When We Were Silent

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 * Taut, compelling, powerful and devastatingly relevant. A sensational debut * Louise O'Neill, bestselling author of IDOL * I raced through this spellbinding, gripping thriller about scandal and secrets at a prestigious girls school. It’s gripping, shocking and enraging, a story of lost youth, redemption and the power of speaking out, and it’s so beautifully written * Cressida McLaughlin * Fiona McPhillips captures the claustrophobic nuance of teenage loyalties, lies and privilege on every page. A twisting, turning dive into a web of long-buried secrets, When We Were Silent marks Fiona McPhillips as one to watch * Jane Harper, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of EXILES * A compelling debut. Fiona McPhillips has woven a story that is compulsive, tender and chilling in its familiarity. I was hooked all the way through, and had an enormously cathartic sob at the end! * Jessica Bull, author of MISS AUSTEN INVESTIGATES *