Novels No. 52 (LL370)

 

Sally Hepworth. Darling Girls. USA: St. Martin's Press, 2024.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were orphaned or abandoned at a young age, arriving at separate times for foster care at the big old farmhouse called Wild Meadows. The owner, Miss Fairchild, counted on the stipend to keep her from poverty. Jessica, the first, was lovingly coddled and encouraged to call Miss Fairchild "Mummy." When Norah arrived Miss F did a complete about-face; the children, later including Alicia, were treated as slave labour—cleaning and re-cleaning the entire house each day, fed mean scraps of food, and sharing one small bedroom. Always tired, hungry, and totally threatened by their fiercely punishing custodian, starting school became somewhat of a blessing despite the 45-minute walk back and forth, but the endless cleaning and chores simply shifted to later hours. No wonder the three girls proactively bonded as sisters. On a rare visit from a social worker, they were forced to appear as Miss F's "darling girls"—fear of disbelief stopped any ideas of complaining. Then the babies began arriving into their miserable lives.

We meet them as adults in their thirties; the police have summoned them for interviews because, as Wild Meadows was being torn down by a new owner, human remains were found buried under the house. The author finely draws the three different personalities: Jessica, successful, well-paid interior designer; Norah, the volatile gig worker; Alicia, the empathetic social worker. With all their individual attitudes and neuroses: Jessica, anxious addict with panic attacks; Norah, anger management and a history of assaults; Alicia, caretaker denying her own needs and wants.

As the story unfolds between past abuse and present coping methods, assisting the police investigation means revisiting their old antagonist. Interjected at times are the psychiatric sessions of an unknown woman, making us guess where she belongs. Neatly structured with well-delivered insight, Darling Girls is engaging with unexpected turns.

Jessica

▪ Miss Fairchild was the centre of her life, her everything. And if she kept it this way, she'd be rewarded with love, which was all Jessica wanted. (40)

▪ Jessica loved talking about the fact that Alicia was bisexual. She found it exciting. (110)

▪ Thankfully, Jessica had ways of dealing with shame. She tipped two of them out of a bottle and into her hand, and then, after a moment's consideration, she tipped out another two. (202-3)

▪ A few times, Norah caught Jessica staring as Miss Fairchild played with Amy. The look on Jessica's face worried her. There was something possessive about it. (213)

▪ "And even if they do believe us, what then? We'll have to leave Wild Meadows. We could end up anywhere. What are the chances that they'll let us stay together?" (240)

Norah

▪ Just don't go to the cops, okay. I have a community corrections order. It's like a suspended sentence. (50)

▪ If there was one thing Norah had learned from growing up in foster care ... it was how to take care of things. Her methods were a little unorthodox, perhaps, but they had to be. (51)

▪ Miss Fairchild shoved Norah into the pitch darkness, latching the door closed behind her. (141)

▪ This wasn't a transaction. This was blackmail. (152)

▪ She'd had to use every means at her disposal to keep herself safe, to have some agency in her life. It just so happened that "every means at her disposal" meant sex and violence. (291)

Alicia

▪ Unlike most parents, Grammy had no interest in forcing Alicia to eat vegetables or heed strict bedtimes, and if Alicia didn't feel like going to school Grammy urged her to take the day off and come along to mah-jongg instead. (78)

▪ "Alicia has an avoidant attachment style," Jessica said. "She pushes people away before they get too close." (110)

▪ There was something about Meera's voice—calm, clear, and intelligent—that soothed Alicia. (194)

▪ Alicia felt weirdly emotional. "He's a good kid. And it got me thinking ... Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to foster him ... could I?" (195)

▪ All she knew was protecting Amy had become their life's mission. They might not be able to save themselves, but by God, they were going to save her. (230-1)

Fiona McPhillips. When We Were Silent. USA: Flatiron Books, 2024.

Youngsters being abused again ~ how did I get into this rut? Highfield, an elite school in Dublin, silently ignores abuse by athletic coaches. The victims are powerless against superiors who can make or break their sports achievements as well as their academic grades. Lou Manson is one girl who tried to expose and halt the damage, to herself, to her friends. Unsuccessfully. Victims learn how easily their credibility can be dismissed, how their words and actions can be twisted against them. Lou's friend Tina did not survive the shame.

Many years later—a respected literature professor—Lou is asked to testify for Josh, a young man in the prestigious Highfield swimming club, who is suing the school for the same reason. His lawyer, Ronan, is the brother of Shauna who was the object of Lou's desire in her school days. Shauna was an Olympic-calibre swimmer with coach McQueen. Lou lost touch with her and is married to Alex, with a teenage daughter, Katie. Now Katie asks to join the same swimming club, to Lou's horror.

Lou is reluctant to testify (which would reinforce that the abuse has been systemic); she's hiding a secret, one that would wreck her life if made public. Shauna will also testify; as the only one who knows the secret, will she betray Lou? Lou's original crusade was against McQueen. No one believed her. Now, coach Corrigan is the target—is her motive for helping Josh truth or revenge? Will anyone believe the truth, second time around? Highfield will go to any extremes to protect its privileged reputation, and so the trial is set. Lou's needy mother Rose, Joe the journalism student, Kenny O'Kane the local gangster, a dead coach, a missing photograph, and an ominous anonymous threat—it's an intricate tangle that McPhillips expertly, smoothly, draws us into.

Resonating with the Me Too movement, When We Were Silent is a vivid, powerful story. The characters are unforgettable in the masterful telling of struggle against corrupt forces.

Before

▪ "He put her in a position where she had no choice. He had the power to take away the one thing that meant everything to her." (69)

▪ "Joe, it's still happening. If he's trying it on with me already, there must be others." (69)

▪ Mam always has an eye and a hand out for a bargain, even when she's pouring the savings down her throat. (70)

▪ "She was pregnant. That's why she killed herself." (98)

▪ "You don't get it, do you?" she says. "Mr. McQueen is a hands-on sort of person. He tries to make everyone feel special. That's what makes him such a great coach." (99)

▪ "I've heard quite enough, Louise. Now, I don't know what your game is, but I will not have you making such vile accusations against a member of staff." (110)

Now

▪ I'm scared Katie will bear the brunt of my mistakes, that she'll be an easy target for bullies. (17)

▪ "The plan is to make sure Corrigan never coaches again and to get a generous settlement for Josh." (18)

▪ I think of the photo, the one we hoped would lift the veil of secrecy that shrouded Highfield. But that was lost along with everything else that night. (19)

▪ If you don't count the insomnia, the night terrors, the unbearable weight of sadness, you could almost say I made it. But I never escaped Highfield. (127)

▪ That I've been called a liar, a fantasist, a frigid cunt, that my sexuality, my failed marriage, even my daughter, have been fair game. (143)

▪ Ronan's warned me to expect the worst, that Highfield's defense team will tell the press anything they think might smear our story. That theirs is a media campaign as much as a legal one. (150)