Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Book Review: A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Title: A Madness So Discreet
Author: Mindy McGinnis
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published: October 6th, 2015
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: YA - Historical Fiction - Thriller - Horror

Grace Mae knows madness.



Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo 


When I received my OwlCrate and saw A Madness So Discreet, I was very disappointed (although I liked the cover so much, I didn't care if the book was awful)!  The blurb didn't wow me, and, although I don't mind gory details and bloody descriptions, I can't abide books without a little bit of hope shining through the darkness of the story. After reading the synopsis, I thought nothing else than pain and desperation could come from this story. I'm happy to say I was wrong! This book was definitely dark, but it had its lighter moments and, most important, it managed to convey a sense of hope for the future of the characters.

"Nothing you say will be believed. You're insane"

Grace was a fantastic main character, haunted by the demons of her past, and she kept them at bay retreating in herself so much that she couldn't feel anything. This ability was rather intriguing but also frightening, because clearly if you retreat in yourself too much, you risk losing your way out. Grace couldn't speak for most of her day, and it was interesting how this created a chasm between the person she was in the asylum, who had to keep everything bottled up inside, and the person she was when she was free to be herself. They almost seemed like two different people. 

"So are we really that different, the healthy and the ill?" (...) "I would argue there is no difference at all"

Grace walked thin line between madness and sanity, like all the characters of this book: Thornhollow, who looked into the abyss of the criminal mind too much, Grace's father, all the patients in the asylums. Reading the book was like becoming mad yourself, until you were at a point when you couldn't say which character was sane and which was not. You could almost say that the patients were saner than the people outside the asylum. The only really sane character was Grace's sister, but one could argue that she was sane because she kept to the surface and didn't venture down to the depth of the human mind. Along with the exploration of what makes a person mad and if everybody's actually mad but some madness are more discreet than others, the author tackled the idea of morals and whether it's right to follow one's moral system when it clashes with the law. I liked that the book didn't shy away from certain ideas of "eye for an eye" and "the end justifies the means".

The historical fiction aspect of asylums and how patients were treated was deeply fascinating and well-researched. As you may well imagine, the treatments were brutal and lobotomy was largely practiced to tame the most difficult patients. However, I enjoyed the book much more when it delved into the homicide and the study of criminal profiling. Also, the ending was perfect and gave me so much satisfaction!

Overall, this book was riveting and compelling, and I recommend it to anyone who's not afraid of some gory details. I've already read a review comparing this book to Criminal Minds, so I can say that I was not the only one who thought so while reading the book! If you are a fan of this telefilm, this book it's for you!

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.


  1. Glad that this book changed your mind! This isn't available in UK bookstores yet so I might just have to order it on Amazon! I do love a bit of dark historical fiction so this is right up my street, great review!
    Naomi@The Perks Of Being A Bookworm

  2. Thanks! ;) If you love this kind of genre I believe you really need to order it on Amazon! It's really worth it! And I'll definitely be on the lookout for similar books in the future...next on my list is Shutter Island, similar setting but in the 50s and not young adult!





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