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.

This was a highly anticipated read, and did not quite live up to expectations. Much like the last book I read (All That's Left to Say by Emery Lord) this book was about a high school student whose best friend dies, and she transfers to the elite private school her best friend attended to avenge her death. This book was written from the adult perspective with a look back to their teenage years.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Fiona McPhillips, and Macmillan Audio for the pre-release of When We Were Silent narrated by India Mullen. The narrator does have an accent. The writing for this book is done well. The story follows Lou with the storyline moving back and forth from past to present. It’s a touching and heartbreaking story of a young girl trying to not only expose wrongs but becoming a victim of circumstances as well. The ending was a good closure for all parties. There are definitely triggers so please research if this will affect you before reading.

Very in depth portrayal of times past. While Ireland is beautiful and proud, it has a dark history in terms of not believing the victim, church is law, shame is heavy.

Great audio. Easy to follow between past and present.

4.5 stars rounding up!

This book switches back and forth in timelines, telling the story of Louise Manson in her years at Highfield Manor School in Dublin and then in the present day when Lou is married, has a daughter, and is swept back into the past events and all the trauma that occurred.

The themes of grooming and sexual abuse, suicide, emotional trauma, and mental
Illness are explored in depth, and the writing is exquisite.

One quote: Lolita doesn’t have a voice, only the lie given to her by him.

Another: this was in the years before the internet, when people wanted to connect, not to broadcast.

The tale moves from all the terrible acts of the swim coach at Highfield and the ensuing cover-up and the life-altering ramifications on Lou and her fellow teammates. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, India Mullen, was beyond excellent with her great Irish accent! She definitely brought the story to life!

This story will linger in my thoughts. We hear of similar occurrences frequently, but this one fleshed out the gruesome details. What a debut novel!

My thanks to NetGalley, @fionamcp, and Flatiron Books for the for the gifted digital ARC. My review is voluntary.

A gut punch of a story with some very heavy topics to deal with! Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy to review.
This was an amazing debut, wonderfully written, and wholly transported me back to the 80s in the plunges into the past. I do love a dual timeline book.
Lou, our main character, has dealt with a lot of trauma and she is still dealing with it so many years later. She is asked to testify in a sexual abuse case which dredges up the past and so many memories while she was on scholarship at an elite private school. Her best friend used to attend the school had taken her own life and Lou could never really quite grasp why.
There were several parts of this audiobook where I just gasped or covered my mouth while listening. It really does grab you and shake you up. Fiona McPhillips thank you for this stunning book.

Dear When We Were Silent,
Oof. But a good oof? You were so hard to read. There was so much pain and trauma in your pages. But you were written in such a compelling way that I wanted to listen to you, even through the toughest parts of your story. I occasionally had trouble following where you were in time, because time jumps would happen without a change in narrator or chapter heading. But that aside, you did the difficult work of telling a painful story in a way that made you approachable and easier to read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced audio copy of “When We Were Silent” by Fiona McPhillips in exchange for a review.

I loved ‘My Dark Vanessa’ and when I saw this being in the same conversation, I was intrigued. It started off slow with a lot of characters to keep track of, and I wasn’t vibing with it. The back 1/3 is where I really started to get invested, which I realize is a big commitment. The narrator with her Irish accent really helped immerse me into the story and atmosphere. Overall, I’m glad I finished it, but think I really would have struggled if I was engaging with the print version.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of the debut novel by Fiona McPhillips and wonderfully narrated by India Mullen. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

In the 1980s, Louise was the new student at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school. Lou’s working-class status makes her the outsider, until she is befriended by some of her beautiful and wealthy classmates. However, Lou has a secret agenda and when she tries to bring the secret to light, her time at Highfield ends with a dead body. Thirty years later, Lou gets a phone call that a lawyer needs her to testify against the school. Married and with a troubled teenager of her own, Lou is torn between keeping her secret and confronting the past.

Wow - I thought this was a wonderful debut. It's dark and the subject matter of abuse is never easy, but McPhillips didn't exploit the situations. Instead, she crafted such a realistic, sinister environment and put you in the mindset of high school girls in the 1990s, before #MeToo. Then she contrasted that with a mother's instinct to hide the dark parts and protect her child, this was a very compelling read. There are themes of classism, toxic environments, social media impact. Great debut - can't wait to read more from this author!

Thai audiobook felt a little long. Although I did like the narrator at the beginning I found it hard to follow all the characters with her accent. Overall I liked the storyline It had some aspect that I just didn't love.

Short synopsis: Lou is a new student at a private school, when trying to uncover a dark secret Lou is threatened. 30 years later, she’s asked to testify.

My thoughts: This was a good exploration of the me too movement, with lots of triggers. I had to keep taking breaks and ultimately decided it was a bit too heavy for me.

I was hoping for more twists, and just couldn’t get Into the story.

In When We Were Silent, Fiona McPhillips takes on a journey of privilege, exploitation, and retribution. While the subject matter is important, we felt the story fell a little flat for us.

The story follows Louise Manson, a new student at Highfield Manor, who befriends the wealthy Shauna Power. As Lou gets further into her school year, she is exposed to the school's dark secrets.

McPhillips uses a dual timeline structure, using both past and present timelines, to add depth to the narrative. This allows the reader to explore the past events to see how their repercussions are felt in present day. However, we found ourselves only wanting to stay in the dark atmosphere of the past timeline but were forced into the present.

While the book initially had us hooked with its dark academia vibes and compelling premise, we lost interest as the story progressed. The pacing was slow at times, and certain plot points felt predictable. Additionally, the ending left us underwhelmed. Despite these drawbacks, When We Were Silent raises important themes of exploitation and privilege that could potentially spark meaningful conversations in the future.

When We Were Silent is thought-provoking and sheds light on some important social issues, but overall we felt like the story was just not for us. For those looking for a store with a tough subject matter this might be worth grabbing and taking a chance.

When We Were Silent combined a lot of my favorite reads including Notes On A Silencing and I Have Some Questions For You. While it took me a second to get used to the alternating timelines, I ended up really enjoying this story. India Mullen's narration captured the MC through a wide range of ages and emotions really well. I think it managed to be a good thriller but also a good discussion starter at the same time.
Thank you SO much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this one!

I received an advanced audiobook from NetGalley & knew ahead of time there would be triggers. It has 2 timelines with the FMC sharing her time at a prestigious all girls school & then present day as she is forced to revisit the past in a lawsuit with the school. It deals with sexual assault with minors, & while I could handle the mentions in the first half of the book, I couldn’t stomach the details around 60%. The narrator was the only reason I continued & trudged through this book.