I don’t like ghost stories, well, except of they are by Stephen King. When I started this book and people were talking about the ghost of a girl haunting a girl’s boarding school, I considered abandoning it. But, the book was really well written and I kept reading. I am glad I did.

The book alternates between 2014, where journalist Fiona is researching plans that new owners have for the now abandoned school, and 1950, when a student disappeared. Fiona’s sister was killed on the school grounds in the 1990s. The book does a good job of covering the angst of the sister’s murder, which was solved but left a lot of questions for Fiona, and the mystery around the missing student.

I was surprised by some of the ending, which is always nice. I am glad I stuck it out and will be looking for more by this author.

This is a book I received via NetGalley and completed in one sitting today. I have taken quite a detour from this genre for the last couple of books and this one was a welcome return to the fold ( of suspense/thrillers). This story borders on the horror tagline but does not end up in that category all the way through.

The story weaves seamlessly between the two eras being narrated in the book. It has the 'broken girls' as advertised in the title , but the girls are more than just that. They embody the bonds that hold people to each other, trust , loyalty and all that those words signify, in a good and right world.In the current time, Fiona is still tied to her sister's murder twenty years earlier.In the process of walking the roads where it had happened, she stumbles on a new development that literally opens the gates to further revelations. Once the ball gets rolling, we are quickly ( but not too quickly) taken through the multiple lives entwined in the story. I remember hearing this dialogue in an old GhostBusters animated episode that "there is nothing to fear but fear itself"( true origins of the statement is unknown to me). This dialogue could be set as a background track to story as it unfolds. There is an extra element thrown in, of the shadowy unaccountable presence in the background which adds to the darkness of the book.

Each of the women is a full and realistic character, someone you could get behind and encourage on in the tale, making it  a very satisfying read.

In 1950 Idlewild Hall is a place for unwanted, troubled girls. Four roommates Sonia, Katie, CeCe and Roberta form an unlikely strong bond over a mysterious ghost that haunts Idlewild Hall and preys on your fears till one of them disappears without leaving a clue about her whereabouts.

In 2014 Fiona Sheridan, a freelance journalist, cannot let go of her sister’s death which happened 20 years ago on the grounds of Idlewild Hall. Even though her sister’s boyfriend was convicted of the crime Fiona always felt there was something amiss. When a mysterious buyer starts the project of restoring the abandoned building and a body is found on the grounds Fiona starts investigating the past and what actually happened the night of her sister’s death.

The Broken Girls is my first read by Simone St. James and definitely won’t be my last. Written in alternating timelines she keeps the story flowing seamlessly. The friendship between the girls and Fiona’s love for her sister was portrayed beautifully with suspense and a ghost story added in the mix. A clever, well written book that I would definitely recommend for all mystery, suspense lovers.

I would like to thank the author, Berkley Publishing Group & NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

SIdlewild Hall began as an orphanage. Later it became a boarding school for teen girls who were unwanted or unable to be controlled by their parents or guardians. It had always been a grim place and so few were upset when it eventually closed down in the 1970s. The school was said to be haunted and there were few buyers waiting to purchase the Barron’s, Vermont property after it was finally sold in 1979.

The property had been where a teen, Deb Sheridan, had been found brutally beaten and dead in 1994. In 1950 Sonia, a Holocaust survivor attending Idlewild, had also disappeared on her way back to the school.

So when Fiona Sheridan, now a journalist like her celebrity father, Malcolm, heard that the Idlewild property had been bought and another school was to replace the decrepit buildings, she decided to write a feature story about the school. Fiona also had doubts that Tim Christopher, her sister Deb’s boyfriend, was the person who really killed the girl. Tim, the son of a wealthy family, had been tried and convicted and was In prison.

Fiona started reading old news and police reports and interviewed the new owners. Few of the women who had attended the school could be found but Fiona did speak with one former student, now a retired lawyer, and a former teacher at the school. Jamie, Fiona’s boyfriend and a police officer in Barron’s, had been helping her. So when the construction team found a long dead body in an old well on the property, Fiona called in Jamie to deal with the investigation quietly.

This story alternates between the events in 1950 and the 2014 discovery of the body. Sightings of the ghost of Mary Hand, the daughter of original owners of the property, are scattered throughout the book. However it is not primarily a ghost story but rather a mystery story.

The story starts in Vermont, at Idlewild Hall in 1950, a boarding school for troublesome girls. Girls who are unwanted, forgotten, broken. Four girls, roommates, form an unlikely friendship. It's the only bright thing for them in the dark and haunted halls of the school, until one of them disappears.

