BOOK REVIEW: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

 

Publication Date: May 20, 2018
Format: Kindle
Genre:  Mystery/Thriller/ghosts

Publisher: Berkley Publishing 
Pages: 
334
Buy: Kindle | Audio | Paperback

Synopsis

Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants—the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the ones too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall, and local legend says the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their friendship blossoming—until one of them mysteriously disappears....

Vermont, 2014. Twenty years ago, journalist Fiona Sheridan's elder sister’s body was found in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And although her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of the murder, Fiona can’t stop revisiting the events, unable to shake the feeling that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during renovations links the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past—and a voice that won’t be silenced....

Review: 

This is the 2nd book by Simone St. James that I've read and I will be picking up others.  Beautifully creepy this book hooks you from the beginning and takes you along for a ride.  Divided between the past and the present, Fiona Sheridan is obsessed with there sisters murder.  Her body was dumped on the abandoned grounds of a boarding school but something never sat right with Fiona about the whole thing.  Now someone else has bought the property and is planning on rebuilding it into a new school.  Fiona feels this is her shot to get some answers and jumps on the story.

As the crew starts working on the property a body is discovered, but does this explain the ghost that many have said they have seen walking the property in a black veil? Determined to find out who this girl was and what ties she had to the school take Fiona on an investigation into the past, from finding girls who had attended the boarding school, to finding the missing records.  She will dig deep into the past and uncover not only information about the body found but also about her sisters case.  

This was brilliantly woven together.  After reading the chapters set in the past its hard to believe people thought that way - that women were basically meant to marry and a schools job was to give them the skills to find a suitable husband.  That out of wedlock children were to be hidden and not spoken about, and strong opinionated women were considered trouble makers.  

I really loved this book and the glimpse into the past that St. James does so well.  She really transports you back in time and makes it feel real.  This is a great creepy ghost story by one of the best ghost writers I've read. 






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