Compelling and terrifying

We meet a curious man, strangely paranoid, he is at a hospital-a mental asylum- investigating patients. He looks for patterns and discrepancies, obsessively, and he has all these ideas. Everything is connected, he believes. His patients are innocently dangerous, but not crazy. He wants their stories so he can better understand what is happening-so he can understand the greater force at play. The Opponent.

He's not going crazy, he assures himself. Insanity is not contagious. But the stories are getting to him. He is only acting out of goodwill, within reason, his actions are fully justified. But, isn't that what the patients were thinking?

I had the book all figured out until he is allowed to escape. How is that possible? But aside from that, the writing was amazing. Such stories were thrilling, I longed to understand what was happening. The patients they intrigued me, just as they intrigued the main character. I, too, wanted to figure out what was happening. I would definitely read this book again.