When We Were Silent is Fiona McPhillips debut novel and it is a winner!

I love Dark Academia, and I am always looking for the newest book in the genre to hit the shelf, so finding When We Were Silent was a thrill.

The story is told in two time periods, the past, which takes place at an elite high school in Ireland, and then also in present day. Louise, the main character, is from a normal working class type of family, she is a scholarship student at a high school that is full of privileged and rich students, both the school and the students are full of secrets, for instance, Louise's best friend Tina, who commits suicide after an incident with a teacher.

When you are reading the present timeline, Louise has a family, she is happily married, and struggles with her troubled teenage daughter. Soon Louise is called to testify in an abuse case that happened at the school and she has some hard choses to make.

McPhillips has put the dark in Dark Academia with When We Were Silent. It is dark, it digs deep into the #metoo movement, along with other difficult subjects like class struggle and mental health, but she does it with dignity and compassion.

When We Were Silent is a dark academia debut thriller about an elite Irish private school with some troubling secrets. The story centers around a teacher who is grooming and assaulting young students, so this may be a book some readers want to skip due to the content.

This book is told through two timelines: part of the story is told in the present day where a lawsuit against Louise's private school is dragging up the past. The majority of the book looks back on Louise's time at the school as a child and what happened there. I can't say I remember much about the present-day scenes; I was much more interested in the events of Louise's childhood.

Despite the content, this was a compelling listen. While my heart ached for Louise as she had to put herself in harm's way to expose the truth, I can commend her bravery and determination.

Overall, a very strong debut from Fiona McPhillips. I'm looking forward to more from her.

I appreciate the comparison to My Dark Vanessa but I couldn’t stay engaged with this story the same way. I felt like it was drawn out in some places and rushed in others. I struggled to keep track of the timeline changes and found myself spacing out while listening.

Told in two timelines, Louise is forced to relive a traumatic experience from her time at Dublin’s most exclusive private school thirty years after the incident. Lou is an outsider at the school as she is the token under privileged student supposedly there on scholarship. As she begins to develop some tentative friendships, she becomes the target of some very sinister abuse and exploitation and discovers that her friends are victims as well. The incidents culminate in an unexpected death with Lou becoming the primary suspect. Now, thirty years later, Lou is asked to testify in a lawsuit against the school which brings her back in contact with friends and a past that she had hoped to leave behind, all while struggling with job and marital issues and a defiant adolescent daughter.
I have to say that I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook in spite of the disturbing subject matter. The author was very thorough in covering most aspects of abuse perpetrated by someone in authority. I wish that it was unbelievable that someone could be so victimized by so many people but the Me Too movement has shown us otherwise. The author did an excellent job of portraying all of this and in making this a book that is hard to put down and stays with you long after finishing it. The character development was good and the dilemmas heart wrenching - I felt every emotion but mostly outrage. The narrator was fantastic, the accents were well done and she made the story engaging.

I love a good suspense set on school campuses. This one hit hard for any parent, parent with kids in sports, athlete, former athlete or abuse survivor. I appreciated the author's willingness to approach a difficult event, with complex characters, and emotional triggers. This wasn't an easy read but it was necessary, eye opening, and important.

Complex, powerful, and thought provoking.

I truly enjoyed this debut novel about a woman confronting her past and the trauma that lived there. It was a heavy read, but more with the knowledge that these types of stories exist more than we even know. I think the author did a fantastic job keeping us anchored in the present while learning the history on how our characters got to where they were. I would certainly recommend.

Several triggers in this story. Grooming, molestation, rape, murder, and mental health issues. All this surrounds a prestigious girl's school.

This is a mystery set in two timelines. In the past, Louise is attending Highfield Manor, an exclusive boarding school in Dublin. She is a daughter of a working class family and immediately an outsider, until she meets Shauna, who takes her under her wing. But Lou's time there is full of tragedy as there is a murder that goes unsolved.

Thirty years later, Shauna's brother, a lawyer, is suing Highfield Manor over the events of the past, and needs Lou to testify. Lou has spent all those years trying to forget and move on, but has been forced to relive the past.

This was a really good thriller. I really liked the audio narration. Although the narrator was Irish the accent was still very understandable. Thank you Macmillan audio for giving me an advanced review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

WHEN WE WERE SILENT by Fiona McPhillips is a darkly powerful story of privilege and power, read beautifully by India Mullen.

Lou is called back to her time at an elite Irish school by a request to testify for a lawsuit against the school. Remembering 30 years ago is made even more difficult with her now teenage daughter who is flexing her own wings. Lou is confronted with a past that refuses to be buried, along with her guilt over what she did.

I found this story to be very compelling. The class distinctions, power imbalance, and exploitation are themes woven through Lou's life in multiple ways, which I found well done. Often an issue is revealed in one dimension and explored, while this story took issues and showed multiple ways we hurt one another by looking the other way. (There were some pretty dark moments that were explicitly described, so be aware.) The complexity of friendships and relationships through trauma was shown with a grace I didn't expect.

