Bedlam

Excellent as always. Best book so far. <br /><br />Full review to follow shortly.

Dr Alexander Gregory, a forensic psychologist and criminal profiler, has been invited to attend a conference at the FBI base at Quantico, Virginia. He sets off for a trip he expects to last a couple of weeks (there’s some holiday time built in) with his friend and colleague Professor Bill Douglas. Once there it quickly becomes apparent that the FBI has other plans for the ‘holiday time’. In essence, Gregory is persuaded to check himself in to a psychiatric hospital with the aim of identifying and, if possible, befriending the wife of a mafia boss who was set to spill the beans on the criminal activity of her husband and his cohorts. But she’s gone missing and it is believed that she has now been checked in to this hospital.<br /><br />It becomes apparent that Dr Gregory has long been concealing a past that includes not only a former name but also a violent family background. His secret past is, however, known to the FBI and they see this as a way of using his real long-term issues concerning events in his life to play the part of a man with a mental breakdown. Once persuaded, and to protect his true identity, it is using his former name that he agrees to play along with the plan. Douglas is to remain outside the confines of the hospital as an external contact for Gregory.<br /><br />The set up is actually very well laid out and quickly had me hooked. The initial meetings between Gregory and the attractive in-house psychologist are also fun, as the ‘patient’ tries to conceal the fact that he really has no current symptoms and also hide his knowledge of the techniques being adopted by his inquisitor. But soon he is starting to genuinely start to suffer some of the very symptoms he’s been trying to ape. What’s going on here, is his past truly coming back to take a grip over him?<br /><br />Unfortunately, after a good start some issues started to creep in. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="cfd88e61-172a-4f53-beb0-be8fcbda5dfe" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="cfd88e61-172a-4f53-beb0-be8fcbda5dfe">The whole mafia thing going on in the background – disputes between families, overt homophobia etc – just felt way too stereotypical and trite, and the developing relationship between Gregory and the in-house psychologist really didn’t make sense, it seemed to jump from nothing to something without any in-between. Surprise twists started to land with startling regularity and one very convenient interruption felt so contrived that I almost gave up on the spot. And the final straw was witnessing Gregory’s belated attempt to reveal his true current identity fall on deaf ears when this should have been simple to confirm for anyone with a mobile phone and a working thumb.</label><br /><br />When all is said and done this is still an entertaining yarn, as long as you don’t take any of it too seriously. It’s flawed, seriously flawed, but in a slapstick kind of way it still works. It’s not, however, a book that would draw me back to read others in the series (this is book 3) as for me, despite the good bits, it’s just too clumsily stitched together with way too many flaws.<br /><br />I listened to an audio version of this book, read by English actor Richard Armitage. He does a excellent job here, despite what felt like a dodgy Scottish accent employed for a minor player in the story. <br /><br />My thanks to W.F. Howes Ltd and NetGalley for supplying a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to this book. I was really pleased when I received it as one of the new audio books Netgalley is offering (thanks, and thanks to WF Howes, publishers). Richard Armitage is the narrator and his voice is lovely. But I’m afraid, in the end, I thought Bedlam was a bit...meh…<br /><br />I just glanced at other people’s reviews and I noticed one person said that Ross churns out so many books that her writing is affected. I tend to agree the book felt really rushed and there certainly were some parts which could have had some additional editing applied.<br /><br />Alexander Gregory, our forensic psychiatrist hero, goes undercover for the FBI at an expensive private psychiatric hospital to make contact with one of the patients -- a mafia boss’s wife who the FBI is hoping will testify against her husband. Unfortunately the plot had just far too many holes.<br /><br />For starters, Gregory is a psychiatrist and yet they send him in as a patient. Er… Why not just send him in as a consulting doctor? He would have been able to talk to the mafia wife just as easy, if not easier, if he was treating her. Instead, they use his own tragic backstory. I haven’t read the first two books in the series (I don’t think you have to, it’s pretty standalone with only the briefest mentions of past romances and cases) but I still felt like this newly revealed backstory for the main character was out of left field. (I mean, I could be wrong but it’s definitely written like Gregory has kept it all a secret up to now.) <br /><br />The backstory might have been okay if it didn’t shimmy into the ridiculous more than once. The mafia works out Gregory's real identity in 5 minutes flat, so there seems little point to it from early on. And even if they hadn't on their own, Gregory confesses to the resident doc at the hospital he’s working for the FBI on about the second night there. Not so super secret then... Luckily, she just thinks he's delusional and she needs to up her therapy game. <br /><br />Yes, obviously, even though Gregory was a voluntary admission, I expected some type of misunderstanding to pop up and was waiting for some tense moments with our hero wrapped in a straight jacket. This does happen but it’s all too brief. I think this should have been 80% of the book - it’s all what we signed up for - but instead, there’s a lot of weird ‘padding’ to raise the wordcount. For example, we learn all about Gregory’s sad back story via his inner thoughts during an early chapter and then, a couple of chapters later, we get to learn all about it <i>again</i> when he tells the sad back story to Bill with almost the exact same wording. <br /><br />Another prime example of a filler was the scenes where the FBI approach Gregory. It should have been a couple paragraphs at the most, a recap of some sort or other, but no, we get a blow by blow for several chapters and it’s excruciatingly boring.<br /><br />I also have an issue with Ross’s head hopping. We get Gregory’s point of view for most of the time and then -- bang, they'll be a random thought from one of the other characters. It was most distracting. Only thing more distracting (and not in a good way) was the romance between Gregory and his (conveniently) female doctor, Naomi Palmer. <br /> <br />To be honest, up until Dr Naomi’s inclusion, I’d assumed Gregory was gay and partners with Bill (who must be one of the main characters of the first two books of the series). He certainly had more chemistry with Bill (although Ross is quick to point out once or twice or a hundred times it’s almost a father/son relationship). <br /><br />For the most, the narration was good. I wasn’t always on board with Armitage's choice of accents though. I also noticed he mixed them up occasionally. His tone, also, was not always what I thought it should have been -- too humorous, not humorous enough, etc etc. <br /><br />I really can’t think of too many positives. 2 out of 5

