment, or cruelty infinitely more frightening given that the reality of Hollyhock remains elusive. Compounded with this very active, external conflict, Morgan battles inner strife; her past is filled with trauma that also calls into question how reliable of a narrator she really is, especially through the creation of Charlotte. As Morgan’s disorientation and distrust of Hollyhock grows, so does her mistrust of her own mind. What is more frightening than a self you no longer recognize, know, or trust?
While all of these aspects of internal conflict, external conflict, and confusion create a mysterious narrative, the defining feature of this novel is the encapsulation of sheer, unbridled fear that women face in the present day. With Morgan losing her grip on reality, we also experience her loss of autonomy. She can no longer make sense of the world around her yet is subject to various acts and practices that ultimately revoke her sense of choice. These ideas are explored through scenes of visceral horror, exemplifying just how terrifying the loss of control over one’s own body, one’s own mind, can be. Give Chris Panatier his flowers now; Morgan’s plight for truth and survival reflects the deepest universal fears women in this country share now and our greater fight to remain in control of our own selves.
A novel that delivers on the deepest of corporeal and psychological terrors, The Redemption of Morgan Bright is a masterful achievement in fear that exceeds that of the individual. Morgan’s search for the truth functions as a compulsive mystery that descends into sheer madness as she comes to understand the bleak reality of her situation. The effort and research Chris Panatier has devoted to Morgan’s story is not only evident but profound, especially in a time such as this, where the fears exemplified in this novel are synonymous with the fears of our own reality.
The Redemption of Morgan Bright releases on April 23rd from Angry Robot Books.
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