When We Were Silent

For many months, I’ve been looking forward to When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips. Her debut novel, it’s set at a private school in Dublin between the late 1980s and today. As a student, Lou became caught up in a scandal known as the “Highfield Affair,” and now, 30 years later, that past trauma is once again back in her life. Can she finally lay to rest all that happened back then?

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Summary

In 1986, Louise Manson began attending Highfield Manor, a private school in Dublin. With her working-class background, she had a hard time fitting in at first, and soon found herself joining the school’s swim team. But things rapidly unraveled, from a predatory teacher there to the classmates Lou was just getting to know. Now, 30 years later, Lou has rebuilt her life, with a teenage daughter and a career she’s proud of. But Lou has just been called testify in a new lawsuit against Highfield Manor, bringing up memories of those traumas. In a dual timeline narrative, we see how Lou fought before and how she’ll fight again for justice.

Review

I didn’t quite know what I was diving into when I started When We Were Silent, but wow, this is a book that draws you in and only becomes more compelling as it unfolds. It’s divided into five parts, moving back and forth between present day and 1986-1987. In the present day, Louise Manson is a wife and mother with a successful career, but all that is thrown upside down when she’s called to testify in a lawsuit against Highfield Manor, the private school she attended thirty years ago. Lou isn’t sure what to do, but with her past suddenly pulled up again, she’s seeing parallels in both her teenage daughter and in a case she’s been working on.

Flash back to 1986: Lou is entering her final year of secondary school and is the new girl at the exclusive Highfield Manor. A scholarship student, she doesn’t fit in well with her new classmates, but is quickly recruited to join the swim team. But the swim captain quickly goes from friendly and encouraging to something more predatory, an outcome Lou actually expected based on what had happened to her best friend months earlier. And Lou is prepared to follow through with her plans to expose what he’s doing and how it’s impacting students’ lives.

When We Were Silent gets into some difficult but important themes. So much of this book hinges on some major spoilers, so it’s hard to talk about too much here. But one word of caution: Consider looking into content warnings before reading. I’ve included some below in case it’s helpful:

Content Warnings

Sexual assault; sexual abuse; rape; victim blaming; eating disorders; suicide; alcoholism

Things escalate quite a bit, from a form of trauma to a court case regarding a shocking event. Lou may start off feeling like an angsty teenager, but we quickly see that she has experienced far too much in her young life. Even so, she is tough and determined, committed to getting the truth out, even if others don’t want to hear it.

Audiobook

India Mullen is an excellent narrator for When We Were Silent. I especially appreciate how she conveys teenaged Lou differently from adult Lou: from a somewhat surly narration style to one that is mature and protective. Her Irish accent makes for a more immersive listening experience, though outside sounds (I often listen to audiobooks in the shower, for example) can make it harder to understand if you’re not super familiar with hearing the Irish accent.

Final Thoughts

When We Were Silent is a powerful novel that speaks to important themes today. What does it mean to be heard and believed? What does it mean to achieve justice? It may inspire some anger, and it asks some hard questions, making it a particularly impactful debut. I hope to read more from Fiona McPhillips in the future.

Get the Book

You can buy When We Were Silent here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips
Audiobook Narrator	India Mullen
Audience	Adult
Genre	Thriller
Setting	Ireland
Number of Pages	320
Format I Read	Audiobook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	May 21, 2024
Publisher	Flatiron Books; Macmillan Audio

Official Summary

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.