Excellent historical novel about the rights of women (or lack there of) during the late nineteenth century. Although horrifying to contemplate what could be done to women at the whim of their male guardians (fathers or husbands), this story also tells about the bonds of sisterhood and the strength of women who join together to overcome an unjust institution.

Woman 99 is about sisters that would go to any length for each other. Centered in the 1880s Pheobe is put in the asylum. Charlotte her sister is out to find her and bring her home. Charlotte must pose as an insane woman. Though her time there she exposes many wrongs

4.5 stars ⭐️

I loved this book! From start to finish I was SO into it. It had just the right amount of suspense, each and every chapter leaving me wanting more! I loved some characters, felt sympathy for others and loved to hate the rest.

This book comes out March 5th and I highly recommend you go pick it up!

Thank you Sourcebooks and Netgalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

How far would you go and what would you risk for a loved one?
I really admired Charlotte. She was so strong and she was a great sister. I loved the women she encounters in the asylum. I can't believe the horrible reasons some of them were there! I was so in love with the ending, it was a very good conclusion to the story.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This was a great, fast-paced fiction read. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Highly recommend.

This is plugged as a historical thriller. I agree with historical, but I found the thriller angle to be a bit misleading. The story contains detailed descriptions, and the characters are well developed. There is some predictability, especially with the ending, and some parts seemed a bit stretched/unlikley. Pace was steady throughout.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy, but I wasn't required to leave a positive review.

Woman 99 by Greer Macallister is one of the most intriguing and enjoyable books I've read this year so far. It explores the difficult of mental issue in an era in which it was just beginning to be understand. Macallister's writing of this poignant tale will leave you engrossed and emotionally attached to the women in the story. There is a strong plot line that moves at a steady pace and the characters are both likeable and believable. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and would wholeheartedly recommend it to and historical fiction lover.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

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

This story initially sounded interesting, but far from being a thriller as the blurb claims, it was slow-moving and had endless, tedious flashbacks which I took to skipping in short order because they were so boring and pointless. They had, from what I could see before I began skipping them, no bearing on the actual story, and served only to interrupt it with annoying regularity.

So, every few screens I would read how this girl would reassert her need to focus on finding her sister Phoebe and rescuing her from the asylum, but then she would predictably meander back to the la-la land of asylum minutiae, behaviors, and politics, rather than focus on how to find which ward Phoebe was in so she could contact her. When she wasn't lost in that, she was lost in the past. It quickly became tediously repetitive. Had Yoda been a doctor there he would have diagnosed her as "Never her mind on where she was; what she was doing."

Flashbacks, in my experience, are rarely contributory. I just think they represent poor writing and they also unnecessarily interrupt the story. There are better ways of referencing past events than simply stopping the story and irritating the reader with yet another info dump, especially if it's irrelevant which, in this case, was consistently true. The flashbacks did not relate to the current story at all. All they 'contributed' was to tell an irrelevant backstory of this girl's relationship with her sister and her fiancé and this other guy she had the hots for, so clichéd love triangle. Barf. And this wasn't the story that was advertised! It was certainly not the story I wanted to read.

Sometimes it began to sound like this girl was herself an unreliable narrator because in the current story she was dissing her fiancé, whereas in the backstory she seemed less antagonistic, but it was b-o-r-i-n-g, which is why I quit reading them. I never felt like I needed to go back and read any of the flashbacks to understand what was happening in the present so what was the point? The current story and the flashbacks seemed to be completely separate stories, and at no time in the current story did she ever refer back to anything that happened in the past.

In another instance of her schizophrenia, I read that on the one hand that "If I confessed the whole truth, I’d be sent back to my parents quick as a wink," and on the other, a mere few lines later she claims, "And if I didn’t do something drastic, all my days would be like this, for all the time to come." I'm sorry? Either she can get out of the asylum by confessing or she's stuck there no matter what! It can't simultaneously be both. The fact that she thinks it can be calls her own sanity into question!

There was another point where I began to think she truly was insane and this story about her going there to rescue her sister was something she made up to 'rationalize' her presence in the asylum. It crossed my mind is that her understanding of why her older sister was there was in error - that her sister had been put there because her fiancé had been having a relationship with her or something. But I honestly didn't care enough at that point about either of these possibilities to continue reading, and I DNF'd it at around the fifty percent mark.

The reason for this was that the current story wasn't much better than the flashbacks, quite honestly. When she found the room her sister was supposedly in, and snuck in to visit, the woman in there was not her sister, but some Russian woman who was using her sister's name. After an agonizing few pages with flashbacks, she finally figured out that her sister and this woman had swapped places. Then - and how she made this insane leap I do not know - she decided this woman had to be one of the Romanov family, so the story further descended into inanity and I gave up on it, having zero confidence that it would ever go anywhere interesting.

I wish the author all the best in her career, but I cannot in good faith commend this one based on the fifty percent of it I could stand to read. And BTW, the Romanovs are all accounted for: they all died in the end.

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!