Robin Loves Reading

Through no fault of her own Grace Mae is trapped in an asylum. She is pregnant with her father's baby and that is the only reason she is there. She is trapped in another way as well. She will not speak. Things go from bad to worse for Grace when she finally does speak. Not only does she use her voice, but she acts in a violent manner and is banished to the darkest corners of the asylum, the cellars.

Grace catches the attention of a visiting doctor, Thornhollow. He sees things in Grace that belie the fact that she is crazy, In fact, the doctor can sense her intelligence and is amazed by her incredible memory. There is a killer of young women and Thornhollow has plans to use Grace in order to try and identify the killer. The plan is for Grace to pretend she is out of her mind, all the while hunting the killer. To do this, she is transferred to a much better asylum, one that actually treats patients with a bit more dignity. Meanwhile, Grace is forced to address her past. Perhaps she cannot escape her past but can she escape the clutches of the killer?

As mental hospitals in that day and age were mostly quite horrible, I thought that is what I would be reading of - Grace's survival. Also, with Thornhollow's field of study, phrenology, I again thought that would be the focus, why madness occurs. Instead, A Madness So Discreet played more like a murder mystery. Once that was clearly established, I was able to enjoy the story on a different level. The story had enough twists and turns to maintain my interest, but the conclusion left me less than enthused.

Lastly, there are some trigger warnings. The aforementioned madness, but also incest, rape and suicide, just to name a few.