The storyline alternates between 1950 and 2014, where we meet Fiona Sheridan, a journalist who harbours an unhealthy obsession with Idlewild Hall. Her sister's body had been dumped there twenty years earlier, so when Fiona hears that someone was planning on restoring Idlewild, she felt compelled to cover the story.

Mary Hand, Mary Hand, dead and buried under land...
Faster, faster. Don't let her catch you.
She'll say she wants to be your friend...

This book was part mystery, and part ghost story. I have never read a book that so seamlessly wove together both of those aspects, it was fantastic! This book hooked me from the very first page and I found that I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley, Simone St. James and Berkley for this wonderful read.

I loved this creepy, gothic, suspenseful novel. Idlewild Hall is an old abandoned boarding school for troubled, unwanted girls. Fiona's sister was murdered on its grounds 20 years ago. A recent renovation reveals more secrets. Great story with a little supernatural thrown in.

As a fan of Simone St. James I was super excited to get an ARC from NetGalley. That said, I was disappointed. I don't know if it was my high expectations, or just the fact that it was so much different from all of her other books. I know, without a doubt, that if I had not read any of her previous works I would have enjoyed this story a lot more.

I give The Broken Girls 3 stars. It had a solid story, with two great independently parallel-storylines but something was missing. If you are a fan of a good ghost story with a little bit of mystery and little to no romance, then I highly recommend this book. If you are an avid St. James fan wanting more of her classic post-WWI gothic romances, you'll be left wanting.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview the Broken Girls.
Modern day ghost story that goes back and forth in time.
If you like this genre, this is a good read.

I'm not really a fan of supernatural stuff but this was so well done that I really enjoyed it! I love the boarding school chapters. The writing was so descriptive that I felt like I was there. Spooky and suspenseful! I stayed up way too late reading this.

I absolutely loved this story. I stayed up way too late at night reading it and looked for every possible moment to get back to it whenever I had to put it down. Simone St. James creates characters that are likable and interesting. I also enjoyed the setting of an all girls private school with a ghost roaming the property. I will be recommending this book to family and friends, and I hope it makes the Goodreads Choice Awards 2018. I also think it would make an excellent movie.

Thank you Berkeley Publishing Group and Netgally for the opportunity to read this superb advanced reader's copy. So glad I didn't gave to wait until March to read this marvelous work. .

The author alternated between two eras of time, both the same setting, just 64 years apart.

Vermont, 1950. What did they do, back in the 1950's with girls no one wanted; the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good? They were hauled off to boarding school. 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, Katie, Sonia, Cecelia and Roberta bond over their fears, forming lifelong friendships, until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . .

Vermont, 2014. Fiona Sheridan is a fierce journalist and cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister, Deb who was tragically murdered. 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.

Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor and wonders why anyone would throw money away on that creepy run down place. She decides to write a story about the mysterious, old boarding house. She begins to uncover shocking mystery after mystery.

The author wove fascinating history into this intricate tale full of mystery and just enough creepiness to keep the reader looking over their shoulder.

I enjoyed the way the author brought the two eras together joining the characters that I came to know. I didn’t want this story to end. The Broken Girls is truly an amazing story that captivated me. I will follow this incredible writer Simone St. James.

This is not normally the sort of genre I am keen for but I was so many raving reviews I just had to check it out. And WOW. I was blown away at the level of suspense and imagery. It was creepy and mysterious, but I enjoyed every moment of it. I was suspicious of the multiple time-lines but the author executed it very well and made it seemless.

Thoroghly enjoyed this mystery. Has been awhile since I read a book by this author and now I am anxious to go back and read her previous ones. I enjoyed the relationships between the four classmates and was trying to determine how it all fit together in the present. Good job!

I didn't know what to expect when I received my DRC of The Broken Girls. This book is a little out of my normal reading niche, but I really enjoyed it. The storyline kept me interested throughout the book. I kept trying to make connections to figure out what happened in the past and what was going to happen next. This book will appeal to readers that enjoy ghost stories with a modern twist.

First and foremost, Thank You to Berkley Pub for sending me an Arc of this book, in exchange of an honest review.

Have you ever read a book, that you felt was just consistently good? I really enjoyed this book, I felt like it didn't drag on, or have parts that lost my interest, I literally enjoyed every page. This book was brilliantly written,and I mean it's about ghosts, but really there is so much more to this amazing book, thing's you wouldn't imagine are within the pages, and I absolutely loved it. It's kind of like a suspense novel, with a bit of non-fiction thrown in. Once you read this, you will understand what I mean. 