Dr. Alexander Gregory is a quiet, almost timid character...but that doesn't in anyway diminish him. If anything it makes him more interesting. If readers are familiar with the DCI Ryan series also by this author...you will remember meeting Dr. Gregory as a minor character in that series. This one brings him out to the forefront with dark and twisting plots that are beautifully written. I hope this series goes on for many more books. I recommend this series as well as the Ryan series to anyone that just enjoys a good mystery.<br />

Dr. Alexander Gregory has been asked to go undercover by the FBI at a mental health facility in the Catskills, Bedlam. He is tasked with with finding out if a mob bosses wife has been committed to Bedlam. Dr. Gregory wasn't counting on an overly eager head doctor who misdiagnosis him. Looks like he's going to be a permanent resident.

I recieved this on Audible. I have been really struggling to concentrate on my reading lately and was offered the chance of this one. <br />So pleased I started to listen to it. <br />The story was good, very easy to follow, which sometimes doesn't happen in an audible book. <br />It was exciting in parts, even holding my breath in the climax! <br />Brilliantly narrated by Richard Armitage, he is an absolute pleasure to listen to and does the accents perfectly. <br />I didn't want to it to stop.

Cel mai slab volum din cele trei aparute pana acum in seria Alexander Gregory, caci are o intriga slaba, se imprastie pe mai multe piste, fara a exploata la final nimic serios. Cartea este prea scurta, actiunea nu are loc sa se dezvolte.

I really enjoy the Dr Alexander Gregory thrillers. Slightly different to an ordinary crime story. This one involves the Mafia!

Bedlam<br />(The Alexander Gregory Thriller Book 3)<br />LJ Ross<br />(Review written on 18th July 2020)<br /><br />I have thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Dr Alexander Gregory again but oh, my word this is a tense read!<br />In Bedlam we find Gregory working with the FBI. He is to check in to a highly secure psychiatric hospital, as a voluntary patient, as part of an undercover operation to protect the wife of a notorious criminal. What could possibly go wrong!? I knew as soon as he agreed that this was going to be a dangerous mission, but the reality of the situation once he was there was really quite frightening, especially considering he does a really good job of convincing the staff that he truly needs to be there. I could almost feel Gregory’s fear and frustration. I felt penned in myself whilst reading some of the scenes and I was almost panicking at times. <br />Psychology has always fascinated me so it’s no wonder that Dr Alexander Gregory fascinates me too. His personal experiences as well as his professional ones make him an excellent character. He’s extremely likeable and charismatic without being at all conceited. He has his flaws too which make him very real and believable. He is easily one of my favourite fictional characters. <br />This book is full of fascinating, and often complex, characters. Some have committed horrible crimes in their past, but you can’t help but like them still. Others are just genuinely nice people who I instantly warmed to. Professor Bill Douglas is one such character. <br />Bedlam is a cracking addition to this series, in my opinion. It is full of tension and suspense, I loved it! <br />I can’t wait for book 4!<br /><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://chataboutbooks.blog/2020/07/18/bedlam-the-alexander-gregory-thrillers-book-3-by-l-j-ross-ljrossauthor-bookreview-20booksofsummer20-8/">https://chataboutbooks.blog/2020/07/1...</a><br />

Alexander Gregory is a man who certainly gets around. Having been in Paris, he now finds himself in Quantico, agreeing to help out the FBI on what is a very dangerous mission. In fact I thought he was crazy to be taking on such a case that involves the mafia. You just know that things aren’t going to go smoothly.<br /><br />I loved the setting of the story in a psychiatric hospital. It gives it an added air of suspense as I was intrigued about a few of the patients and wanted to know more about them and their history. Gregory finds himself being in deep trouble when things don’t quite go to plan and boy did it have me on tenterhooks as to how this particular case was all going to end.<br /><br />Seeing the roles change with Gregory playing the patient and having a professional sit and trying to get into his head, I was well and truly gripped. It was intriguing to see if he could fool those around him whilst you can see he is battling with his own demons and in a way, wanting that help.<br /><br />Bedlam is a great title for this book. I love Gregory’s character and his background as it makes for such riveting reading. From picking this book up I didn’t want to put it back down as the author had me hooked on this thrilling storyline. This is quite a different crime series but a brilliant one at that. Can’t wait to see what awaits us in the next book.