I was fascinated by this novel from the very first page and found myself lost in it early on. This is one of those books that will make you want to forget everything else except the novel and stay up late reading so you can find answers.

Every once in a while I am lucky enough as a reader to come across one of those rare authors that can pull me out of the daily life and world I live in and transport me somewhere else so well that I feel like I've become part of the world they created. That happened here and I am so excited to see what other people think about this novel. I highly recommend it.

Not only did the author manage to make the main character interesting and three dimensional, but all of her side characters were fantastic and individual as well. This book has that kind of creepy, chill about the shoulders feeling to it, without being so overtly paranormal that it makes you roll your eyes. I love the way she handled switching between the past and the present and how she chose to overlap them. This is a fantastic book and I encourage everyone to read it.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

In 1994 Vermont, Deb Sheridan was strangled and dumped in the middle of the former sports field on the abandoned grounds of Idlewild Hall (a former girls' boarding school which was closed and abandoned since 1979) on Old Barrons Road. She was twenty then. Her boyfriend, Tim Christopher, had spent twenty years in the prison for the crime though he'd claimed he was innocent. Fiona, Deb's younger sister was seventeen then and the murder had torn the family apart. Despite twenty years have passed and Tim was put behind bars, Fiona who is now a journalist with Lively Vermont, still harbours doubts about the truth surrounding Deb's death since no footprints or tire tracks were found and there was no logical way how Tim could dump Deb's body without leaving any traces. Her curiosity is further sparked when someone is restoring the abandoned Idlewild Hall. Who is the new owner and what's the motive for this restoration project? Fiona Sheridan is keen to find out, after all it is near the site where her elder sister's body was found.

In 1950, Katie Winthrop, Roberta Greene, CeCe Frank and Sonia Gallipeau are students of Idlewild boarding school. Most students are enrolled there for a reason and they aren't entirely good - they are either sent there for misbehaviours, complicated family issues or no one wants them. Nevertheless, the four girls bonded quickly regardless of their personality differences or their personal baggage. They are the Idlewild girls who aren't intimidated by talks and rumours except for one thing - they are all scared of Mary Hand; a specter who is believed to haunt the Idlewild ground and that her baby was buried in the school's garden. As they live in fear surrounding Mary Hand's rumours, it was until Sonia's disappearance that allowed the other three girls to set their fear aside to look for the truth regarding their missing friend. What really happened to Sonia?

These two different incidents in two different timeline doesn't seem to have any connection but they do in a way, as Fiona found out towards the end as she searches the truth surrounding Deb's death and then stumbled upon a truth of the past along the way. There are many dark sides to this story - the creepiness of Mary Hand and her hauntings, the horror of the Nazi and the women's concentration camps back in the 1940s (this is Sonia's story but I'd leave it to you to find out yourself) and finally, the evil minds of the human beings who'd do anything for their own benefits.

Simone St. James excels in not only the storytelling part but also skillfully connecting the two events and made this both a creepy and suspenseful read as a whole. Needless to say, the book held my attention throughout my reading journey and I'm glad to say I've discovered a new author to add to my to-read list. A must-read for fans of gothic and mystery genres.

This one was truly stunning. In this, there are so many mysteries all tied to one abandoned boarding school. The main character's sister was found murdered on the grounds. A body is found in an old well. And there is a ghost. What really happened to all 3 of these girls? They lived decades apart and their only link is a piece of land in rural Vermont. It is historical fiction and mystery and a little bit of horror (there is a ghost, after all) all wrapped into one incredibly engaging story. I definitely recommend it.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

This is a story of a school haunted by a young woman. The story of a young woman haunted by the death of her sister. A story of loss. The girls of Idlewild were strays, discarded and removed from their family. Fiona missed the sister taken from her 20 years earlier, found in the field of the discarded and boarded up school. But Fiona keeps returning to the murder of her sister, to Idlewild. This leads her to the truth behind her sister’s murder and the murder of a young girl from 60 years ago whose life was discarded with few people left to remember her.

