Blog Tour: The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier

Hi everyone! My not so triumphant return to blog touring happens a day late, with apologies to everyone, because newsflash: yesterday was the 6th.

Thank you so much to Angry Robot Books and Chris Panatier for the chance to join the blog tour (and for all the great reads over the years)!

If you want to read an amazing interview I did with the author, check it out here . It’s by far the wildest interview I’ve ever done 😅

Anyway, without further ado let’s take a look at this horror story!

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Bookish Quick Facts

• Title: The Redemption of Morgan Bright
• Series: N/A
• Author: Chris Panatier
• Published: Angry Robot – April 2024
• Length: 416 pages
• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for fans of psychological horror & suspense!

Here’s the Synopsis

A woman checks herself into an insane asylum to solve the mystery of her sister’s murder, only to lose her memory and maybe her mind.

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.

-From Amazon

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My Thoughts

My first thought upon receiving this review offer was – OH, THIS SOUNDS TERRIFYING. Chris Panatier never writes what you would expect and I knew he would write something truly horrifying if he labelled it horror, but what would he do?

Of course I had to find out.

In order to avoid any hint of spoilers I will keep this vague. This story is an intellectual unravelling of a woman’s mind and all the layers of psychological trauma imaginable. What happened to Hadleigh at Hollyhock house? The mystery is revealed layer by layer and required a slower, thoughtful read on my part.

Never, never, in any world, would I have guessed what had actually happened.

There are paranormal elements and things do get weird quickly once Morgan aka Charlotte enters the asylum. We tactfully explore some of the past and present horrors inflicted on women in these places (and in modern society) with an unsettling focus on how barbaric it all is, how easy it is to dismiss patient and basic human rights.

The Redemption of Morgan Bright wasn’t meant to be a suspense or a thriller but it had elements of both and the result was very hard to put down. It’s so hard to label this book so I’m just calling it: a must read.

I loved the police interview excerpts too because they showed just how wild everything would sound to an outsider after it seemed so regular and all consuming to the women inside. The text messages showed that Morgan might not be the hero in this story either.

I was wrapped up in this dark tale from start to finish and highly recommend for anyone who is even vaguely interested.

I encourage everyone to check out the other tour stops! Chris Panatier has a link tree to his media and other books so check that out too!