When We Were Silent: A gripping and addictive feminist dark academia thriller
May 2024 · Random House
Ebook
400
Pages
About this ebook
For fans of GIRL A, MY DARK VANESSA and ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL, When We Were Silent is a propulsive, bold exploration of power, corruption and retribution.
“I’m not here for prestige. I’m here for revenge.”
Lou Manson is an outsider when she joins the final-year class at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school. Beyond the granite pillars and the wrought-iron gates is a world of wealth, privilege and potential. But Highfield is also hiding a dark secret – and Lou is here to expose it.
When Lou befriends the beautiful and talented Shauna Power, her plans are thrown into turmoil. Speaking out against the school would mean betraying Shauna, and Lou soon discovers that the Highfield elite will go to any lengths to protect their own reputation...even when the consequences are fatal.
Thirty years later, Lou is called to testify in a new lawsuit against Highfield. But telling the truth means confronting her past – and there is one story she swore she’d never tell...
'Utterly amazing . . . Powerful, moving, enraging' Marian Keyes, bestselling author of RACHEL'S HOLIDAY
'A twisting, turning dive into a web of long-buried secrets' Jane Harper, internationally bestselling author of EXILES
'This suspenseful novel perfectly captures teenage intensity and anguish, as well as the lasting damage done by predatory men and those who enable them' Guardian
'This book absolutely nails what it feels like to be young, female, powerless, and dead set on redemption' Julia Heaberlin, author of WE ARE ALL THE SAME IN THE DARK
'Taut, compelling, powerful and devastatingly relevant' Louise O'Neill, author of IDOL
-
Readers are raving about When We Were Silent
'A compelling, powerful read that had me gripped from the start'
'The twists keep on coming, parts of the ending makes you gasp in shock and the rest makes you sigh in relief'
'I was immediately invested . . . The writing throughout is tight, poised and unflinching'
“I’m not here for prestige. I’m here for revenge.”
Lou Manson is an outsider when she joins the final-year class at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school. Beyond the granite pillars and the wrought-iron gates is a world of wealth, privilege and potential. But Highfield is also hiding a dark secret – and Lou is here to expose it.
When Lou befriends the beautiful and talented Shauna Power, her plans are thrown into turmoil. Speaking out against the school would mean betraying Shauna, and Lou soon discovers that the Highfield elite will go to any lengths to protect their own reputation...even when the consequences are fatal.
Thirty years later, Lou is called to testify in a new lawsuit against Highfield. But telling the truth means confronting her past – and there is one story she swore she’d never tell...
'Utterly amazing . . . Powerful, moving, enraging' Marian Keyes, bestselling author of RACHEL'S HOLIDAY
'A twisting, turning dive into a web of long-buried secrets' Jane Harper, internationally bestselling author of EXILES
'This suspenseful novel perfectly captures teenage intensity and anguish, as well as the lasting damage done by predatory men and those who enable them' Guardian
'This book absolutely nails what it feels like to be young, female, powerless, and dead set on redemption' Julia Heaberlin, author of WE ARE ALL THE SAME IN THE DARK
'Taut, compelling, powerful and devastatingly relevant' Louise O'Neill, author of IDOL
-
Readers are raving about When We Were Silent
'A compelling, powerful read that had me gripped from the start'
'The twists keep on coming, parts of the ending makes you gasp in shock and the rest makes you sigh in relief'
'I was immediately invested . . . The writing throughout is tight, poised and unflinching'
About the author
Fiona McPhillips is an Irish journalist, author, and screenwriter, and an editor at The Forge literary magazine. When We Were Silent, the runner-up for the 2021 Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger, is her first novel. Fiona lives in Dublin with her three kids, two cats, and a dog.
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