WHERE THEY LIE
BY CLAIRE COUGHLAN
Published: 1st February 2024
SIMON & SCHUSTER UK
Dublin, 1943
Actress Julia Bridges disappears.
The last sighting of her is entering the house of Gloria Fitzpatrick, who is later put on trial for the murder of another 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, until her apparent suicide a few years later, 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 Dublin.
Drawn into investigating the 25-year-old mystery of Julia’s disappearance and her link to the notorious Gloria Fitzpatrick, the story takes Nicoletta into the tangled underworld of the illegal abortion industry, stirring up long-buried secrets from her own past.
Shrouded in haunting mystery, Where They Lie weaves together the delicate threads of murder, criminality, investigative journalism with more than a hint of Detective work, injustice, and personal tragedy, featuring a large cast of interesting characters.
Being immersed into Nicoletta’s world of intrigue, whilst she simultaneously battles very personal issues, was like being thrust straight back in time.
*I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.
4 / 5
Hauntingly weaves together past and present