When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel

An Unforgettable Story of Sisters and Secrets

Barbara O’Neal’s When We Believed in Mermaids opens with a jolt that upends everything. Kit Bianci, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, is exhausted after a brutal shift when she glances at a television screen and sees her sister Josie. The problem? Josie has been dead for nearly fifteen years—vaporized in a European train bombing. What follows is a gripping, deeply felt exploration of grief, identity, and the astonishing resilience of family bonds.

A Sister’s Search for the Truth

Kit has spent years building a quiet, controlled life, but the sighting sends her back into the past she thought she had buried. Convinced the woman on the news is really Josie, she begins a search that takes her from California to New Zealand, unraveling the fragile stories her family constructed in the aftermath of loss. As Kit digs deeper, she must reckon with the painful childhood the sisters shared, the addictions and betrayals that tore them apart, and the possibility that the sister she mourned had reasons to disappear.

Emotional Depth and Unanswered Questions

O’Neal alternates between Kit’s present-day quest and the sisters’ turbulent history, slowly revealing how two girls who once believed in mermaids grew into women carrying heavy secrets. The novel balances suspense with rich emotional territory, asking whether love can survive deception and whether the truth can truly set anyone free. Readers are drawn not just into the mystery of Josie’s survival but into the tender, complicated reality of sisterhood—the loyalty, resentment, and fierce protectiveness that never quite fade.

Who Will Find This Novel Resonant

Fans of character-driven women’s fiction, family dramas, and novels about second chances will find much to admire here. The story will also appeal to readers who appreciate a quiet undercurrent of mystery, evocative settings, and emotional honesty. While the premise involves loss and trauma, the overall tone is hopeful, emphasizing healing and the enduring power of love.

For anyone who has ever wondered what they would do if a lost loved one reappeared, When We Believed in Mermaids offers a moving, thought-provoking journey. It is a story about the stories we tell ourselves, the secrets we keep, and the unbreakable pull of the people who knew us first.