It took this book a while to gain steam. I enjoyed the second half of this novel a lot more than I enjoyed the first half. The narrative of the story goes back and forth from 1950 to 2014. The readers meet four young women that went to school and lived at Idlewild in 1950, a school haunted by the ghost of a young woman. The readers also meet Fiona, the journalist whose sister’s body was found in a field on the abandoned Idlewild property. Too much of the first half of this book went into the history of all these characters with very little action. I was interested and somewhat intrigued but not at all invested in this story. Then St. James dropped clues to what might have happened and the entire tone of the novel shifted. After that I couldn't put it down and began to really enjoy the story. The characters gained so much more depth and the time spent building the plot finally started to pay off.

It’s great that I happened to read this story in October right before Halloween, the perfect time to read a ghost story. St. James crafted a story that was genuinely eerie at times. Overall, this was a good book. St. James created a story that concluded well even after having a slow start. I'm not a huge fan of her writing style. At times her descriptions were a bit overdone and the narrative dragged but I liked how everything pulled together.

This story is amazing if you want to uncover a mystery, join the dots, and like to be spooked. You really fall for the characters in this story, they are all so different but Simone paints a picture with words that help you understand them.The Broken Girls is broken up into the happenings of Barron, Vermont in 1950 and 2014. The parts of the past (the 1950's) is the story of 4 friends (Katie, Cece, Roberta, and Sonia) who are living at a boarding school called Idlewild Hall. Idlewild is "home" to broken girls. Idlewild is marred by something sinister that stalks the girls, breaking them down by their true nightmares. Haunted and isolated, little by little the girls uncover truths about themselves and the idea of something existing beyond their means... to intensify the claim one of the four disappears. In 2014, we get the "present day" point of view from Fiona Sheridan, who grew up in Barron, Vermont. A place she considers home but Barron is tragedy-ridden after the murder of her sister which happened at Idlewood. Now a journalist in her 30's, Fiona unwilling to let the past go, goes to Idlewild Hall after she hears that an unknown benefactor is renovating the forsaken place into a new school. This action brings up old history, haunts, and past questions that carry on to present day.

What a marvelous and unexpected on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of read! Simon St. James's "The Broken Girls" is set in Barrons, Vermont, during two different time periods and ultimately merging into one storyline.

1950- In a generation of people affected by the aftermath of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, there is a boarding school in rural Vermont called Idlewild Hall. This all girls boarding school is home to many of society's "degenerates", trouble-makers, family secrets, and broken girls. A group of outcasts, Katie, CeCe, Sonia, and Roberta are the best of friends, forging their time at Idlewild with their own sisterhood, showing each other that they can handle anything life throws at them, as long as they have each other.

2014- After decades of Idlewild Hall being shutdown, a mysterious buyer decides to reopen the boarding school under suspicious circumstances. Journalist Fiona Sheridan decides to pick up the story because it is near and dear to her heart. Idlewild's operations ceased after her sister was tragically murdered by the facility owner's son. Why is Idlewild being restored? Why now, after all this time? And... who or what is looming over the property? As time progresses, secrets start unraveling at the seams. Not everything in Barrons is what it seems.

"The Broken Girls" really kept me engaged from the moment the storyline was established. It was my first read by Simone St. James and I will definitely be interested in seeing what else she has in her pocket in the future. Usually I don't like stories that follow two or more different timelines, as I feel like it becomes an over-zealous attempt at creating an in depth story, but St. James really has a good handle on weaving in the past to the present here. Slowly, each puzzle piece locks in for an epic conclusion. Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

CeCe, Katie, Sofia, and Roberta -- Four roommates with nothing in common except being unwanted by their families -- bond over their pain at the Idlewild Hall boarding school during the early 1950s. Chased by a ghost that seems to know their darkest secrets and feeling pressured to conform to a society that struggles to understand their individuality, the four "broken" girls do their best to hold each other together.

