I thought Woman 99 was a pretty good read. I am giving this book four and a half stars. I recommend it to other readers.

Charlotte Smith and her sister Phoebe live a comfortable life on Nob Hill in San Francisco. Their mother has been working tirelessly to plan their futures, which will involve marrying men who will help solidify their social status. That is, until Phoebe’s mood swings become harder and harder to hide from the outside world. In a drastic turn of events their parents decide to commit Phoebe to an infamous asylum for the “curable insane”. Charlotte is left heart broken and reeling before she resolves to save her sister. Charlotte cracks a plan to sneak off and get her self committed to Goldengrove as anonymous “Woman 99”. Once inside her plan to save her sister unravels as she sees what truth lies behind the asylum walls. Many woman inside have simply been committed for being “inconvenient”. Whether their husbands no longer wanted them, they desired an education, or were indigent. Worse than that the barbaric treatments being used on the woman will leave you slack-jawed. As Charlotte learns how naive she has been she must change course to not only save her sister, but also save herself.

This was an amazingly well researched historical fiction novel! I couldn’t believe the treatments being featured in this book had actually been used in the past, horrifying. I found myself googling and reading more about the history of asylums in the US which is always a sign a book has struck a cord. The bond between the two sisters was beautifully written and highlights the lengths we will go to save the people we love. I also enjoyed the strong female friendships depicted throughout this book, you’ll be rooting hard for many of these woman. Overall I would highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks landmark for the early review copy in exchange for an honest review.

So,so interesting. I appreciate the meticulous detail Ms. McAllister takes in researching this period piece and producing a book that seamlessly takes the reader to a mental institution in the the Bay Area over a hundred years ago. All of her books are well researched and compelling- she does such a great job of educating us as to how women lived in our society in the past - and it is eye opening. Woman 99 is no different. At times harrowing and tense, this story is both a testament to the resilience and determination of women during those times and a suspenseful story that will make you stay up all night to learn the outcome. I loved it .

It could totally just be me, but I just found this book so dense and uninteresting. I had high hopes since it is about such an interesting time in American history, but it was just all over the place for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

In this book, set in the late 1800s, main character Charlotte and her sister Phoebe are among the San Francisco elite. But when her parents put Phoebe in an asylum called Goldengrove, Charlotte decides to go undercover and get herself thrown in there too to try to rescue her sister. Needless to say, things are more complicated - and the conditions worse - than Charlotte imagined. The book was a little slow at times, but interesting. I'd give it 3.75 stars, rounding up to 4.

I have had some driving time lately so was able to listen thru voice view on my Kindle to several books that had been sitting on my shelf for a while. Unfortunately this one came behind several other stellar books that I had just finished reading. Don’t get me wrong, this one is a good read, but it didn’t have that wow factor for me. I can’t really explain why Charlotte did not pull me into her character.
This story is based upon true and factual happenings in the late 1800’s of homes for women, the ability to incarcerate a woman without full vetting of their mental state, possibly just because she is a nuisance to her family or spouse. Once incarcerated, the treatment of the “inmates/patients” was not monitored or overseen by reliable staff or government standards, some horrendous events were allowed to take place. Charlotte, the main character in the story willingly gets admitted to one of these homes in order to save her sister.
The story is enlightening of the cruel treatment that took place, but it felt like it just scratched the surface, the writing was superficial and in some places circumstances seemed contrived. I feel the premise of the book could have had a strong storyline, but the delivery left a little to be desired. It probably didn’t help that I had just read several other historical fiction books where the research and delivery was so in-depth. Shallow is the best word I can find for it.
I was given an advanced copy from Sourcebooks Landmark through Net Galley for my honest review, this one gets 4****’s, it is worth the read if learning about the unfair treatment of women in these homes, but does lack something.