The setting in Ireland made this a perfect choice for audio. I loved hearing this story told with the sounds it was meant to embody. I felt like I was taken right into the suspenseful and toxic setting, peeking around the corners to hear what was taking place.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for @flatiron_books and @netgalley for sharing this story with me.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the free arc of When We Were Silent, in exchange for a honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audio version 10 / 10

Imagine a fast paced, edge of your seat, mystery version of My Dark Vanessa but somehow more gut wrenching.

In duel timelines, we follow Lou through her past trials and how they are still effecting her life in the present.

Past: Lou is a new student at Highfield manor, the most prestigious, private school in Dublin where silence is valued over grades. But Lou isn’t there for an education; she is there for revenge. Her best friend Tina was a previous student at Highfield and committed suicide due to the SA from a teacher that caused her to become pregnant.

When Lou falls to abuse by the same teacher in attempt to expose him she discovers there are many students like her. Instead of Highfield protecting their students they stand by the side of the abuser and accuse Lou of being the aggressor.

Present: Thirty years later, Lou is confronted with her past when a new victim comes forward at Highfield, and she is called to give a statement about her experience. However, Lou is hiding her own secrets of what happened, and dragging up the past could will have consequences for her and her family.


I was on the edge of my seat listening to this. Where My Dark Vanessa left me in a puddle of tears and despair, hearing Lou go through these experiences and still viciously fight for justice, only to be gaslight and initially denied, left me angry and disgusted. Her resilience in the face of these injustices is staggering.

“In the end we have to live with the stories we tell ourselves”

I've heard people wonder how things like the US gymnastics coach scandal could happen. You hear this wondering more often from a male voice than a female voice. You hear people still wonder how a woman can make a decision that, at the moment, is weighing her own safety and choosing the best chance at the moment. This is how it happens. This is the only crime that blames the victim. The only crime that makes a choice to keep yourself as safe as possible is looked at as being responsible for the actions of others. No one wonders why you give someone with a gun all of your money. But if you have to decide whether to allow one form of violence in order to stay alive, then you obviously are at fault.

When We Were Silent is brutally open about the decisions made throughout the life of a girl and a woman (not the same thing but treated in the same way) continue to affect her world for the rest of her life. There is a cost to standing up for yourself and every person gets to decide if she is willing to take that cost. I feel like everyone who doesn't know this feeling should know what it is like. Everyone who has should know they are not alone. This book could serve as both. I was uncomfortable and angry and sad. It did its job.

This book deals with very important, yet difficult, topics and subjects, and I recommend every read or listen to this one. It's a story that needs to be told.

With that being said, it is difficult to review this one, not because of the subject matter. It was difficult to relate to the writing. This book was very slow to me. I wish the pacing would've been faster, which may have been accomplished by leaving out parts of the present story. I predicted most of the twists, and found my mind drifting while listening, which never happens for me. I did have to rewind multiple times to catch what I missed while my mind was drifting. The narrator did a great job bringing the emotions to life and differentiating between characters with different voices. This is such an important story, but sadly, this wasn't the book for me.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio & NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

The story of the teenage girls was heartbreaking and drew me in from the beginning. I was so invested in seeing if they receive justice that I kept going. The narrator was good. I liked how she changed tones for each character to distinguish between them. Overall, this was a solid read and I enjoyed it.

The story never completely drew me in. I wasn’t fully invested in the storyline or the characters. I did enjoy the dark academia and Irish aspects. Louise, asked to testify on sexual abuse that happened at an elite private high school which brings up memories from the past. The dual timeline between Louise’s past and her present really enhanced the story. I did enjoy piecing all of the puzzle pieces together. The cover of this book is absolutely beautiful.

🎧 Audiobook Review

“In the end, we have to live with the stories we tell ourselves. This is mine.”

I just finished the audiobook 'When We Were Silent', and it's definitely worth a listen. The narration is fantastic, perfectly capturing the dark atmosphere that runs throughout the story, while also perfectly capturing the voice of teenagers in Dublin. If you're a fan of dark academia, this book will certainly interest you.

The story has dual timelines that centers on Louise Manson, who enters the elite world of Highfield Manor, an exclusive private school in Dublin. The setting is almost too perfect. But behind this facade lies disturbing secrets that Lou is determined to uncover.

Lou initially feels out of place among her wealthy peers when she meets Shauna Power's who provides her friendship which also provides her with an entry point into the inner circle. However, this relationship is not enough to keep her safe from the school's dark secrets.

After rebuilding her life, Lou revisits these traumatic events and is asked to testify in a lawsuit against the school. Lou is reluctant because she has a daughter to protect but to achieve true justice and put the past behind her, she must face her past one final time.

My only criticism of the book is the 2 timelines weren’t equally as exciting. I was honed in on the teenage years at Highfield Manor but I found Lou’s present timeline a little underwhelming by comparison.