Decades later, Idlewild Hall is closed down, the halls empty of the young girls who used to roam its grounds. Journalist Fiona Sheridan finds herself emotionally tethered to the property, unable to let go of her murdered sister who was found on Idlewild Hall's sports field years earlier. When a mysterious benefactor purchases the land with plans to restore the school, Fiona is drawn to the circumstances surrounding her sister's death, the unknown motivations for restoring the school, and the body of a girl found in the property's well.

St. James pieces together this piece of thrilling historical/contemporary fiction story with a great deal of creativity and suspense. Each character speaks with a voice filled with honesty, pain, and strength that readers cannot help but admire them as individuals who all seem part of a larger whole. While I believe this book is considered "adult", I feel this would be appreciated by YA fans as well.

I’m now a new fan of Simone St. James! This is the first be of hers I’ve read & I loved it. It’s a good old fashion ghost story & a real page turner!

Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . .

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion 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 the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past--and a voice that won't be silenced. .

My thoughts
Five stars all the way
I loved it, loved how it kept me pulled into the story and how it kept going back and forth between the 1950 and 2014 .this is a must read.
Thinks NetGalley for giving me a chance at reading what turned out to be a great book

Another excellent haunting mystery from author Simone St. James. Set in Vermont, this novel travels between the present day and 1950. The 1950s story follows a group of troubled girls who reside at the boarding school, Idlewild, and the haunting of the school by Mary Hand. Fast forward to the present day and the story of Fiona, a journalist, whose sister was found murdered on the grounds of Idlewild back in the 1980s. When the old school is purchased and is slated for repairs, Fiona senses a story and. when a skeleton is found on the grounds during the renovation, she decides to investigate the lives of the girls who resided at the school and discover why one of them was murdered. A good addition to any library with patrons who enjoy mysteries with a supernatural bent.

This was a very entertaining story with several storylines. The author skillfully weaved Holocaust history, 1950's problematic social norms and modern-day sleuthing into an intriguing tale. When freelance journalist Fiona starts digging into the story of the restoration of a reportedly haunted girls' school, she finds disturbing connections to her sister's murder and the murders of other girls on the property. The most disturbing part: the murders took place over the past century. Good read, read it in one day.

Told in two separate timelines, The Broken Girls first introduces us to four friends and classmates at the daunting Idlewild Hall, a school for unwanted and delinquent girls.  Set in 1950, we're almost immediately thrown into a mystery, first with the omniscient ghost of Mary Hand, then the disappearance of one of the four friends.

Then, we're launched into 2014 and the world of the journalist, Fiona Sheridan, whose sister was found murdered on the grounds of Idlewild Hall 20 years previously. To say she has an unhealthy obsession with Idlewild would be an understatement, so when she learns that someone has bought the old school and renovations have begun, she feels compelled to cover the story.

When the body of a girl is found in the old well on the day of her walk-through with the mysterious new owner's son, Fiona's fascination only deepens. She resolves to solve the mystery of the young Holocaust survivor's life and death.

Simone St. James has created some marvelously rich characters, each with their own tangled history and flaws, and manages to jump between the two timelines with ease. While the blending of paranormal, murder mystery and unhealthy doses of bigotry, cover-up, and conspiracy, could well have fallen flat, Ms. St James blends it all perfectly. Even the specter of Mary Hand manages to deepen the story,  inextricably tying both timelines together, affecting everyone she comes in contact with according to their own fears and inner demons.

The conclusion, when it comes, is one hit after the other, yet it doesn't feel rushed and even if you've managed to figure out most of the ending, there's still bound to be a couple of surprises you didn't see coming.

Seriously. Add The Broken Girls to your TBR pile and preorder it now. You won't regret it!

This book is an unexpected surprise and treat! It both chilled me and left me wanting more. I enjoyed reading every second of it and didn't want to put it down for even a second!

