This book could also be entitled the forgotten girls, a remote "boarding school" in the early 1950's for girls that were illegitimate, inconvenient, or simply "too much" yields a nightmare existence . The girls are treated almost as prisoners and how they ended up at this remote school in rural Vermont is varied, but always tragic. Four roommates in room 3C form a relationship that will last for the rest of their lives, that are not necessarily to old age. Fast forward to the present and an inquisitive journalist who has her own horror on the grounds of the long abandoned school. Fiona is tenacious, damaged, smart and intuitive. The past to present segues in the book are seamless and make a lot of sense. Any fan of historical fiction, suspense and the politics of small towns will enjoy this book. It will keep you guessing until the very end.

"Mary Hand Mary Hand, dead and buried under land. She'll say she wants to be your friend. Do not let her in again!"
Then : The Idlewild girls, out of sight, out of mind, unwanted. Shut away in a boarding school
where their families rarely if ever visited. Katie, Roberta. CeCe and Sophia, four girls with not much in common other than being forced to share a room, become the best of friends. They live in fear, not only of what the future holds, but of the legend of Mary Hand, a story passed down from generations of school residents before them, scribbled about in the margins of text books that have never been replaced. They say Mary is buried on school property, that she haunts the grounds and shows you things, horrible awful things.

Now:
Fiona has never gotten over the loss of her sister. Her murdered body found dumped in the field at the long closed Idlewild Hall. When restorations begin on the property by someone who claims to want to reopen the school, Fiona can't keep away. She is present when a body is unearthed on school property, and her investigative mind leads her to uncover long buried secrets. Not only will she uncover the truth about Mary Hand, but of what truly happened to her sister and the newly unearthed body.

Part murder mystery, part ghost story, this was a suspenseful and intriguing tale, told on 2 time lines which added a wondrous mix of historical fiction into this thrilling read.

Compelling story of female friendship, buried secrets, and the treatment of women who don't fit the mold. I read a lot of thrillers, and this is in my top ten for the past year. Great read. Highly recommended.

What a great story. A suspense written around a ghost, not my favorite genre, but I liked this book. The ghost was an intricate part of the story, not just added on to make it fall into the paranormal genre. The story goes between the past, and the present. In the 50’s Idlewild was operated as a boarding school for troubled girls. One of the girls disappears and is written off as a runaway. Now it is 2014 and journalist Fiona Sheridan finds out someone has bought the old school property and plans to restore it. Her sisters body was found on the property 20 years ago, murdered. She still has questions about the murder.

The transition between past and present is seamless. The story is compelling and will keep you turning pages. You get the feeling there are a lot more secrets hiding below the surface in this little town. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Sent from my iPad

Worthy of a place near the great gothic classics, " The Broken Girls" creates an eerie environment from the first page and then keeps the suspense going until the secret of the haunted school is revealed. In rural Vermont deep in the forest sits the ruin of what used to be an all girls boarding school. Reporter Fiona Sheridan has never gotten over her sister's death and can't believe it when she hears that a wealthy investor has purchased the school and intends to re-open it as a boarding school even after her sister was found dead on the property and another body is found in a well. She is like a starving dog with a bone and will risk her relationship with a local cop (whose family won't accept her for her part in getting the presumed guilty boyfriend sent to jail) and her own safety as she tries to find out the real truth of what happened. The story then flips back to the 1950's as one of a group of friends at the school goes missing and no one seems to care. These girls were broken and haunted both emotionally and physically. From the first pages of a scary walk to the school at night to the heart-pounding conclusion, you will be up all night reading. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

<i>The Broken Girls</i>' Fiona Sheridan is the grown up Nancy Drew you didn't know you needed. Two murders, a decrepit boarding school for delinquent girls and a ghost make this creepy novel just the thing to read with the light on. It's been a long time since I read something that gave me this many goosebumps!

St. James' writing is engaging and atmospheric, and I seriously couldn't put it down. Recommended to those who like to get the creeps and to those who always wanted the ghosts in Nancy Drew to turn out to be real.

I don't believe in ghosts in real life, but I absolutely believed in the ghost of Mary Hand haunting a girls' boarding school, even after it was shut down in 1979. The writing of Broken Girls is wonderful and unique.

The story is told during two diferent periods in history. In 2014, journalist Fiona Sheridan, daughter of a famous journalist, is still looking for more solid information on the murder of her sister twenty years earlier, even though Deb's boyfriend was convicted and has been imprisoned since her body was found in a field at Idlewood Hall in a remote part of Vermont.

