Liberty Street

By: Heather Marshall

Narrators: Alison Deon, Hailey Gillis,

Heather Marshall

Random House Audio

ISBN: 9780593975527

Publisher: Ballatntine

Publication Date: 06/16/2026

Format: Other

My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)

JUN 2026 MUST-READ BOOKS

From the #1 internationally bestselling 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.

“Heather Marshall’s latest is dynamite . . . A tale both timely and explosive.”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Briar Club

“Visceral and provocative, Liberty Street ensures no woman is left behind.”—Karma Brown, #1 bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife

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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My Review

A harrowing, slow-burning 1960s historical exposé masterclass.

"A razor-sharp dual-timeline mystery where a journalist's perilous undercover crusade matches a detective's hunt for a forgotten grave."

In LIBERTY STREET, #1 internationally bestselling author Heather Marshall (Looking for Jane) delivers a deeply atmospheric, multi-timeline Ontario Canadian-history thriller mystery. The story hinges on a daring 1960s editorial assistant navigating immense physical and systemic hurdles to survive a notorious women's prison.

Undercover journalist vs. state-sanctioned corruption.

Elevator Pitch

An ambitious 1960s magazine writer goes undercover inside Toronto’s brutal Mercer Women's Prison to expose systemic institutional torture, intertwining decades later with a 1990s detective whose investigation of an unmarked grave reopens the prison’s darkest secrets.

Setting

~In 1961, an editorial assistant intentionally gets herself locked inside a brutal women's reformatory to document institutional torture.

~In 1996, an unmarked grave threatens to blow the prison's dark secrets wide open. True liberation demands a voice.

The story shifts seamlessly between 1961 Toronto and a small-town Ontario cemetery in 1996. The primary narrative unfolds within the brick walls of the real-life, notorious Mercer Reformatory for Women—a squalid, claustrophobic institution defined by systemic neglect, unpaved corridors, and the absolute isolation of its inmates.

Vibe

Tense, visceral, and deeply provocative.

It pairs the crusading journalistic urgency of a Nellie Bly-style exposé with the slow-burning, investigative dread of a cold-case police procedural.

Genre

Historical Fiction / Crime Mystery / Dual-Timeline Drama.

Themes

~Incarceration and Control

~Body Autonomy and Injustice

~Mental Health and Stigma

~Female Connection

EMILY RADCLIFFE: THE SEEKER OF SACRIFICE.

Turning professional ambition into a desperate, high-stakes fight for institutional survival.

Standout Characters

~Emily Radcliffe: The 1960s protagonist; a tenacious Chatelaine editorial assistant who intentionally gets herself committed to expose the horrors inside Mercer.

~Rachel Mackenzie: The 1990s detective; a sharp, focus-driven investigator unearthing a Jane Doe while struggling to keep her own family trauma buried.

Author Writing Standout

Marshall skillfully combines real Canadian history with exciting fictional elements in her dual-point-of-view writing. She importantly portrays the historical abuses without relying on shock value. Instead, she carefully describes the daily realities of 1960s print journalism, prison conditions, and 1990s forensic investigations with clear, vivid detail.

Takeaway

True liberation requires documenting the voices society tries hardest to silence; the walls built to reform "difficult" women are often just prisons designed to hide patriarchal rot.

Title Significance

Liberty Street acts as a devastatingly ironic double entendre. It references the real Toronto street where the infamous Mercer Reformatory once stood in Liberty Village, while simultaneously highlighting the absolute lack of liberty granted to women who dared to break rigid mid-century societal curfews and boundaries.

Metaphor

The unmarked grave discovered in 1996 serves as the central metaphor of the novel. It represents the collective amnesia of a nation—a physical, buried evidence locker of institutional crimes that the government selectively forgot, but which stubbornly demands to be brought into the light.

Why You Should Read

Read this if you are a fan of deeply research-heavy, emotionally explosive historical novels like The Briar Club by Kate Quinn or the author's own Looking for Jane, (loved) where women fiercely fight for bodily autonomy and systemic justice.

My Thoughts

LIBERTY STREET is a gripping, flawless, high-stakes dual-timeline drama about women fighting for their lives and bodily autonomy against a corrupt system.

The novel succeeds beautifully in building period-accurate tension. The dual timelines are perfectly captured—with Emily’s harrowing undercover nightmare contrasting sharply against Rachel’s measured, clinical forensic tracking. Emily is an unforgettable lead whose sheer stubbornness and professional focus make her survival journey terrifyingly grounded. A masterfully executed, high-stakes climax.

