A review by sargasso_c
The Asylum Confessions by Jack Steen

Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
Honestly? The Asylum Confessions just wasn't a very scary - let alone interesting - book.
The author chose to write a book about asylum patients that have done especially horrendous things, but then redacts much of the inmates' "confessions," leaving the reader with a general sense of ick without ever knowing why these inmates are supposedly the worst of the worst. The second inmate seemed to be based on "Ken" of the real life Ken and Barbie killers. The author took a horrifying (but gripping) tragedy and somehow made it boring while keeping all the despondence one feels when reading about tragedy.
At its best, The Asylum left me bored. At its worst, it left me bored and in a bad mood. 

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