I've read and enjoyed all of St. James' books and I think this is the best one yet! She was able to interweave both stories, past and present, so seamlessly. I really couldn't tear myself away from this one, but when I did I was slightly afraid to true off the lights!

Part ghost story, part mystery, part thriller. This was a great read!

This is Simone St. James's first foray into writing a thriller type novel, and I eagerly look forward to her future books. I like this book, especially the horror aspect of it, which she does so well in her other books. The only thing I wished for was for more explanation about certain aspects of the story, especially Mary Hand and Fiona herself. The relationship between Fiona and Jamie also felt very unresolved, and I don't think this is a series, so it's a shame to not get more closure. I liked this book well enough, but it wasn't as well done as her previous books. I still love Simone St. James as a writer, and I'll be gobbling up whatever she publishes next.

Simone St. James has officially reset the bar of the boarding school murder mysteries subgenre and books with "Girl" in the title with her latest: The Broken Girls. She's given every character a little, but important piece of the puzzle that ultimately, when put together, solve multiple mysteries. Protagonist Fiona's sister was murdered on the grounds of Idlewild, a creepy, dark, and gated boarding school in the middle of nowhere, Vermont. But she wasn't the first to die or be presumed dead there; when Fiona finds out someone wants to restore it, she inserts herself into the lives of Margaret and Anthony Eden, the newest owners of the property. Fiona realizes that her sister's story is only a small part of the history of this haunted school, but comes to know much much more. Thoroughly creepy and intriguing, The Broken Girls will no doubt keep you reading until all hours of the night!

What makes a story? There are several answers to this question. When I read The Broken Girls, several things came to me. Most importantly truth in storytelling and how an author pulls it off. I am all for character development, plot driven stories. They are vital and this story has that but what about truth? Truth in human emotions. Truth in exploring one’s past. Truth in what haunts us. I can honestly say that St. James is an author to follow in these attributes of well-drawn stories. She really connects you to the characters and their story. That is truth. Each character has their own struggles and it brings the plot together in a delicious package of mystery, friendships heartache and meaningful human connections.
I was also delighted to feel a bit creeped out by the small town and the boarding school. The author makes you want to explore the ruins of Idlewild Hall and its past even further. I could easily read another story about the characters and location. Meaning, I didn’t want this story to end!
I can’t really pinpoint which characters stood out to me the most. They were all strong and interesting in this story and I sympathized with them all.
I really like the premise of a journalist who goes to no end to reveal the mystery surrounding her sister’s death and how the present day connects to the past in more than just one way.
I have to say that I feel sorry for the readers who have to wait to read this story when its published. The Broken Girls is truly an amazing story that has captivated me to no end and Simone St. James is my new favorite author! A must read.
I have rated this book five stars!
I obtained a copy of this book from the publishers through NetGalley.
Stephanie M. Hopkins

I would like to thank Simone St. James, Berkley/Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Idlewild Hall is a girls’ boarding school where the illegitimate, the mentally ill, and the troublemakers are swept under the rug. In 1950, four girls band together to survive the cold, dreadful place—and the ghost that uses their darkest secrets against them.

In 2014, Fiona Sheridan still can’t stop thinking about her sister’s murder. When construction begins on Idlewild, the place where Deb’s body had been found, Fiona decides to write a piece on the restoration. She’s on the premises, interviewing the landowner, when the crew makes a shocking discovery… And soon Fiona finds herself digging up the past to uncover the present.
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Getting to read this book so early was like a dozen Christmases rolled into one. Then I realized it’ll be just that much longer until I can read the next one. Guess I’ll be rereading her other books in the meantime. A real hardship, that.

This is a slight departure from St. James’ usual tale, mostly in setting. Her novels to date have been set in WWI-era England, gothic ghost stories with plots rooted in the war and a heroine who has to solve a murder mystery with the aid of a traumatized ex-soldier hero. In contrast, The Broken Girls is set in northern Vermont in America, one storyline in 1950, the other in 2014. There’s a ghost story and a murder mystery with roots in WWII that the heroine has to solve. The hero, a cop who I don’t believe was ever a soldier, isn’t all that helpful.

