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Dance in a Madhouse

by Jess Wright

An asylum, a doctor, and a disputed account of reality

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AlbakiReads Editorial

An asylum, a doctor, and a disputed account of reality

Set in Philadelphia in 1905, the novel places former medical intern Owen Townsend inside Fairmount Lodge after illness and an act of violence lead to his confinement. From there, the suspense turns on competing explanations for his condition and the danger he believes surrounds him. Owen’s attempt to enlist police inspector Brumbaugh brings the asylum’s locked world into contact with an investigation beyond its walls, while opera singer Celeste is linked to clues rooted in her past. The historical setting frames questions of psychiatric care, confinement, and how much power others hold over a person’s account of their own sanity.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers of historical thrillers set in early-20th-century Philadelphia.
  • For readers interested in psychological suspense involving asylum confinement and an investigation.
  • For readers drawn to stories featuring medical and police characters, with an opera singer connected to the mystery.

Themes

Psychiatric care and confinementSanity and perceptionPower and vulnerabilityInvestigation and survival

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

The gripping psychological tale of a young doctor who fights to escape an early-1900s Philadelphia asylum--and expose the plot to destroy him.

Philadelphia, 1905. A month ago, Owen Townsend was a medical intern primed for success. Now he is locked in Fairmount Lodge, an asylum where the public is invited to gawk at the patients. His fall was sudden: typhoid fever, delirium, an act of violence. Is Owen sane--a victim of a toxin no longer in his system? Or is he as psychotic as his doctor claims?

There are fires at Fairmount. Attacks that defy logic. Terror instead of treatment. Though others dismiss his concerns as paranoia, Owen soon realizes that someone wants him put away forever--or dead. To survive, he not only must navigate the labyrinth of the madhouse but also must recruit someone on the outside to his cause. Brumbaugh, a shrewd police inspector, is the man for the job--and Celeste, an enigmatic young opera singer who transfixes him after he saves her from suicide, might have the clues they need to solve the mystery. But if Owen is going to find a way to freedom, he'll first have to decipher riddles from Celeste's tortured past.

Set at the dawn of modern psychiatric treatment, Dance in a Madhouse is a thrilling testament to courage and resilience. Can Owen and Celeste overcome the odds against them? Are redemption and healing possible? The dances will tell.
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