'The Broken Girls' by Simone St. James is a chilling and suspenseful novel that intertwines two timelines, one set in the post-WWII era at a boarding school for troubled girls called Idlewild Hall, and the other set in present-day Vermont. The story follows Fiona Sheridan, a journalist haunted by her sister's murder on the school grounds, as she delves into the dark history of the school and the mysteries surrounding the girls who once resided there. The novel expertly weaves together elements of murder, ghost stories, urban legends, and conspiracy, creating a captivating murder mystery with a supernatural twist.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers include violence, murder, ghosts, sexual violence, mental health issues, and themes of trauma.
Has Romance?
There is a moderate level of romance depicted, primarily through Fiona's relationship, but it doesn't overshadow the main plot.
From The Publisher:
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 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….
Ratings (46)
Incredible (6) | |
Loved It (27) | |
Liked It (7) | |
It Was OK (5) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (123):
Read It (49) | |
Want To Read (62) | |
Did Not Finish (2) | |
Not Interested (10) |
3 comment(s)
2.5 stars. It was an ok book but not just for me. Didn't find it engaging or captivating as I hoped it would. Perhaps the time jumps threw me off a bit
4.5 stars.
****4.0****
Review soon.
What can you read after
The Broken Girls?
About the Author:
Simone St. James is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Sun Down Motel, The Broken Girls, Lost Among the Living, and The Haunting of Maddy Clare. She wrote her first ghost story, about a haunted library, when she was in high school,…
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