When We Were Silent: A Novel

Fiona McPhillips

May 2024 · Macmillan Audio · Narrated by India Mullen

About this audiobook

This program is read by actor India Mullen, who plays Peggy in the Normal People miniseries.

“With her full-bodied voice and unhurried pace, [India] Mullen conveys an unsettled atmosphere and the intricate dynamics between all the players—villains and victims.”—BookPage

An outsider threatens to expose the secrets at an elite private school in this suspenseful debut novel for readers of My Dark Vanessa and Dare Me

Louise Manson is the newest student at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school. It seems nearly perfect: the high arched window alcoves and tall granite pillars, the overspill of lilac at the front gate and the immaculate playing fields, the giggling students, the dusty, oak-lined library, and the dark, festering secret she has come to expose.

At first, Lou’s working-class status makes her the consummate outsider, though all that changes when she is befriended by the beautiful and wealthy Shauna Power. But Lou finds out that even Shauna is caught up in Highfield’s web, and her time there ends with a lifeless body sprawled at her feet.

Thirty years later, Lou has rebuilt her life after the harrowing events of the so-called “Highfield Affair,” when she gets a shocking phone call. Ronan Power, Shauna’s brother, is a high-profile lawyer bringing a lawsuit against the school. And he needs Lou to testify.

Now with a daughter and career to protect, the last thing Lou wants is for Highfield Manor to be back in her life. But to finally free herself and others, she has to confront her past, go to battle once more, and discover, for once and for all, what really happened at Highfield. Powerful and compelling, When We Were Silent is an unputdownable, thrilling story of exploitation, privilege, and retribution.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

Ratings and reviews

I wish I could say I loved this book. The topic is an important one, but overall this book didn’t work for me. We have the ubiquitous two timelines, with the before being Louise’s experience in high school, and the present being when the past comes back to haunt her thirty years later. I was surprised by the heavy YA vibe. Most of this story is told in the before timeline. We see the high school situation play out in much more detail than I needed, including lots of meandering and repetitive day-to-day activity. Pacing is quite slow. Lou’s choices often didn’t make sense. I never understood what she expected to accomplish by putting herself in that situation. I wanted so much more from the after timeline. I wish we’d seen the lingering effects of all the high school issues on Lou as she aged. I wanted to understand how she got to where she was. The story missed a major opportunity to show the long-term harm of abuse. Every single character, including Lou, was unlikable. I struggled to find any connection. The side story with Lou’s daughter, in the present timeline, was unnecessary and odd. Neither the girl’s character nor the storyline were well developed. Also, something major happened with the daughter that should have been a bright, flashing, glaring red flag, which Lou inexplicably chose to ignore. This didn’t sit well with me at all. On the bright side, I loved India Mullen’s audio narration. Had I been reading this instead of listening, I probably wouldn’t have finished. *I received a free audiobook download from Macmillan Audio.*

About the author

Fiona McPhillips is an Irish journalist, author, and screenwriter. In 2019, she started an MA in Creative Writing at Dublin City University, graduating with first class honours. Fiona’s debut novel, When We Were Silent, was runner-up for the 2021 Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger. Fiona lives in Dublin with her three kids, two cats, and a dog.