Verdict: 5 / 5 Stars.

"A harrowing, masterfully executed historical mystery that pairs a shocking piece of real-life history with an unforgettable story of female resilience."

Recs

~Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall (for more of the author’s signature, five-star Canadian reproductive justice roots). My top books of the year.

~The Briar Club by Kate Quinn (for another exceptional, atmospheric look at female solidarity and secrets

Special thanks to Ballantine Books/Random House and NetGalley for providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks

My Rating: 5 Stars

Pub Date: June 16, 2026

June Newsletter

June 2026 Must-Read Books

Praise

“Heather Marshall’s latest is dynamite. Two stories twine together with skill and suspense—a courageous young female journalist going undercover at a 1960s women’s prison to uncover rumors of abuse, a dogged 1990s detective bruised from her own emotional wounds—creating a tale both timely and explosive. Liberty Street will linger long in the memory!”

—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Briar Club

“Liberty Street confronts us with a past far closer than we’d like to admit. Heather Marshall writes with clarity and urgency about women’s autonomy, reminding us that the fight for respect and choice is far from finished. A story that unsettles, ignites, and refuses to let you look away—a fierce reclaiming of women’s voices once silenced.”

—Ellen Keith, bestselling author of The Dutch Orphan

“Liberty Street is the story of resistance we need right now: a brilliantly heartfelt novel of two remarkable women—separated by decades yet linked by a passion for justice—who take on patriarchal corruption. You will be on the edge of your seat as this story comes to its unforgettable conclusion.”

—Maia Caron, bestselling author of The Last Secret

“Heather Marshall writes with such heart, precision, and power. In Liberty Street, she brings hidden truths and forgotten women vividly to life, weaving a story that is both beautifully told and urgently needed. Evocative, important, and gripping.”

—Marissa Stapley, New York Times bestselling author of Lucky

“In her latest triumph, Heather Marshall exposes Toronto’s shadowed past and, with haunting grace, gives voice to the women history tried to forget. Visceral and provocative, Liberty Street ensures no woman is left behind.”

—Karma Brown, #1 bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife

“This revealing novel is timely, thought-provoking, and impossible to forget.”

—Historical Novel Society

“Liberty Street is a beautiful, harrowing novel with something for every reader: mystery, action, tenderness, a righteous fury at historical injustice. Heather Marshall is a brilliant archeologist unearthing women’s lost history.”—Elizabeth Renzetti, author of What She Said

“Utterly captivating . . . I found myself sneaking extra pages in whenever I could. Heather Marshall writes with urgency and passion about the injustices placed on women’s lives and weaves it into a story that will latch onto your mind, with characters so real you’ll want to reach through the pages to shout at them but also to ache and cry and root for them. It’s said often, and maybe too easily, but in this case I believe it to be true: This book is a triumph. Heather Marshall is a dedicated champion of women’s rights, revealing the hard truths behind untold women’s stories.”

—Charlene Carr, author of Hold My Girl and We Rip the World Apart

About the Author

“One of the finest novelists working in the genre.” – The Toronto Star

Heather Marshall lives near Toronto with her family and their giant golden retriever. She worked in politics and communications before finally turning her attention to her true passion: storytelling.

Heather’s debut novel Looking for Jane was an instant #1 bestseller and dominated the Toronto Star and Globe and Mail bestseller charts for half a year, including 5 weeks at #1.

Selected as one of Indigo’s Top 10 Best Books of 2022, the Globe and Mail‘s Top 100 Books of 2022, and CBC’s Best Canadian Fiction of 2022, Looking for Jane was also chosen as STYLE Canada’s Book of the Month, a CityLine Book Club pick, an Indie Next pick, and was a finalist for the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards in both the debut and historical fiction categories. It has been published in 17 languages in 21 territories around the world, and was optioned for development into a television series. It continued to appear on the bestseller charts 4 years after its initial release.

Heather’s second novel, The Secret History of Audrey James, also debuted as an instant #1 bestseller in Canada, and spent more than two months on the charts. It has been translated into multiple languages.

Her third novel, Liberty Street, was an instant #1 bestseller in Canada, and is coming to the US on June 16th. Get it HERE in Canada, and HERE in the US, or at your favourite indie bookseller. WEBSITE