I loved the four girls in the 1950's each of them were so unique, and such solid individuals, I understood how they became friends, and how they loved and supported each other. They opposites attract, and I definitely felt like it did with these girls. All four of them were from different walks of life, but they loved and respected each other, like true friends do. 

Fiona was a character I understood, I got why she couldn't let got of her sister, and the way she died. There was no closure for her. I felt like she couldn't move on with her life, because her sister didn't get to move on with hers. I loved that Fiona was persistent, she stood her ground, and she never gave up on what she wanted. Such a great characters with depth, and a heart of gold.

I loved the shocking twists and turns of this book, and I loved how it just gripped me from the very first page. It's beautifully written, and a book I will remember for a very long time. It's definitely  gotten its hold on me. I hope you guys pick this one up, It's such an incredible read. If you've read it already, what are your thoughts?

I’m trying to read more thriller and horror novels. That thing of facing your fears and all. So, when I say this book on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to read it. I’m glad I did

Summary: This book was so scary to me that I was looking over my shoulder two days after reading it. Maybe I’m just a scaredy-cat though.

This novel started with an amazing prologue. A girl is running from something or someone and the writing here was fast-paced (as should be expected). I actually sat up, hoping (despite the synopsis) that she would escape. And I felt so sad when she didn’t. The amazing part is….I didn’t even know her. This is the beginning of the book and I’m already so sad for a character I know nothing about. This is just to show how amazing the writing is.

The book is written with alternate 1950 and 2014 chapters and with five POVs (the four roommates in 1950 and Fiona in 2014). This might seem like a lot but I guarantee that if you give your utmost concentration to this book, you won’t get lost. At first, I mixed up some names but as the novel went on, I got my bearing back.

The four roommates in 1950 each have their own horrifying story to tell and in a haunted school with mean girls and angry teachers, they bond over their stories. It was wonderful seeing them grow together with true friendship and love. Their sisterhood was a beautiful part of this novel.

Fiona in 2014 was another character I really liked. I didn’t expect to like her though. She’s 37 and that just seemed like a far-off age to me. I expected an annoying know-it-all adult. What I got instead was a brilliant, lovely person with amazing instincts (as as journalist) and a never-say-die attitude. I loved her a lot. I connected more with the teenagers in 1950 but I still liked her. She fought a battle for the truth despite all odds and obstacles.

Which brings me to my question; why do journalists instinctively know if a person is lying or not and whether or not to trust a person? It’s a very handy skill I would love to have. Do they teach it in journalist school?

She also had a much younger boyfriend (28, I think) and their romance was also surprising. She never tried to boss him around because she was older and he never treated her in an overly respectful way because of that. This book is a wonderful portrayal of the ideal that love knows no age (for adults though)

The ghost, Mary Hand mentioned in the quote above is a source of terror to those living in Idlewild Hall. There are rumours about who she is but the students aren’t sure. What was sure was that with songs or just a few words, she brought up memories that haunted people. The scariest memories of a person’s life.

Each of the major characters; the four roommates and Fiona each have their own personality and once you get to know them a bit, you can pick out whose POV it is without even looking at the chapter name.

When the past (1950) and the present (2014) met, I felt so so happy. It’s hard to describe it but everything made sense, everything was explained (no unanswered questions if you can believe that) and the characters merged so so well.

I usually don’t like mystery or crime novels but I liked this one. It was very scary to me (even writing this review scared me) but it’s a very good novel I recommend.

I absolutely loved this book! Loved the main character of the present and how the author seem lesli wove both stories together. The chapters contained so much exciting action it was so easy to read just one more chapter! I loved the added element of the ghost story in the background. The roommates were well described and their relationship was touching. Brilliantly written. Best arc I’ve read in a long time!! Savored every page.

A really good ghost story. plus a murder mystery...Great fun!!!

A creepy tale told in chapters alternating from the 1950's to present day Barron, VT where private girls' school Idlewild slowly crumbles into the landscape. When a mysterious wealthy widow decides to reconstruct the school, and a body is discovered in a well, reporter Fiona, still mourning the death of her sister (whose body was found on the school property), decides to lay old ghosts to rest.

Well written and gothic -- I read The Broken Girls in one sitting. Writing more would be telling, but I won't spoil it for you -- read this book!

I loved The Broken Girls by Simone St. James. The characters were unique and memorable, and I loved how the story unfolded during two different time periods, and then came together at the end. I loved all the many mysteries. It was just a fantastic book.