In 1950, we get to meet four roommates, girls abanoned because they were born outside of marriage or they're orphans or their parents just didn't know how to deal with the challenges of raising a spirited daughter, especially at a time when we don't have the knowledge about mental health that we do now (and therefore it was shameful to not be sunny and agreeable at all times if you were female). I loved these four fifteen-year-old girls. When one of them goes missing, neither the police nor the teachers do much to investigate. She's a throwaway girl. Her friends, however, know that she was murdered because she'd never run away.

Fiona's search for the truth makes for an intriguing and enjoyable mystery. I really liked this book, which RELEASES MARCH 20, 2018.

Highly recommend!

Wow! By the end of the prologue which took place in 1950, I wanted…no needed to know more about who this unidentified girl being followed was. After reading chapter one I couldn’t wait to figure out how Fiona from 2014 would connect with the girl from 1950. I had never read a book by this author before and will definitely be doing so now. I literally could not put this book down and finished it in one day.

In the beginning I thought it may get a little confusing going between 1950 and 2014 and reading from so many character’s points of view but I was wrong! It was so fantastically written and developed, everything eventually connected and made sense leaving no unanswered questions. I loved the development of the characters, learning about the pasts of all the girls and learning about Fiona from 2014. I could have kept reading more and more about them! I wanted to finish the book to find all the answers but also didn’t want it to end!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a creepy, chilling ghost story that kept me guessing to the end. The entire novel was tightly plotted, and the atmosphere the author created was wonderfully drawn. It was one of the best books I’ve read this year.

An excellent psychological thriller with some paranormal overtones. Well written with exceptional character development. Started a little slow but within the first 50 pages I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

This was a Did Not Finish read for me. I just couldn't seem to connect with the characters or the setting.

Fiona's sister was murdered and left in a field near an abandoned boarding school. When the school begins renovations, her job as a journalist pulls her into a mystery involving a surprising discovery and students from the school in the 50's. In alternating chapters, stories from the point of view of 4 students in 1950 tell about what brought them to the school and of their friendship. I really liked the historical aspect of the story and how it pulled in stories about life in World War II. Also the ghost story of Mary Hand who haunts the property near the school is creepy.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
DECEMBER 20, 2017 ~ LEAVE A COMMENT ~ EDIT
First, what a great author name. Second, she was introduced to me by a fellow Mystery Writer of America member (and instructor at the Cape Cod Writer’s Conference) Dale Phillips. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up her first book, “The Haunting of Maddy Clare”, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Not one for ghost stories, her books take the ghosts and gothic feeling of early England (and now America) and weave it into stories that follow a more tradition mystery. I was hooked!

So how lucky was I when I got a copy of her newest/next book (out March 2018) from Berkley/Net Galley.

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The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

I couldn’t put this one down. In fact, I stayed up way past my bedtime two nights in a row to finish it off! Set in 1950 and 2014 Vermont, the story centers on a “school” for wayward young women (including troublemakers and illegitimate children of rich people) called Idlewild Hall. In 1950, it follows four roommates and their experiences with the ghost of Mary Hand.

In 2014, Fiona Sheridan is looking for answers in her sister’s murder years before. While someone was arrested, she can’t get the circumstances out of her mind. It doesn’t help that she’s dating the former police chief’s son as well. When Idlewild Hall is purchased and considered for restoration, she falls into investigating the mysterious murder of a young woman found on the property, much like her sister was.

Mary Hand’s ghost is ever present, and draws the two time periods together. The climax at the end was twisty enough that I didn’t really see it coming. The book also touches on a young refugee child who was at Ravensbrück Concetration Camp. I admit, I didn’t know much about the history, and the book does a good job in showing the history as part of the story, but also educating the reader at the same time.

These types of “ghost” stories I love. Tinged with mystery, and while the ghosts are ever present, there is usually a more mundane reason for the murder. And it’s almost always at a living breathing person’s hand.

I can’t wait to continue reading more of Simone St. James work

I was very skeptical going in about reading a ghost story. I should not have been concerned because I was clearly in the hands of a master storyteller. St. James weaves the decades together never losing sight of her end game. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

This is the perfect book for lovers of atmospheric ghost stories. Set in a small town in Vermont, Fiona Barton is trying to figure out why someone wants to restore the creepy boarding school where her sister&apos;s body was found 20 years ago. With a great back story and a ghost that gave me chills, this was a fast-paced mystery perfect for a cold day.

The Broken Girls is a fascinating thriller that combines mystery, intrigue, and even a hint of the supernatural. On the whole, this was an enjoyable read, but I had some issues.

The first issue I had was with the two storylines. I liked both separate storylines, but up until about 80% of the way through I still had absolutely no idea how the ghost-aspect of the 1950s storyline would eventually connect to the 2014 storyline. They are eventually brought together, but not in the most satisfying manner.

