Monday, March 17, 2014

Review and Giveaway: The Medea Complex by Rachel Florence Roberts


Genre:  Adult Historical Fiction

Description (taken from Rachel Florence Roberts' website):
Based On A True Story

Anne wakes up in a strange bed, having been kidnapped from her home. Slowly, she realizes she is in a lunatic asylum.

1885. Anne Stanbury - Committed to a lunatic asylum, having been deemed insane and therefore unfit to stand trial for the crime of which she is indicted. But is all as it seems?

Edgar Stanbury - the grieving husband and father who is torn between helping his confined wife recover her sanity, and seeking revenge on the woman who ruined his life.

Dr George Savage - the well respected psychiatrist, and chief medical officer of Bethlem Royal Hospital. Ultimately, he holds Anne's future wholly in his hands.

The Medea Complex tells the story of a misunderstood woman suffering from insanity in an era when mental illnesses' were all too often misdiagnosed and mistreated. A deep and riveting psychological thriller set within an historical context, packed full of twists and turns, The Medea Complex explores the nature of the human psyche: what possesses us, drives us, and how love, passion, and hope for the future can drive us to insanity.

So what does Medea Complex even mean?  A little tidbit I had to look up that suddenly made everything make sense...  Medea, in Greek mythology, is a sorceress who kills her children after Jason, her husband, deserts her.  Look it up if you want to know more.

This tale is told from a couple of different point of views:  Anne the murdering wife, Edgar the grieving husband, Dr Savage the psychiatrist, and Beatrix the lady's maid.  Each person has a motive, a hidden agenda, and a little bit of crazy hanging over their shoulders.  This tale will wrap around the emotions that drive us as well as what we are willing to do to get our way.

Anne wakes up in an insane asylum with no memory indicating why she's there.  She must trust Dr Savage when he tells her she murdered her baby.  But Dr Savage is a man from 1885 meaning he's very likely to brush women aside and use womenly wiles as a reason to explain why they do what they do.  He doesn't think they are smart or cunning.  But Edgar, Anne's husband, will soon find out just how smart women can be when his wife becomes sane and remembers what happened.  While grieving for his son, Edgar will find out just how far Anne is willing to go to protect her own.

I didn't exactly know what to expect at the beginning of this story.  It seemed like a whole lot of crazy that wasn't going very far plot-wise.  And Dr Savage's attitude of women just bothered me.  I can't respect someone who doesn't respect me (a woman).  But then the story continued, and we find a lot of motives behind people's actions.  And once the story leaves the insane asylum, we enter the legal world (and everything gets interesting).  Towards the end, I was really enjoying the different perspectives and people questioning whether or not their actions were right.

This story is a good one to check out if you're looking for a tale of lies, crazy, and motives.  Despite Dr Savage's attitude regarding women, I enjoyed this story.


Thanks goes to Rachel Florence Roberts' for providing me a review copy.

Giveaway
Rachel Florence Roberts is offering three of you a copy of her book, The Medea Complex.  Winners will receive an ebook copy of her book.
  • This giveaway is open to open to everyone.
  • Entrant must be 13 years of age or older.
  • Giveaway ends on Saturday, April 12.
  • You can enter via the Rafflecopter form below. You can enter by doing one of the following: 

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