You’re immediately presented with the mystery in the prologue. I stayed up until three am, unable to take my eyes from the page for more than a minute. For the first two-thirds, I gathered puzzle pieces and tried to keep them organized, frustrated when none of them fit together. Then, precisely when St. James wanted me to, I finally began to put the pieces together and form a clearer picture. I enjoy a narrative that challenges my wits, and I value an author who trusts me to be intelligent enough to understand what’s going on without having to stop and explain things to me.

This review may be a bit superficial; I don’t dare include any spoilers. It’s one thing to reveal details a few days before release, it’s another to do it six months in advance. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s anticipation.

This was much freakier than her last book, Lost Among the Living (though that remains my favorite because Alex is a force of nature.) In LAL, the horror takes a back seat—way back, like the third row in an SUV—and the characters drive the story. Here, the characters are driving the story, but the creepy horror is right there in the passenger seat…staring… *shudders* Now I’m imagining being stuck in a car with Mary Hand. Yep, I’ll be sleeping with the light on again tonight. I think I’ll send St. James my energy bill.

Fiona was a great character, both vulnerable and strong. She had virtues and flaws—her determination falling under both categories—and she was very relatable. She had crappy eating habits, she exercised if she felt like it, and she wasn’t any kind of homemaker. I loved that she was bad at “the girlfriend thing.” Not that she cheated or anything immoral, she just liked to keep things casual and didn’t need to be romanced. She wasn’t at all needy and seemed reluctant to become attached to anything—or anyone.

If there was one thing I didn’t care for, it was Jamie, Fiona’s boyfriend. He didn’t begin to fill Alex’s shoes. I found him confusing and somewhat useless. In the first half, I was certain that he loved Fiona and was patiently waiting for her to be ready to become more committed, more involved in each other’s lives. When he took her face in his hands and kissed her, begging her to come to dinner with his parents, my heart melted. But then she and his father argue, and it didn’t seem like Jamie gave her an inch of slack. He got mad at her for not “getting along,” like she was an incorrigibly discourteous child. I wanted to smack him and scream, “You gutless company man! Grow some balls and do the right thing!” And after that, there was little that was endearing or heart-melting about him. So I guess he didn’t love her, or he wouldn’t have driven away.

I didn’t like the Idlewild girls as much as I liked Fiona, but then I didn’t relate to them as much. Nevertheless, I sympathized with them and was happy when they got the answers they’d spent their entire adult lives looking for. Likewise with Malcolm, Fiona’s dad.

It got a teensy bit annoying switching back and forth from past to present. I liked Fiona and wanted to stick with her, but the chapters in the past were important, and they were deliberately positioned to provide new information just before you needed to know it. The story was well-structured, in my opinion, and the pace was steady. Oh, and this is funny—in my head I read the book with a British accent. The exposition, the dialogue, all of it. I don’t know why; maybe I’ve listened to the audio versions of her other books too often, but somehow a British accent seemed to suit her writing. I tried forcing an American one, but it wouldn’t stick.

Overall…I wish St. James wrote faster.

Scratch that. I won’t sacrifice quality for quantity.

Overall, The Broken Girls is a spooky, intelligent, character-driven thriller that’ll keep you up at night.

noapologybookreviews.com

This was not the normal type of book I read, as I don't read paranormal or ghost books. What drew me to this one was that it was advertised to be a thriller. Yes, there was a ghost aspect but it was not the focal point of the plot, though was a focal point of the story. I enjoyed this one and would never have figured out the mysterious death of Sonia or its connection to the death of Deb. Fiona as the main narrator was a likeable character who has walls around her emotions since her sister was found murdered 20 years ago. She obsesses over it and has a feeling that there is more to the death than ever was revealed. What she uncovers is pretty surprising and sad to think it all could have been avoided. This one will keep you turning the pages to find out what in the world happened and how the alternating chapters intersect.