From the author of Looking for Jane comes a riveting novel about one journalist's harrowing journey into an infamous real-life 1960s women's prison—and the detective who uncovers her story decades later.
Toronto, 1961: Emily Radcliffe works as an editorial assistant at Chatelaine magazine, surrounded by the best female reporters 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 sees the scoop of a lifetime—one that could launch her career as a 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 . . .
Huron County, 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, the family trauma she's kept buried for years threatens to surface.
Inspired by true events, Liberty Street is at once poignant and dazzling—an unforgettable, intertwining story about resilience, mental health, and the power of female connection.
Paperback, 400 pages
Published February 24, 2026
by Doubleday Canada
5/5 stars
I picked up Liberty Street for a number of reasons: Heather Marshall is a Canadian author whose previous books I'd really enjoyed, also for the historical stories and locations close to home. What I didn't expect was when Bayfield, Ontario appeared on the page. A small town I visited and the very place where I met Heather Marshall just a year ago.
I knew going in that this story was rooted in Canadian history and setting, which this Canadian loves to read about. Being educated and entertained at the same time in a big win win.
I was genuinely taken aback to discover that a place like the Mercer Reformatory existed right in Toronto, a piece of Canadian history I knew nothing about. I'll also admit that the premise of a journalist going undercover by faking her way into an institution is a trope that doesn't usually work for me. But it worked here. Partly because of how Marshall handles it, but mostly because of what Emily finds once she's inside. The women in Mercer weren't insane - they were women ahead of their time, dismissed and discarded by men who couldn't or wouldn't take the time to understand them. That realization creeped up as I read, and it hits hard.
The 1996 story-line follows Detective Rachel Mackenzie, and she quickly became just as compelling to me as Emily. Rachel is flawed, shaped by a past trauma that Marshall reveals slowly and deliberately. I found myself rooting for her while at the same time being quietly enticed by the mystery of her background, who she is, what made her that way and how it all connects to the case she's unraveling. I won't say more than that without spoiling it, but the way her story concludes is deeply satisfying.
Liberty Street is a story of heartache, for the women forgotten inside Mercer's walls, of friendship found in the most unlikely places and of the grit and determination it takes to unravel the truth at all costs.
I was genuinely taken aback to discover that a place like the Mercer Reformatory existed right in Toronto, a piece of Canadian history I knew nothing about. I'll also admit that the premise of a journalist going undercover by faking her way into an institution is a trope that doesn't usually work for me. But it worked here. Partly because of how Marshall handles it, but mostly because of what Emily finds once she's inside. The women in Mercer weren't insane - they were women ahead of their time, dismissed and discarded by men who couldn't or wouldn't take the time to understand them. That realization creeped up as I read, and it hits hard.
The 1996 story-line follows Detective Rachel Mackenzie, and she quickly became just as compelling to me as Emily. Rachel is flawed, shaped by a past trauma that Marshall reveals slowly and deliberately. I found myself rooting for her while at the same time being quietly enticed by the mystery of her background, who she is, what made her that way and how it all connects to the case she's unraveling. I won't say more than that without spoiling it, but the way her story concludes is deeply satisfying.
Liberty Street is a story of heartache, for the women forgotten inside Mercer's walls, of friendship found in the most unlikely places and of the grit and determination it takes to unravel the truth at all costs.
I can't wait to see what Heather Marshall comes up with next.
This book was part of my 2026 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge, #20
No comments:
Post a Comment