The Foundling by Ann Leary

A historical tale of the abuse of women held in a mental institution against their will in 1927 Pennsylvania. Mary Engle is a bit innocent and lacking in social skills due to her growing up in an orphanage but that all changes when she takes a job as a secretary at a state women's institution for the mentally disabled. She is mesmerized by the female doctor who heads the institution but soon realizes that there is much more going on than what the good doctor will admit. Mary recognizes one of the inmates who clearly shouldn't be there and as she starts to hunt for evidence to get her friend released or become a whistleblower her life is in danger. Mary seems very naive when she starts working at the institution but that fits in very well with what the public believed about these places and the women who were committed there on the whim of husbands, families and doctors who could be bought off. Another shining example of the hideous crimes and abuses committed against women in the past by those in power and a position to help. Fans of historical fiction about Nellie Bly, THE MADWOMEN'S BALL and THE WOMAN THEY COULD NOT SILENCE will find much to love here.  4 stars