The Gray Chamber by Grace Hitchcock True Colors Series True Crime at the Blackwell Island Asylum for Women

The Gray Chamber by author Grace Hitchcock is the first in the True Colors Series I have read. This is a romantic suspense based on actual true events that happened in the horrendous Blackwell Island Asylum for Women in  1886. The book started a bit slow for me because I do not usually read gothic romance, but the fictional character of Edyth Foster is very interesting. Her parents died when she was younger and her father's brother is her guardian. Edyth is a bit of an eccentric woman of twenty-four who is not governed by the rules of polite society of her day. She enjoys painting and learning to fence at a club and she would prefer to ride her velocipede into town than sit in a carriage. She has a strong faith and is very physically fit which are the main reasons she is able to survive the diabolical plan her uncle has set into motion.
During this time in history, if a woman was an inconvenient problem it was easy to have her committed to an asylum. The atrocities and conditions the women in the asylum suffer are documented by Nellie Bly/Brown. My heart broke as I read of the harsh treatment and the abuse of women who were held against their will with no hope of escape.
Publication Date January 1, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.