The Broken Girls

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon): 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...

One (or more) Sentence Summary: What an amazing book.  There were so many twists to The Broken Girls, it left me guessing every time I ended a chapter.  I couldn't wait to read more.  I love stories that go back and forth between the past and current. The two stories were woven together flawlessly.  I could clear see Idlewild, the girls, Fiona and James and even Mary Hand (so spooky).  What I didn't see clearly or figure out was what happened to Sonia, the twist with the renovations of Idlewild and who was behind it, the police chief and his role, the pieces that Fiona was able to piece together, who was Mary Hand, and what happened to the other girls, including Deb.  So many stories, past and present, interwoven into one amazing story.  I am trying so hard not to given anything way, but know this....I loved it.

Would I Read Other Books by the Author:  I would LOVE to read another book by Simon St. John.  This was my first and I want more.  I can't decided which to read first, The Other Side of Midnight or Lost Among the Living (or another one of her books).

Simone St. James is the award-winning author of Lost Among the Living and The Haunting of Maddy Clare, which won two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada, among other novels. She wrote her first ghost story, about a haunted library, when she was in high school, and spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time.

Amazon