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Where They Lie

A Novel

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"A thrillingly dark and atmospheric tale, richly evocative of its time, especially for those of us old enough to remember 1968."—John Banville

An immersive, literary thriller set in 1960s Dublin about an ambitious young female journalist whose investigation of a long missing actress will take her through misty streets and the tangled underworld—and force her to confront the long buried secrets of her own past.

Some stories demand to be told. They keep coming back, echoing down through the decades, until they find a teller . . .

Dublin, 1943. Actress Julia Bridges disappears. She was last seen entering the house of Gloria Fitzpatrick, who is later put on trial for the murder of a woman whose abortion she facilitated. But it's never proved that Gloria had a hand in Julia's death—and Julia's body has never been found. Gloria, however, is sentenced to life in an institution for the criminally insane, where she's found dead a few years later from an apparent suicide, and the truth of what happened to Julia Bridges dies with her.

Until . . .

Dublin, 1968. Nicoletta Sarto is an ambitious junior reporter for the Irish Sentinel when the bones of Julia Bridges are discovered in the garden of a house on the outskirts of the city. Drawn into investigating the 25-year-old mystery of Julia's disappearance and her link to the notorious Gloria Fitzpatrick, Nicoletta becomes immersed in the tangled underworld of the illegal abortion industry, stirring up long-buried secrets from her own past.

A beautifully atmospheric, timely thriller, Where They Lie uses a murder mystery as a lens to focus on the long struggle of women fighting to achieve autonomy and succeed in a man's world.

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Aoife McMahon transports listeners to 1960s Dublin, where a young journalist, Nicoletta Sarto, strives to be successful in a profession dominated by men. When Nicoletta covers a story about bones being found in a garden, she finds herself investigating a 25-year-old mystery with connections to her. McMahon is the perfect narrator for this story, especially as she depicts the lives of women in Ireland at the time. She creates a strong, likable character in Nicoletta, who faces inner demons, and successfully brings the male protagonists to life. McMahon's timing holds the listener's attention as the suspense builds and the strands of the mystery are woven together to create an intriguing story. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2024

      Nicoletta Sarto, an ambitious rookie journalist in 1968 Dublin, gets a chance to make her mark as the decades-old disappearance of a well-known local actress makes its way into the news again. Julia Bridges's bones have been found in the garden of a local well-to-do family, along with additional, unidentified bones. It was previously thought that jealous Gloria Fitzpatrick, a local midwife who provided abortions, murdered Julia. Nicoletta, who is carrying on an affair with a married coworker, becomes obsessed with the story. Given her editor's blessing to pursue it, she finds more than she ever could have expected. Coughlan's atmospheric debut capably portrays the infuriating limitations placed on working women in the 1960s, particularly in strict Catholic Dublin; Nicoletta faces chauvinism, patronizing behavior, and hazing. Coughlan creates a fully realized character with flaws and contradictions in Nicoletta. Some will guess the major shock early on, but the book is twisty enough to sustain interest. Irish actor Aoife McMahon provides a sensitive, well-paced delivery, and her lilting accent immerses listeners in Coughlan's suspenseful landscape. VERDICT This debut covers a time period and place not often seen in mysteries and will attract interest.--B. Allison Gray

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • English

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