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The past and future collide in this deeply compelling murder mystery.

I have to admit that I didn’t have very high expectations for this book..
And I love it when I’m proven wrong.

When this book was recommended? (repeatedly.. because I’m hardheaded) I wasn’t exactly motivated to dive right in. I have a tendency to avoid the more popular, mainstream books.. they have a habit of disappointing. But this one had been getting a lot of really positive feedback and I’m such a sucker for a good ghost story that I (eventually) admitted defeat, picked it up, and ate crow.

From page one I knew that I was going to really enjoy reading ‘The Broken Girls.’
And I did.

This is a murder mystery. A ghost story. And a haunting coming-of-age tale full of damaged characters.
They will captivate you.. broken pieces and all.

Stay tuned to find out why!

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The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Standalone

First line: The sun vanished below the horizon as the girl crested the rise of Old Barrons Road.

Idlewild Hall, situated in the small town of Barrons, Vermont, is a boarding school of last resort.
A place where dark secrets come alive and a sinister presence stalks the grounds.

1950

Katie:
“Katie had never been easy with anyone. She’d always been the girl with admirers, not friends.“

CeCe:
“CeCe was an open book. She was the illegitimate daughter of a rich banker, sired on one of the housemaids and packed off to one boarding school or another for most of her life.“

Roberta:
“Roberta was smart, a natural athlete, though she didn’t talk much. No one knew anything about her home life.“

Sonia:
“If CeCe was the easiest to understand, Sonia was the hardest. Pale, thin, quiet, flitting in and out of the crowds and complicated social cliques, she seemed apart from everything, even for an Idlewild girl.“

Four young women, each deemed too damaged for polite company, are hidden away in a boarding school for broken girls. They are bound by the harsh reality of life in Idlewild and the psychological weight of past trauma, an unlikely friendship is forged, and the rest.. is history.

2014

Fiona, a freelance journalist, lost her sister Deb seventeen years ago when someone murdered her on the grounds of Idlewild. Though her killer was tried and convicted, she can’t escape the feeling that there’s more to the story, that something isn’t quite right.

When the school is purchased by a wealthy widow, who’s seemingly unrelated to the dark events that have plagued the school and town, Fiona knows she has next her story.. one that will give her a logical reason for continuing to research Deb’s death.

But someone doesn’t want her digging around in the town’s history and Fiona finds herself trying to piece together decades of secrets, secrets someone is willing to kill for, before it’s too late.

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Four and a Half Stars!

About the book:

1950: Four girls, each struggling to overcome traumatic experiences, are bound together by the nightmare that is Idlewild Hall.

2014: A woman’s obsession with finding answers about her sister’s murder uncovers more than she bargained for.

Lies surround the small town of Barrons, reaching deep into it’s core, lies that Fiona is determined to make sense of.. but some things are best left buried.

Overall:

I really enjoyed this one.

The characters are brilliantly done (I was particularly drawn to Katie and Sonia) and the dark atmosphere lends a building tension that really sucks you in to their stories.

The title is absolutely appropriate here and I don’t say that lightly.. too often do I find myself attracted to a book because of an intriguing, albeit bogus, book title. That’s not the case here.

All of the characters are damaged in some way, emotionally and psychologically, they’ve each experienced something terrible in their pasts that have shaped the people they’ve become. I am seriously impressed with how much detail and work was put into creating the characters, the world building, and the smaller details that tie everything together.

And while there are touches of the paranormal here.. it doesn’t take over. There are moments, subtle touches of the impossible, that only accentuate the eerie feeling you get throughout.

Told in multiple POV’s, between two timelines, the author has managed to blend the past and present beautifully. You can either do it.. or do it well and, damn, has she done it well.

A good mystery should be engaging, have you questioning every action or motive, it should keep you guessing until the very end.. and this one did.

This is my first book by St. James and it far exceeded my expectations. I will very much be looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

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I absolutely recommend checking this one out!
Fans of authors like Lisa Jewell, Riley Sager, or Jennifer McMahon? You’re going to love ‘The Broken Girls.’

Thank you so much for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed it!
Stay safe and be well!

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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