The Redemption of Morgan Bright

I love to read books; they transport me to unfamiliar places. I will go there even if these unfamiliar places are dangerous like the Hollyhock Asylum found in Chris Panatier’s The Redemption of Morgan Bright. A story can transport you, as can characters, but sometimes the structure of a book does the work. Reading Redemption will take you to the past, the future and to somewhere else entirely in a modern asylum with old-fashioned values, and staff who should be committed themselves. 

When Charlotte Turner is checked into Hollyhock Asylum it is for a brief 30 days. The clinicians believe she is there for ‘domestic psychosis’, but in reality, Charlotte is Morgan Bright, a person playing the part. Morgan has infiltrated the hospital to get to the truth about her sister’s death at the asylum the year before. Once booked in Morgan begins to understand that she can check out, but she can never leave. A cocktail of drugs and experimental psychological techniques are the least of her issues as the true origins of Hollyhock Asylum begin to show themselves. 

The structure of Redemption is as vital to the horror of the story as the character or the story. Panatier uses the way that the book is designed to enhance the terror. Firstly, we have the unreliable protagonist Charlotte, or is that Morgan? The two become intertwined. Then there is the non-linear structure, we jump from interviews after an event, to the story leading up to it. Panatier reveals details in the future sections that play into what is happening in the past. 

The structural play is impressively done, this is a psychological horror and the imbalance you get from the way the book slips and slides adds to this. It does mean that in places you lose some pacing, but it allows Panatier to let the story flow and then become staccato. What is happening? Keep reading the book for it to be revealed. What you will find is that the horror and thrills amp up as the book reaches its conclusion. The pressure cooker feel of the structure feels once more deliberate by the author to mimic the mindset of Morgan. 

There is a traditional narrative that threads through the book, just told in an innovative way. We learn about the sisters’ relationship via historic text messages, we learn about the asylum via newspaper clippings. There is a mystery to be solved while Morgan is living through it. 

As this is a horror novel, it has to have moments that horrify to do its job and here Redemption hits on several levels. This is no gentle psychological thriller, the setting of an asylum sees to this, but there is also a deeper, darker layer. This is an asylum that specialises in woman. What happens behind these doors delves deep into psychological torture that will hit hard for someone like Morgan. There is also body horror, uncomfortable and gruesome body horror. Thrown into the mix is also a smattering of the supernatural. There is something for most types of horror fan, but the hard-hitting body and mind horror means I suggest this book is for the fan of harder horror and not the stuff that borders on your average airplane lounge thriller. 

Did I enjoy Redemption? I did, although I do not think that enjoy is the exact word I would use. It kept me feeling uncomfortable and on edge for large parts of the book, and those are traits that make a good horror. The structure of the book is wonderful and really adds to the experience, but there are also characters that hold your interest and a story that you want to see concluded.