This was SUCH an interesting book, about a topic I’d never though much about - female asylums back before women really had rights. When women could be locked up for fighting back against an abusive man, cheating on her husband, or merely speaking her mind. This book gives you an inside look on the process, as told by a sane woman who fakes insanity to rescue another patient. It’s fresh, it’s different, and while I found the main character to be hard to identify with, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC. This has not impacted my review.

This is the first book by Greer Macallister I've read and it won't be the last. This is a story of women's courage and loyalty. Charlotte's sister suffers from what we would today call bi-polar disorder. She is sent by her parents to a care facility to keep her from preventing a good match and increasing her family's fortunes. But Charlotte loves her sister dearly and decides to get herself admitted and break her sister out.

Charlotte discovers that some of the women re there not because they are insane but to hide them away because they are an embarrassment to their families. Broken into nine different wards, Charlotte's mission to find her sister is complicated. In addition, she is witness to mistreatment of the patients. As Charlotte works to find her sister and come up with an escape plan she finds herself going back memories of the events leading up to her sister's banishment. She also creates friendships along the way.

Filled with interesting characters and strong historical details, the reader is propelled forward, holding her breath and hoping for justice. I encourage you to take the journey with her.

Woman 99 is a gorgeous portrayal of the power of women's courage and strength.

Two sisters Phoebe and Charlotte Smith grew up in San Francisco in the 1800's. Both sisters had issues with growing up in their high society. Charlotte is forced to marry a man that she doesn't love and her sister Phoebe stands up for her. In turn, Phoebe is placed in an insane asylum. Charlotte is devastated and her only goal is to get her sister back.

In order to get her sister back, Charlotte gets her self committed to the asylum as well. Let's just say that the treatments and brutal background of the asylum is awful. Physical and emotional abuse to the extreme. The amount of research the author did in regards to the environment was impressing.

I found the descriptions to be beautiful yet dark. Despite having the dark side, the story unfolds a true portrayal of the strength of these two sisters that is unbreakable. I loved the strength of all the women in this story and the friendships along the way in the asylum.

I do have to say it was a tad slow in the beginning and was hard to connect. Once, it took off I was enjoying it.

Overall, 3.5 stars for Woman 99

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc.

Publication date: 3/5/19
Published to Goodreads: 2/12/19

Started out slow, but the ending was solid! Woman 99 by Greer Macallister was one of those titles that I went back and forth with. The beginning started out a bit choppy, with a lack of flow to the writing, but about halfway through I started becoming more interested and involved with the characters and the ending really pulled it all together!
I’ve always been fascinated by historical fiction or historical mysteries that are set in or about an insane asylum. There are many heartbreaking tales of women who were committed because they crossed a powerful man, they acted in a way that was unorthodox, or for many other reasons. I’m fascinated by these stories, and so when I read the synopsis of Woman 99 I knew it was a book for me! And I did enjoy it, it just took awhile for me to get into the read and feel connected to it.
Told in first person, our main character is Charlotte, a twenty year old woman in San Francisco. Her older sister, Phoebe, is committed to Goldengrove, a “Progressive Home for the Curable Insane”, in Napa Valley. Charlotte, angered by her parents’ decision to commit Phoebe, runs away from home and succeeds in becoming an inmate herself in the same asylum as Phoebe, with the goal of rescuing her sister.
Charlotte started out the book as incredibly naïve, and this was one of the reasons I struggled to connect early on. The premise really didn’t make a whole lot of sense, and felt a bit too “easy”. Charlotte is immediately committed to Goldengrove, and so this led me to a lot of questions. Was it really that easy to be committed? Were there no other asylums in the area? Charlotte believes that she’ll go into Goldengrove, and get Phoebe out quickly. At one point Charlotte mentions that she will “invoke my father’s name” to get Phoebe out, and all I kept thinking was, didn’t the father send her there to begin with? So, how will invoking his name get her out? Her lack of thinking things through was really irritating, but then as the book went along, and Charlotte learned more and became more worldwise, it got more interesting.
Another issue I had was with how convenient many things were. As I said above, Charlotte immediately gets sent to Gardengrove. There was no struggle for her to get there, no worry that she’d be sent somewhere else. While in Goldengrove, she comes across a map easily, and is able to don nurse’s garb at will, and even manages to make friends with the superintendent, who happens to be a wordy drunk. There are also some continuity issues that I noticed, particularly when she’s able to get a skeleton key made. Many of these issues happen towards the beginning of the book, where the writing felt the choppiest. At one point in my notes I wondered if the book was a YA book (nothing wrong with that!), as the book didn’t have that grittiness to it that I was expecting. Which I was quite fine with it not being graphic, it was just different than how I thought it was going to be!
Once I got over my frustration with the convenience of certain plot points and Charlotte’s “we’’ll be out in a week” attitude, and I stopped nitpicking the book, then I really started to enjoy it! There was one plot reveal towards the end that completely surprised me – but one that made such perfect sense that looking back I can’t see how I missed it. I love, love, love it when reveals happen that way, and really enjoyed that Woman 99 was able to surprise me and keep me engaged at the end. While the beginning was rough for me, the last third of the book had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t put the book down! So, overall, I did enjoy the book and thought it had a solid ending.

