A journalist uncovers the dark secrets of an abandoned boarding school in this chilling suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel.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 … 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….
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This is a beautiful little book that bounces back and forth between 1950 and 2014 about unwanted girls in a boarding school/home. Then add a murder to it and it ties into a murder in the future. Fiona a journalist steps in to do an article on the restoring of the school and gets more than she bargained for. This book has high suspense, a little romance and a lot of back and forth between a few decades. The characters are all likable and you actually feel sorry and happy for them. There were a few scary parts too. I felt like if it ended with chapter 36, I would have been satisfied. There weren’t too many loose ends at that part of thebook to me, but when it got to the epilogue, it made more sense. I love the Dr Phil reference, thanks for adding that. All in all, it’s worth reading. I give it 4 stars.
I was giving this novel for my honest review.
Thank you Good Reads, Berkley Publishing, Penguin Random House and Simone St. James.
I couldn’t put this book down, read it in one day.
This story grabbed me right from the start. I loved reading about how people thought and acted in 1950. Attitudes from the 1950s toward mental illness, PTSD, independent young ladies, and so much more were so cold hearted. The young who attended Idyllwild boarding school survived and thrived in spite of the cards stacked against them. Their determination to solve the murder of one of their friends was impressive.
I knew I was in for a real treat when I hauntingly sweet notes of a ghost melodies came into play.
“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….”
I mean, the melody is just intoxicating.
From 1950 to 2014 two stories merge seamlessly into one, in the most creatively written gothic suspense novels to date.
The torments of a sisters murder with the combination of a dilapidated schoolhouse are unmistakenly beautiful. while the discombobulations of a 1950 boarding school for unwanted troubled girls hides the true mystery left for you to unravel.
The story starts to unfold at a pace making it so you are unable to stop reading. While the young girls of Idlewild Hall search for the answer to the elusive missing roommate in the 1950’s and Fee searches for the truth behind her sister death even though a murder has already been tried and found guilty.
Can these deaths decades apart connect the missing dots? Can Fiona Sheridan find and accept the answers that she finds? Will the real stories of Idlewild Hall be revealed?
The Broken Girls is going to be one book you are not going to want to miss out on.
The best book I have read so far this year! I’m usually not much into stories that take place in two time periods, but this one worked for me. It was twisty and dark! Wonderful characters with intertwined storylines. There were surprises but all the storylines were tied up by the end of the book and didn’t leave a person hanging! I highly recommend this book if you are a suspense fan. I plan to look for other books by this author.
“Mary Hand, Mary Hand, dead and buried under land.”
The Broken Girls is a masterful Gothic suspense that will keep readers turning pages long into the night.
The story unfolds in the rural countryside of Vermont, in the small town of Barrons, a place that is hiding many dark secrets all linked to the ominous boarding school known as Idlewild Hall. The storyline shifts between two different timelines, 1950 and 2014. In 1950 the boarding school is home to unwanted and unloved girls, those deemed undesirable or shameful to a rigid society. In 2014 it is an abandoned shell of its former self, a place where only secrets exist hidden in the shadows.
The atmospheric setting of the Idlewild boarding school creates not only a chilling backdrop for the ghost that haunts the grounds but is also an appealingly character. Idlewild Hall echoes the secrets of its inhabitants, those whose stories unfolded within its walls and those whose lives ended under its dark, watchful presence. A link to the past and the present that both defines and changes each individual character through their interaction with it. Idlewild Hall is a presence that cannot be ignored and creates an effective link to the storylines of both eras.
Along with the boarding school, St. James’ cast of characters is dynamic. Focusing a lens on the ‘broken girls,’ those whom society has either trodden down, tragically discarded, or pitied. Each of these characters are interesting, well developed, and relevant. While I did not connect to Fiona as much as to the 1950s Idlewild girls, I found that each of their stories helped develop their character arcs, moving their storylines forward and creating a deeper more developed theme to the book.
St. James has created a paranormally-infused gothic suspense novel that entices the senses with engaging characters, haunting settings, and intriguing and authentic storytelling. The Broken Girls is a captivating read that I highly recommend.
A thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
1950 – Idlewild – the place where broken girls go. Katie, a victim of rape, has shamed her family and is viewed as a troubled young girl. CeCe, the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man and his housekeeper, deeply denies that her mother tried to drown her as a young girl. Roberta, walks in on her uncle with a pistol in his mouth, loses her voice and no longer desires to communicate with her parents as their marriage crumbles. Sonia, orphaned survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, relives the horror she’s faced by journaling and drawing. The girls form a close knit bond to survive the school and Mary Hand, the sinister ghost girl who haunts the grounds and garden of Idlewild.
2014 – Vermont – Fiona Sheridan is still haunted by the murder of her sister 20 years ago. While Tim Christopher has been convicted of the crime and sits in prison, Fiona’s journalistic instincts are creating doubt and she’s determined to uncover what really happened. When she learns Idlewild is being restored, Fiona decides the time to investigate the place where her sister’s body was discovered is upon her. Her policeman boyfriend worries for her safety and is uncomfortable with her pursuing the case especially since his father was the Chief of Police at the time of the crime. Fiona is unwilling to walk away and she’s ready to sacrifice not only her relationship, but possibly her life, in pursuit of the truth.
This book is a fantastic read! The plot is well developed and the characterization is superb. It’s easy to get caught up in the story especially when the investigation of one murder uncovers another from many years ago. To complicate matters more, the menacing ghost of Mary Hand is a threat to everyone who has the misfortune of seeing her. The atmospheric prose pulls the reader right into the dark and dreary Idlewild property and glimpses of Mary Hand’s antics are sure to give a chill as well. (Beyond that, I found the references to Ravensbruck interesting and I realized I wanted to explore the topic more once I finished the book.)
So glad I finally had the chance to read this! I would definitely recommend it to others looking for a murder mystery with a touch of a Gothic ghost story added in!
My new favorite book by Simone St. James! Multi-layered, intense, and highly entertaining. As soon as I finished the audio book, I bought the ebook so I could read it a second time, savoring every word.
Idlewild, a boarding school for ‘troubled’ girls, is haunted by the mysterious Mary Hand. Idlewild is isolated from the rest of the world. It houses girls from several different backgrounds. Some are illegitimate children of prominent social figures, others have dealt with traumatic experiences. These girls, along with the teachers, live in fear of the ghost.
Sixty years later, Idlewild has been abandoned and is only a site where kids hang out. A stranger has bought Idlewild for restoration, and Fiona Sheridan wants to do a story about it. For Fiona, Idlewild means more to her than most. It is where the body of her older sister was found.
While touring Idlewild with the owner’s son, the restoration crew discovers another body. Fiona and her policeman boyfriend Jamie, dig into Idlewild’s past to discover who she is and what happened to her.
Town secrets run deep, and it is up to Fiona to bring them to the surface.
The Broken Girls has been the best mystery thriller I’ve read in a long time. I used it as my ‘book on the night stand’ to read before bed and from the beginning I was creeped out. Mary Hand was truly terrifying. At several parts in the book, my heart was pounding in my chest. I haven’t read a book like this in years.
The book goes back and forth between present day and the 1960s. We get a glimpse of life at Idlewild with a group of close knit girls. We know why they are sent to Idlewild, and the experiences each of them have with Mary Hand. We follow Fiona as she tries to put the pieces together and she even has her own experiences with the ghost that haunts the property.
My favorite thing about The Broken Girls (besides the thrill) is the relationships. The close relationship that the girls have with each other is touching. They are in a place they don’t really want to be, but find comfort with each other. Fiona and Jamie’s relationship is unusual in that she’s a journalist and he’s a cop. The two don’t normally mix. But they have an interesting, easy going relationship that is refreshing to read about.
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James receives 5 stars.
The Broken Girls is a haunting yet captivating story. There are 4 schoolmates back in the 1950’s at Boarding School , that is a scary place in itself. Who is the mystery ghost like figure that has scared people for years. Which one of the four disappears?
The story is told from the perspective of the four girls in 1950 and from Fiona, a journalist , whose own sister was found murdered on the same school grounds years ago. Her story is told from 2014
I loved this book and I am wondering how I have never read this author before. You just want to keep turning the pages to see what happens. Make sure you do your chores first before starting The Broken Girls.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
I did not want this chilling, haunting tale to end so I simply went back and re-read it. Simone is one of those authors who is on my “insta-buy” list and with each of her books, she gets better.