The Broken Girls

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The Broken Girls book cover

by Simone St. James

Publication Date: March 20, 2018
Publisher: Berkley
Paperback: 336 Pages

Publisher Description

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….

Review

Years of grief finally grant journalist Fiona Sheridan the courage to confront the ghosts that linger near Idlewild Hall, the abandoned boarding school where her sister, Meg, vanished two decades ago. Whispers paint the place as haunted, but Fiona seeks answers, not phantoms.

In the 1950s, Idlewild Hall served as a refuge, albeit a troubled one, for girls deemed “broken” by society’s rigid constraints. Here, an unlikely friendship blossoms amidst the oppressive atmosphere, only to be shattered by a mysterious disappearance.

St. James masterfully throws in twists that will have you gasping, while the unsettling whispers of a ghostly presence heighten the intrigue. This is a story of healing, of confronting the past’s jagged edges, and laying cherished souls to rest. Prepare to be enthralled as you follow these characters on their journey towards closure.

Elisabeth sign.

5/5

About the author

Simone St. James is the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, The Broken Girls,  The Book of Cold Cases, and Murder Road. She spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time.

Read more about Simone ON HER WEBSITE

Praise

“An intense, genuinely creepy novel that links the ghostly, gothic strands of a 60-year-old murder with secrets about to be unearthed in the present day….With a ghostly setting and an addictive plot, St. James’ story is as haunting as it gets—poignant, evocative and difficult to forget.”—BookPage

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“[The Broken Girls] mixes a creepy supernatural tale with a gripping mystery. It also works well as a story about unshakeable friendship, parenting issues, obsession and sexism folded into a satisfying plot that straddles two eras of time.”—Associated Press
 
The Broken Girls is equal parts captivating and disturbing.”—HelloGiggles
 
“The Broken Girls has everything you could want: mysterious murders, haunted boarding schools, and a mystery that spans 60+ years.”—Bustle

“St. James’ riveting genre-blender combines a supernatural tale with intertwined mysteries from the 1950s and today…This horror-tinged mystery is frighteningly believable, peopled with feisty characters, and features top-notch dialogue. St. James…might have another prizewinner on her hands.”—Booklist (starred review)

 

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