The Redwood Asylum by L. A. Detwiler [book review]

The Redwood Asylum book summary:

The Redwood Asylum is a paranormal horror story by L. A. Detwiler. The story follows twenty-six-year-old Jessica Rosen. She moves and starts her job at The Redwood Asylum in hopes that she can start new. She needs a fresh start and this is a place where she can do that. Soon she realizes that they will pretty much hire anyone and that they have secrets that will scare some away. What’s the secret you ask? The asylum is full of ghosts and apparently, they are becoming more active now that Jessica is there. They need her help but is she really capable of helping them?

What I thought of The Redwood Asylum

I know most of you know that I’m a pretty big horror fan. I love a wide range of horror as long as killing/gore isn’t the focus as a shock factor. Not that gore bothers me but there’s nothing creepy about it and usually those types of books don’t have a good storyline. But I do have to say that paranormal horror is one of my favorites in the genre. There’s just so much unknown when we all leave this world and that particular unknown kind freaks me out. 

The Character(s)

This book follows Jessica Rosen who is a twenty-six and looking for a fresh new start. Her fresh new start actually starts at The Redwood Asylum. Everyone there is nice but some of the patients aren’t that easy to deal with. Jessica soon figures this out as the other nurses warn her. They keep the fact that the place has a haunting secret from her. That is until someone lets it slip. 

The ghosts there are more active when Jessica shows up. Do they think she can save them but can she really? 

I actually like Jessica and think she’s a well-rounded character. The only thing that I didn’t really like about her is that she seemed to rely on her co-workers a little too much. They made it clear that they weren’t exactly trustworthy from the beginning of the book. I just wish she was smart enough to keep things to herself.

The Plot

As I stated I love love books that are creepy and don’t really rely on gore to shock people. There’s just something about books that can find a good way to really creepy you out. The Redwood Asylum does that! I think it helps that I love the setting of the book too. I don’t think I’ve actually read many books that take place in an asylum. I’m starting to wonder why exactly I haven’t looked into reading more books that take place there. 

The plot of The Redwood Asylum is actually pretty fast-paced and keeps you interested. The only thing is that the ending of the book isn’t for everyone. I can actually kind of see some readers getting mad with the ending of this book. Thankfully I’m not one of those people. I absolutely love the ending because I didn’t see it coming and those are usually the best type of endings!

What are some of your favorite books that take place in an asylum?

If you love this review then make sure to check out my review for Children of Chicago!