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.
In 1961, Emily Radcliffe works as an editorial assistant at Chatelaine magazine in Toronto. After receiving a letter from an inmate at the Mercer Women’s Prison describing conditions inside, she arranges to go undercover in the institution to investigate. Her experience inside the prison is her story as she encounters the realities faced by the incarcerated women who were placed there because of criminal offences, "moral" offences, mental health issues or being "incorrible" (that's why she was admitted by her father).
In 1996, a separate storyline follows Rachel Mackenzie, a detective in rural Ontario assigned to investigate human remains discovered in an unmarked grave. Her investigation leads her to the now-closed Mercer Women’s Prison, possibly connecting her case to events from the earlier timeline.
This book was interesting, not just the story but also the history, especially since I live just north of where Mercer Women's Prison used to be (it was closed and demolished in 1969 and there is a stadium there now). I knew some of its history and it was interesting to learn more (the author obviously did a lot of research). At the end of the book, the author includes historical info related to the treatment of women in institutional settings, including mental health and incarceration practices in mid-20th-century Canada. Some of the characters are real or based on real people.
It is written in third person perspective in Emily and Rachel's voices in their time periods (the chapters are labeled) and how the past and present are connect. The treatment of women in Mercer Women's Prison is heavy and not light reading. Though I did find it interesting, I found the book long and draggy at times. Emily and Rachel's stories were interesting but I could have done without Rachel's detailed backstory. I didn't think it impacted Emily's story, which to me was the point of the book, and could stand alone as its own book. As a head’s up, there is swearing and disturbing situations.
.PNG)
