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A Novel
by Fiona McPhillips
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.
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/09/2025)
I finished The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein. I really liked both of them. I just started When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips because I'm craving some dark academia. :slight_smile:
-Cheri_Mcelroy
"Searing... McPhillips deftly alternates between past and present, maximizing suspense by playing multiple mysteries in each timeline off one another... This is a triumph." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Auspicious debut alert: Fiona McPhillips' When We Were Silent is the strongest first novel I have read in ages." —BookPage (starred review)
"A thought-provoking novel of suspense steeped in dark academia... This powerful story takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride filled with twists and turns and dangerous predators. Pitch the dark academia, retro setting, and social justice undertones." ―Booklist
"With a dark and poetic pen, Fiona McPhillips snakes through the waters of a tony private school, peeling away secrets in tiny waves until they crash into a powerful ending. This book absolutely nails what it feels like to be young, female, powerless, and dead set on redemption. A wonderful, relevant, and beautifully written debut." ―Julia Heaberlin, bestselling author of We Are All the Same in the Dark and Night Will Find You
"Amazing and powerful... Brilliantly written, compelling and harrowing in equal parts. Absolutely loved it. You don't want to miss it." ―James Oswald, author of All that Lives
"If you enjoyed My Dark Vanessa, this is definitely one for your TBR. Phenomenally tense and very, very well written." ―Elle Machray, author of Remember, Remember
This information about When We Were Silent was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
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 honors. 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.
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