The Asylum

I wish, how I wish I liked this novel more. There was nothing against this author, because the book was most assuredly a well written gothic novel, and that was the problem, this was a gothic novel, just like every other gothic novel I have ever read. John Harwood did not bring anything new to the table, and so I felt like I had read this novel before.

All the great and true aspects of the gothic novel were here,
1. It was written in diary and letter form.
2. The heroine was locked in an asylum against her will.
3. She is an orphan.
4. There is a dark and mysterious young man as a love interest who may or may not be in a plot against the heroine.

It's like Mr. Harwood took "How to write a Gothic Novel 101" and checked off each item on the list. And that is really unfortunate because it was well written. It's just that I kept waiting for the suprise twist and it never developed. Because of this I can only give this novel 2.5 of 5 stars.