Second, the ending. It was far too 'clean' for it to really work for me. Everything suddenly came together and just seemed way too far-fetched to be realistic. The story up to that point was a little 'out there' in some areas, but still worked well for the story, but the ending just didn't sit well with me and I ended up rather disappointed.

Despite those two main issues, I did still think that this was a well-written novels. The characters were fleshed out really well and Fiona had many thoughts that seemed to fit her own situation in this story. I have heard great things about St. James' other books, so I do still think I will check out more by her one day.

I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Nicole St. James, Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.
Dual timelines that deal with murder and mystery (and a little bit of ghosts thrown in as well) made this book so good. The story moves between 1950 and the girls sent to the Idlewild Hall and 2014 where a journalist, Fiona Sheridan, is researching the death of her sister Deb. She refuses to let her sister’s murder, as well as the Idlewild girls be forgotten. As Fiona unravels the stories of these forgotten girls, she gradually solves more than one mystery in the process.

The author did really well showcasing the important things during both timelines and also the story of Mary Hand, the ghost that haunts the land of Idlewild. In 2014, Fiona Sheridan is trying to move on from the murder of her sister which happened twenty years ago. Her sister's body was found on the grounds of Idlewild, an abandoned boarding school for girls, and her sister's boyfriend was convicted of the crime. Working as a journalist, she finds out that the Idlewild property had been sold and going to be restored by the new owners. Fiona decides to write a story about the restoration and opens the door to questions of the past: the death of her sister and the death of a girl who attended the boarding school.

The friendship between the girls and Fiona’s love for her sister was portrayed beautifully with suspense and a ghost story added in the mix. A clever, well written book that I would definitely recommend for all mystery, suspense lovers.

Wow, what a mix of supernatural, mystery and suspense. Its two stories in one that develop into one hell of a read. It takes place in a rural area of Vermont where lies the remains of Idlewild Hall, a boarding school for unwanted girls that closed in the 70s. The story takes place now where there is an attempt to rebuild the former school and where Fiona Sheridan’s sister was murder 20 years earlier and also takes place 60 years earlier, where one student disappears and nobody gives a damn, except her three roommates. Add a ghost to be rumored to roam the grounds and secrets that some are willing to do anything to keep them a secret adds to a nice mix of intrigue. Love the book and one should add it to their reading list!

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing this advanced reader copy.

Simone St. James has masterfully created a creepy, uncanny, and atmospheric Gothic ghost story in The Broken Girls.

The broken girls are the ones families reject, or inversely, girls whose behavior or very existence is outside the boundaries of white, middle-upper class social rules and/or family expectations. Mary Hand is the first broken girl. (I won't spoil her story by telling it here. You'll just have to read the book!) Her family home was converted to a boarding school, Idlewild, a place where families send their embarrassing or unwanted girls.

Katie, Sonia, Cece, and Roberta, the broken girls of the 1950s, are friends and roommates at Idlewild. By this time, Mary has become a bit of an urban legend shrouded in speculation and mystery. She haunts the girls, one of whom goes missing. Her disappearance is also shrouded in speculation, and the truth of what happened to their dear friend haunts them throughout their lives.

Deb and Fiona, sisters, are the newest broken girls. Deb's murdered body was found on the closed and abandoned Idlewild campus in the 1990s. Deb's boyfriend is convicted, but the case has always left Fiona unsettled, haunted, and unable to move on with life. Now 2014, Idlewild is being restored. Fiona, a reporter, decides to write a story about its infamous history for which she has a personal attachment, and her research ties the three timelines together.

St. James has masterfully created a creepy, uncanny, and atmospheric Gothic ghost story. The buildings on Idlewild are old and not well maintained. The cold winter chills the body; heavy snow obscures the sight. The girls are othered, unwanted, unimportant, and murdered; they harbor secrets and painful pasts. The teachers, tainted by the mere fact that they work at Idlewild with these girls, are odd and often uncaring and harsh. And Mary uses it all to torment and scare with great effect.

I really liked the atmosphere of this book. It is absolutely creepy, especially during the parts that take place at Idlewild in 1950. Something strange is happening at the school that causes four completely different girls to band together and seeing glimpses of their lives and friendship in such a dismal place was fascinating.

I did enjoy the parts that take place in 2014 as well as Fiona tries to piece together what happened at the school, but these parts lagged sometimes, especially the parts that focused on her romantic relationship. I also didn’t feel as though Fiona was as fleshed out as the four main characters at Idlewild.

One thing I didn’t like was that the story tried to do too many things. There were multiple plots that never really connected and left me wondering what the main point of the story was.
I felt like it tried to wrap everything up too quickly and neatly.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and would definitely recommend for a fall/winter read when you’re in the mood for something atmospheric and creepy and not so focused on the mystery piece of the story.