Bottom Line: Convenience issues aside, I did enjoy this!

I loved this book!!! This was a first for me by this author and I was engaged in this story from page one!!! Highly recommend

Phoebe struggled with what we would now know as being bipolar. Rather than let her live at home and possibly disrupt her younger sister's opportunities to wed, her parents ship her off to Goldengrove Asylum. Charlotte can't bear the thought of her sister in that place, so she fakes a suicide attempt in order to be committed there as well. Then Charlotte begins plotting to find a way out of there for the both of them.

This book was both horrifying and enlightening. The lack of knowledge of mental illness back then, and the ways that they chose to treat it was nothing less than barbaric. By the time I finished the book I felt as if I knew each of those women personally. It was very well written and made you feel as if you were there watching everything unfold. I highly recommend this book!

Loved it!! I couldn't turn away from this book! I love stories set in the late 1800s. Charlotte wants to recover her sister, Pheobe, from the insane asylum that their parents sent her to. Charlotte manages to figure out a way to get into the asylum then has to track down where her sister is located within it. Along the way to her finding her sister, there are several interesting key characters. Intriguing plot, well developed characters, and perfect ending! Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy!

Wow! What a compelling read. Charlotte is a strong character and one to be admired. Her goal of saving her sister is noble. Her discoveries heartbreaking. I loved her reveries the most. They tied the past and present events together and helped quicken the passage of time. Overall, another strong historical fiction novel from Greer Macallister.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmard for a copy of Woman 99 by Greer Macallister.
3.5* A Historical Fiction tale of sisters Charlotte and Phoebe who must confront what defines madness head on. Phoebe is admitted to Goldengrove Asylum, a home for the insane but truth is disocvered as Charlotte becomes a patient in the effort to free her sister.
‘If God and Science allow, you will be cured’.
These words are spoken upon entry and immediately we are thrown into the horrors of the abuse at Goldengrove. Relationships with patients and staff are cultivated, everyone using each other as a means of survival. Charlotte and her fellow patients create an escape plan. Can Charlotte hold onto her own sanity long enough or will the confinement take its toll? Can Charlotte and Phoene leave madness behind or will they carry their scars with them forever?

When Charlotte's sister is committed to an asylum, she feigns suicide in the hopes of getting her out. Charlotte is at first overwhelmed by life in the asylum, but quickly adjusts to its rhythms. Much to her surprise, she discovers that not all of the women inside are insane. The asylum's goal is to make money, not to help the inmates.

This was an interesting read. Charlotte and her fellow inmates were well developed characters. Her naiveté was astounding at times, but it felt right for the time period. Most of the guards and doctors seemed stereotypical and could have used a bit more development. Despite this criticism, I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from this author.

I ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I was going to, but it took me a little while to get there, probably about the half way point before it really took off. Charlotte throws herself off a pier to get herself committed to an asylum after her sister Phoebe (probably bi polar I from the way her symptoms are described in the book) has intervened to stop Charlotte's marriage to a man Charlotte doesn't love. Phoebe has embarrassed the family publicly multiple times and her mother finds sticking her in an asylum (a quite easing thing to do pre 1900) a convenient way to get rid of her so she can elevate their family's social status while erasing their debts with the other man's riches. Once committed, Charlotte finds all manner of atrocities taking place at this asylum and each hatched plan to try to locate her sister inside the warren of rooms leads to a new punishment or a new discovery of just how out of control things have gotten in the name of profit at Goldengrove. During her time there, she also discovers a shocking secret that could be the key to permanent freedom for both herself and her sister. In the flavor of Nellie Bly, this book really took off at the halfway point, and ended with a nicely tied off bow of happy endings for everyone. The first half kind of dragged and left me wondering if it was going to be worth the time invested, but it got better the more time I invested in it, and the characters really came into their own further into the book. Really well done.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Woman 99 by Greer Macallister just exceeded my expectations and I was totally hooked from the first page. Many times books will sag at some point but not this one, every chapter was riveting. The author is so talented, her wording and descriptions make me wish I was a better writer.

Scoot this novel to the top of your Must-Read list.

Check it out:

When Charlotte Smith’s wealthy parents commit her beloved sister Phoebe to the infamous Goldengrove Asylum, Charlotte knows there’s more to the story than madness. She risks everything and follows her sister inside, surrendering her real identity as a privileged young lady of San Francisco society to become a nameless inmate, Woman 99.

The longer she stays, the more she realizes that many of the women of Goldengrove aren’t insane, merely inconvenient ― and that her search for the truth threatens to dig up secrets that some very powerful people would do anything to kep.

A historical thriller rich in detail, deception, and revelation, Woman 99 honors the fierce women of the past, born into a world that denied them power but underestimated their strength.

I knew very little about the mental health institutions of the 1800s so it was interesting to learn about them and how many women were committed and weren’t actually mentally ill. I enjoyed Charlotte’s personal transformation though she was always spunky, though not as much as her older sister. What she did to rescue Phoebe was brave and showed a true strength of character. After reading this book, I immediately downloaded another one of Greer Macallister’s novels.

Due out March 5 2019.

Great book. Macallister wonderfully and respectfully touched upon a sensitive subject in a time where both lack of knowledge and medical assistance was prevalent. You were painted a clear picture of how appalling conditions and treatment were in those days. The backstories of a few of the patients was halting, the reasons for their confinement disgusting and heartbreaking.

I admired the loyalty and love of Phoebe and Charlotte, their bond unmeasurable. The sacrifices each sister was willing to make and made for the other was affecting. The frostiness between the girls and their parents, especially their mother added to the plot and authenticated the girls.

I liked the ending and I found the build up to the end suspenseful, especially with extracurricular characters involved.

Touching story of mental illness of days old, love, loyalty, courage and the intense bond of two differing sisters.

As someone who regularly spends time with strangers, men and women of all ages, races, religions, and backgrounds, I gravitate towards novels that put people of all lifestyles together and let each of them shine. That's what I had hoped Greer Macallister's book would do; unfortunately, I think I've gotten spoiled by watching Orange is the New Black for as many seasons as it has been on. There are well-rounded characters on that show whose life before prison and in prison have been fully revealed to the audience. Watching each of their stories and the way they interact with one another is what makes the show so unique. While Woman 99 novel is not set in modern-day North America, Macallister only skims the surface when it comes to character development and left me wanting to know more about the characters and their motivation behind each of their choices. Charlotte "bravely" tries to rescue her sister from Goldengrove, the city's mental asylum, but finds herself and friendship there. It moves slowly, but does wrap up in a way that readers can appreciate.