In 1943, the city of Dublin sees the disturbing disappearance of Julia Bridges. An actress who was last seen entering the premises where former midwifIn 1943, the city of Dublin sees the disturbing disappearance of Julia Bridges. An actress who was last seen entering the premises where former midwife Gloria Fitzpatrick worked and lived, it was rumored for years that she had been responsible for Julia vanishing. So when, several years later, a neighbor makes a damning accusation that lands her in the frame for the murder of yet another young woman, Gloria is quickly arrested, tried, and convicted for performing a botched abortion that led to her death. After all, this wasn’t the first time she’d been suspected of murder.
While standing in the dock, however, Gloria is given a last minute reprieve and finds herself sentenced to an institution for the criminally insane instead of being hanged. So when a witness comes forward after an appeal for new information into Julia’s still unsolved disappearance is made, his case cracking assertion pushes the police to rush to her side in the hopes that Gloria can finally provide some answers. Before they get her to talk, however, she dies, supposedly by her own hand, behind the walls of the asylum. It seems that the last person who could reveal the much sought after truth has taken it to her grave.
Twenty-five years later, however, newbie investigative journalist Nicoletta Sarto is the first on the scene when a skeleton is discovered in a suburban garden just miles from Dublin. Quickly determined to be the elusive Julia Bridges, Nicoletta begins to dig into the facts. Parsing old interview transcripts and questioning old witnesses anew, she starts to see connections that have been covered up for the last two and a half decades. Before she knows it, though, Nicoletta is pulled into the gritty world of illegal abortions and long-buried secrets—all of which connect to Nicoletta herself more than she’d like to admit. What happened to Julia all of those years ago? And how did it stay buried for so many years?
What to say about Where They Lie? A twisty, poignant, and atmospheric plot, what it lacked in driving suspense, it easily made up for in social commentary and evocative prose. From its likeable female main character to the slow burn reveal, the pages were rife with what it meant to be an Irish woman in 1968. More than anything, however, these pages dragged me deeply into the story as it meandered between the past and the present while the much needed truth worked itself free.
The biggest selling point to this stellar debut, though, was easily Nicoletta herself. A strong, opinionated woman who was determined to dig into the cold case surrounding actress Julia Bridges, she was easily ahead of her time. And even as her personal life intertwined with Julia’s disappearance, she still refused to give up. More importantly, however, both Nicoletta and Julia’s struggles scraped away the cobwebs of what it must have been like to be a woman back when both the church and society wanted to silence and repress. Timely and revealing, it made me wonder how much things really have changed.
As for the storyline, this genre crossing title felt like either a very long, slow burn thriller or a magically crafted tale of suspense. Adding to the mix was an edge of literary and historical fiction, both of which meant for a captivating plot that propelled me into the story. As I approached the end of the book, however, I watched the page count dwindle without a satisfactory conclusion. Or so I thought. After all, right when I thought I was going to be sadly disappointed, a pulse-pounding climax arrived on the scene, which was wrapped up with an equally soul-satisfying conclusion that hit all the right chords.
In the end, while this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, I was still utterly spellbound from the very first word. With sharp writing that drew every scene as if it were being acted out on a screen and delicious plot charging drama, I was easily won over hook, line, and sinker. So as long as you don’t go into this startling historical exposé with expectations of an action-packed thriller, I can easily recommend it with two enthusiastic thumbs up. Rating of 4.5 stars.
Thank you to Claire Coughlan and Harper Perennial for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: February 20, 2024
Scroll down for my potentially plot spoiling trigger list.
Trigger warning: suicide, accidental pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, mention of: death of a loved one, infidelity...more
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