Liberty Street
- Judith D Collins
- May 10
- 4 min read
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)
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.
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
