The “clever and wonderfully chilling” (Fiona Barton) suspense novel from the award-winning author of The Haunting of Maddy Clare...
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...
A fantastic stay-up all night read! I love a good gothic story and this is gothic wrapped in mystery over mystery! I loved the ghost of Mary Hand element at the girls' school. She got under my skin and freaked me out. I didn't know what to expect from the ghost or what else was going on at the school, but I wanted to figure out what was going on. Who was she and what was she! This element is only part of the story! The story just gets more and more intense. We, the reader, is going back and forth from 2014 to 1950 and I couldn't figure out why. Then once it made sense, I couldn't make sense of it. In a good way! Not until the very end of the story.
Idlewild Hall itself was dark and eerie and someone in 2014 is looking to bring the old boarding school back to life. A mystery shrouds the new owner and you wonder just what is her real story. Fiona Sheridan is a local reporter with a close tie to the old school, as her older sister was found dead there...but her sister wasn't a student there and the school had already been closed. Was her sisters killer really the man behind bars? Or was her death caused by something more sinister?! Fiona is on a quest to figure out whats the real story of Idlewild Hall.
And what really happened in 1950? Questions to an unsolved mystery rear their ugly head in 2014 and Fiona is trying to put pieces to a puzzle together when none of the pieces seem to be a part of the same puzzle...The Broken Girls will keep you reading until the truth finally comes out. And then scare you one. last. time.
The perfect read to sit up late into the night! Really enjoyed this book and honestly had a hard time putting it down! I highly recommend The Broken Girls (I also have read other books by Simone St. James and love everything I've read by her)!
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