'When We Were Silent' masterfully weaves themes of exploitation, privilege, and retribution. I felt that the audiobook format enhanced the storytelling, making it a more immersive experience. The dark academic vibe and the mixture of mystery and elite school drama are beautifully executed. This is the story for you if you like one that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

It’s a yes for me! 🖤

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Fiona McPhillips for the advanced listen copy in exchange for my honest review. It was my pleasure.

@deannsdailydrop

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 on my website, Amanda's Book Corner, in case it’s helpful.

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.

Fiona McPhillips, an Irish journalist, author, and screenwriter, wows readers with her debut WHEN WE WERE SILENT. This compelling, raw, and emotionally dark academic thriller tackles some difficult topics with sensitivity while keeping the reader captivated by the intersecting past and present storylines.

What happens behind this elite school's walls, especially the female athletes and their predator swim instructor?

The Audiobook...
I listened to the audiobook narrated by the talented India Mullen for an intense and spellbinding performance!

NOTHING SPEAKS LOUDER THAN REVENGE.

About...
Set in Dublin, Ireland, there is an elite Catholic private school for the wealthy and privileged. Louise Manson is neither wealthy nor privileged and lives in the poor section with her single alcoholic mother.

PAST 1986: Lou attends school on a scholarship, and at age 17, she rides her bike to attend Highfield. Her former best friend, Tina, an accomplished swimmer, also attended as a scholarship student. However, her life ended after suicide and pregnancy. The two friends shared their secrets, and Louise knew what had happened and was ready to prove it. She is determined to seek justice for her friend, even if it means putting herself in harm's way.

Lou hatches a plan to publicly expose McQueen that ends in someone's death. She is an outsider and does not fit in with the other students except Shauna. She is beautiful and rich. Then Lou finds out that Shauna is caught up in a web of deceit of Highfield.

Maurice McQueen is the evil PE instructor and swim instructor at the school. He fancies himself and likes to use his power over the female students. Lou is unfortunately molested by him. She reports him, and no one believes her. No one could even imagine this teacher doing anything like this. What happens to her during this time changes the trajectory of her life.

30 years later, PRESENT: Now a grown woman, she has tried hard to put the past behind her and her traumatic past. With a loving partner and a teen daughter, Louise is a literature professor at Dublin's Trinity College. She is thriving and a published academic.

Shauna's brother, Ronan, an attorney, reaches out to her about another abuse case at the school on behalf of a 14-year-old suing Highfield for the cover-up and abuse in the school and the swimming club over decades. Shauna, who may also hold the key to the truth about that fateful night.

Of course, she is unhappy about reliving the past buried events and time, which would interfere with her current personal and professional life. What should she do? Can she expose those traumatic events to save someone else? Will she stay silent?

Alternating between Lou's past and the present with a teen daughter of her own to protect and also a keeper of secrets. She is when she wants to try out for the swim team.

Thoughts...
WHEN WE WERE SILENT IS INTENSE. Fully immersive, the author dives deep into the powerful, emotionally charged, and essential topics of #MeToo, feminism, trauma, abuse, class, privilege, mental health, feminism, exploitation, and retribution.

The writing is outstanding. It is part domestic, psychological thriller, literary, suspense, and legal with riveting courtroom scenes. It is hauntingly beautiful, powerful, timely, topical, and thought-provoking—about the dark side of academia as long-buried secrets are unraveled.

If this is a debut, I cannot wait to see what is coming next from the new voice in fiction. For fans of Lauren Nossett, Tana French, David Bell, Ruth Ware and My Dark Vanessa.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy for an honest opinion.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating; 4.5 Stars
Pub Date: May 21, 2024
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This one sounded interesting - I love a good Irish thriller but I couldn't get into this dual timeline, dark academia mystery story. It felt slow paced and I wasn't drawn in by the main character. I ended up DNFing at about 25%. The narration was good with an Irish accented reader and I would definitely listen to more books narrated by India Mullen. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early ALC in exchange for my honest review!

This was just okay for me. Not a book that I couldn't wait to pick up at the end of the day, but also not a DNF. I did not love the alternating, but not in any cohesive order, timelines. I felt that the past was much more enjoyable than the present, but I also did not find the transition between chapters to be seamless - it felt very forced to me. The characters were nothing special, at times I enjoyed them and other times they bothered me. It was pretty predictable, however that did not ruin the interactions in the book. I think that the story line and the characters just felt too similar to many other books out that, making it fall a little short for me. That being said, if you are looking for a book that highlights the secrets and drama that occur in an elite private school, this one will deliver!

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

Oof this was a hard book to read, and it’s certainly not for everyone. STRONG sexual assault trigger warnings. I had a really hard time rating this one.

We follow two storylines, one when the main character was in high school and another when her daughter is. Embroiled in scandal, the swim club breeds a culture of sexual predation. As the stories weave, we learn more and more about two deaths in the center of it all. It was gripping, tense, sad.