The Gray Chamber (True Colors #4)

by: Grace Hitchcock

About the Book:

Will Edyth prove her sanity before it is too late?

On Blackwell’s Island, New York, a hospital was built to keep its patients from ever leaving.

With her late parents’ fortune under her uncle’s care until her twenty-fifth birthday in the year 1887, Edyth Foster does not feel pressured to marry or to bow to society’s demands. She freely indulges in eccentric hobbies like fencing and riding her velocipede in her cycling costume about the city for all to see. Finding a loophole in the will, though, her uncle whisks Edyth off to the women’s lunatic asylum just weeks before her birthday. And Edyth fears she will never be found.

At the asylum she meets another inmate, who upon discovering Edyth’s plight, confesses that she is Nellie Bly, an undercover journalist for The World. Will either woman find a way to leave the terrifying island and reclaim her true self?

Also Look for:
White City by Grace Hitchcock (March 2019)
Pink Bonnet by Liz Tolsma (June 2019)
Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken (August 2019)
Blue Cloak by Shannon McNear (March 2020)

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Chamber-True-Colors-ebook/dp/B0815S32YS/

My Thoughts:

The Gray Chamber is the fourth book in the True Colors series by Barbour Publishing. It’s important to note that these stories are based on crimes that have happened in the past, not specific crimes necessarily but in general.

The main character Edyth will win your heart the moment she steps on page. She’s funny, spunky, and totally eccentric. She hates to follow social rules and does whatever she wants. Unfortunately, her attitude towards social standards comes back to haunt her as her aunt and uncle use it as a jumping off point in their plan to have her committed to an insane asylum.

Blackwell’s Island was creepy and heart-breaking. First, for those who needed to be there. There are some who are unstable to the point they require a warm place to care for them where they can’t harm others or themselves… this was not it.

Secondly, for those who didn’t belong there, but with the right amount of money anyone could be declared insane and tucked away out of sight… as is Edyth’s case.

I loved the inclusion of real-life Nellie Bly, a reporter who risked life and limb to go undercover and expose the atrocities taking place behind those walls.

The character, Bane, will make you laugh and face-palm as he goes from clueless to contender, to save the girl who’s loved him for years without him ever realizing it.

The story is intense in places especially in the ways that the nurses treat the patients. It can be a difficult read for anyone with a high-level of empathy. It’s still an enjoyable book and worth the read.

I recommend this book for those who love stories based on historical romances mixed with suspense.

About the Author:

Grace Hitchcock is the author of The White City and The Gray Chamber from Barbour Publishing. She has written multiple novellas in The Second Chance Brides, The Southern Belle Brides, and the Thimbles and Threads collections with Barbour Publishing. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History. Grace lives in southern Louisiana with her husband, Dakota, and son. Visit Grace online at GraceHitchcock.com.