A Madness So Discreet

by Mindy McGinnis

Near the turn of the nineteenth century, Dr. Thornhollow helps teenaged Grace Mae escape from the Boston asylum where she was sent after becoming pregnant by rape, and takes her to Ohio where they put her intelligence and remarkable memory to use in trying to catch murderers.

• ISBN10: 0062320866
• ISBN13: 9780062320865
• Publish Date: 6 October 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[reveriesociety_]

I'm not used to reading books without romance, but I'd say this one was even better without it. The star less is more due to the feelings that go with the change in my reading habits, but A Madness so Discreet stands tall and proud because the plot is just amazing. It's that kind that will have you thinking something is going to happen, and then boom, book goes like 'Ha ha, well, you guessed wrong.' I loved it!

[Empress of Sass]

I enjoyed the setting of this book immensely. Atmospheric, brooding, meandering, mysterious, like a fog rolling in on a Victorian cobbled street. Great characters- a strong but damaged heroine, a doctor who was a little broken inside too, and a vast cast of inmates each with their own story to tell. My one regret with this one is that the ending didn't come together the way I would have liked- I found it tapered off and stumbled a little in the final chapters, where as the rest of the novel seemed to be building to something bigger. That said, I would definitely read it again, and try other books by the author.

[shannonmiz]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
>A Madness So Discreet is almost like an old-timey version of Criminal Minds. Set in an insane asylum, back when those were still a thing.

First, the scarily accurate representation of how people with mental health issues is disturbing at best. But this is a good thing, it means the author has certainly done her homework, and has managed to create this terrible, yet all too real atmosphere inside the asylum.

Things in the beginning are quite slow, and of course very depressing. Again, I think it really sets the tone for how Grace would have really been feeling, because the asylum was awful, and mundane, and endless. So it does work in the context of the story. In fact, even though it was a slower  start, I still could not put the book down. Slow and depressing, yes, but also wildly captivating. When Grace finally gets out of Boston, things definitely get a bit more intense and lighter as she is joined by a much more jovial (and quirky) cast of characters.

Two major aspects of the story stood out for me:

1. The evolution of psychology and the treatment of psychological disorders happening as the book progressed. While still in its infancy, the changes that will eventually come to the mental health field are evident. The Ohio asylum is sadly the exception, not the rule, but it's a hopeful situation, since as the reader, we know it does get better as history marches forward. Dr. Thornhollow is ahead of his time, and the ideas he has are invaluable.


2. The characters were just brilliant. I loved so many of the people Grace encountered in Ohio. They basically proved a point that "crazy" is quite subjective. The characters in the asylum absolutely had issues and quirks... but so did the people who lived outside of the asylum.

There is a mystery, and while I enjoyed it from a psychological perspective, some of the other elements of the actual mystery bored me just a bit. But otherwise, I was completely engaged in the book, and couldn't wait to see what would happen next for Grace.

Bottom Line: I enjoyed this a lot. The psychological and historical aspects of it were super intriguing, but the slower pace may not be for everyone. If you have any inclination toward those things though, this is absolutely a book for you. Dark, yet with hope in strange, lovely places, I was hooked from the start!
*Copy provided by publisher for review

[Linda]

*I received a free ARC of A Madness So Discreet from Katherine Tegen Books via Edelweiss in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

A Madness So Discreet is utterly chilling! Grace is in an asylum for the insane, but she really doesn't belong there. The abuse she suffered before getting there, and how that abuse continued by the hand of the people supposed to take care of her made me cringe! Little by little, things changed as she was moved to another asylum, and she could use her sharp mind to help catch a killer on the lose.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[ellieroth]

Sucker Punch meets Criminal Minds (Sucker minds / Criminal Punch)

Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

A Mindy McGinnis la conocí gracias a su libro debut Not A Drop to Drink, libro que recomiendo y hablo casi todo el tiempo, aunque no leí la novela que acompaña al libro, estoy segura de que me gustará tanto o más que A Madness So Discreet. Llevo aproximadamente un mes pensando que escribir en esta reseña. La razón es simplemente porque mi cerebro no está capacitado para darte mi opinión sin soltar spoilers a lo loco o al menos salir de mi modus operandi y darte algunos detalles de la historia.

LOCURA DE PORTADA

Decir que al menos no te causa curiosidad la portada, sería mentir, porque al menos el vestido o la elección de colores te llamará la atención. Y, entonces, empiezas a notar las otras cosas. El inicio del libro más la gran ayuda visual de la portada me hizo sentirme en la película Sucker Punch (¿la película de Emily Browning?). Tiene esa sensación de desesperación y locura tan atractiva de la película.

"WE HOLD TO OUR TRUTHS IN THE DARKNESS"


A Madness So Discreet es un libro que será duro de leer al inicio, al menos para mí lo fue. No es porque sea aburrido, todo lo contrario, pero lo que hace que la historia tenga un inicio, es algo bastante cruel y lamentablemente muy real. No quiero decir exactamente que es, solo que la escritora lo tocó con delicadeza de una muy buena manera durante todo el libro, no dejando que se convirtiera en una idealización de algo tan duro o reducirlo a un romance que puede curar y hacer olvidar todo.

Si bien el libro empieza con una protagonista que ha tenido que vivir una vida bastante dura, me gustó mucho como al transcurso de la historia se da cuenta de que las cosas por las que tuvo que pasar no son algo que merecía y que a pesar de todo, en su retorcida manera a veces, puede encontrar cosas buenas. Sobre todo con personajes entrañables como Elizabeth y Nell.

Pero si has leído a Mindy antes, ya sabes que la señora te romperá el corazón, porque así es ella.

***

A Madness So Discreet me encantó, creo que es el único o al menos uno de los primeros thrillers que leo, fue un buen inicio. Si te gusta Criminal Minds, te gustará mucho el libro.

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