The year of needy girls - Patricia A. Smith

Deirdre Murphy and her partner SJ Edmonds have just moved to the West End of Bradley, Massachusetts, where Deirdre teaches French to girls at Brandywine Academy. A dedicated teacher from a working-class background, she is well loved by her students, and this particular fall, living for the first time in an open relationship with SJ should be her happiest yet. But the murder of 10-year-old Leo from the East End changes everything - for Deirdre and SJ, for the girls at Brandywine, and for all of Bradley. When Deirdre is falsely accused of sexually molesting one of her students, the town erupts.