Strong book not as creepy as I would have like and not as mysterious. i did not love the character but she was fun to read about. i WONDER if this is standalone. I liked the discussion of madness but I did get lost sometimes in the story ( )

Strong book not as creepy as I would have like and not as mysterious. i did not love the character but she was fun to read about. i WONDER if this is standalone. I liked the discussion of madness but I did get lost sometimes in the story ( )

Grace is unmarried and pregnant, and has been confined to a Boston mental asylum by her upper-class parents. Her treatment there is horrific, but a sympathetic doctor sees in her a potential collaborator in his crime-solving work and manages, with the collusion of a few others, to slip her out of the institution and take her with him to Ohio. She lives in another asylum there, one with more humane practices, and accompanies the doctor to crime scenes. They attempt to solve murders by looking at them in a more comprehensive and psychological light. When they are faced with a string of killings that seem to point to a serial killer, will they be able to identify the perpetrator? These questions are eclipsed when Grace's past abruptly comes back to haunt her. Though she has escaped her old life, she left behind a little sister who is likely to find herself caught in the same trap as Grace once was. Is there anything she can do from where she is now to change her sister's circumstances?

If it seems from that description that this book jumps from track to track, that would be correct. The first part of the book dwells on the horrific treatment of patients (particularly women) in mental asylums. Though a specific date is never given, from context clues I would guess this takes place in the late 1800s. McGinnis does not shy away from the darkness, so readers may want to be advised that this book might be triggering in several ways (rape, incest, miscarriage, torture). Then, after leaving the institution in Boston, the book focuses much more on the crime-solving aspect. This portion of the book is generally pleasanter for both the reader and our main character, but it does move a bit slower. The ending brings the two portions of the book together in unsettling ways; I'm still grappling with some of the details. I didn't love this book, but I'm also not necessarily the intended audience. Readers who like a dark historical YA book with elements of mystery will enjoy it more than I did. ( )

Loved it!!

Great story! A bit of Sherlock Holmes and Criminal Minds all rolled into a tale of revenge and justice. Highly recommend it! ( )

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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