Liberty Street by Heather Marshall

 

1961: Emily Radcliffe works as an editorial assistant at Chatelaine magazine, surrounded by the best women journalists in the country, whose articles tackle the controversial topics no other women’s publication dares to touch. When a bombshell letter from an inmate at the notorious Mercer Women’s Prison lands on Emily’s desk, she senses a scoop that could launch her career as a real, hard-boiled journalist. But after going undercover to investigate the inmate’s shocking claims, Emily discovers that getting into the prison is the easy part; the real challenge will be getting back out . . .

1996: Unidentified female remains are discovered in an unmarked grave in a small-town Ontario cemetery, and Detective Rachel Mackenzie is tasked with unraveling the mystery. But when the investigation leads her to the now-shuttered Mercer Women’s Prison, Rachel’s own dark history threatens to surface from where she's kept it carefully buried.

Inspired by true events, Liberty Street weaves back and forth through time to shine a light on mental health, incarceration, and the various "prisons" that hold women captive.

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About The Author

 Heather Marshall is the bestselling author of Looking for Jane. She lives near Toronto with her family and their giant golden retriever. 

 

My Review

This is a read that is going to linger with you, a time in History that was wrong, and reminiscent of Nellie Bly, but this is a fictional story, based with fact!
A dual split read 1961/1996, and based on The Female Refuges Act, passed in Ontario in 1913, allowed judges to commit women to industrial refuges for reasons like public intoxication and moral crimes. This act was repealed in 1964 due to increasing scrutiny over the conditions in these facilities.
A story that is built around this act, and through the words of the author we are transported into one of these horrible facilities.
A body found in an unmarked grave in 1996, and a journalist in 1961, and how do these two mesh together? We find out, and page turn for answers. Sad, yes, but there is closer in the end!
Be sure to read the author's notes, full of good information!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Ballantine Books, and was not required to give a positive review.