The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
- Publish Date: March 20, 2018
- Publisher: Berkley Books
- # of Pages: 330
- Genre: Fiction, Ghost story, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
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, 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 her 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 in a shocking discovery during 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...
Hello, hello! I am back from my vacation to my hometown of Seattle for my "summer break" and I read a couple goodies during that time that I'm happy to bring to you! The first being, The Broken Girls by Simone St. James.
I am a big fan of Simone St. James having read all of her previous novels, and was happy to be able to snag her newest release through the BookOfTheMonth.com monthly subscription service (which in case you guys don't know about them, you can get a BRAND NEW release every month at a discounted price of $14.99) and it has been sitting all sad and alone on my shelf for the past few months. But, I decided to bring it along with me for my flight across the states to keep me company, and boy did it help pass the time!
Simone St. James is a wonderful writer who writes unique stories that I feel, personally, get overlooked considering how bookstores lump together genres. Sometimes it's hard to find the psychological thrillers or the paranormal suspense as they mix together with literally EVERY OTHER fiction subgenre to include historical fiction, contemporary romance, horror etc.
But Simone St James specializes in the paranormal mystery, with almost every book focusing on a wayward spirit of some kind that causes events or situations to happen within the lives of the living characters. It's a big draw as to why I even started to read her material in the first place, mixing together all of the things that I love in one novel: we got romance, we have some historical fiction, we have paranormal suspense, thriller, psychological twists and turns and just overall, FUN STUFF.
St. James has wormed her way into my top authors that I make a point of following and eagerly purchasing whatever comes next. Her most recent novel, Lost Among The Living was really lovely and followed along to her formula, but it's surprising to note that I feel this novel strays from that. You can tell it's a point in the authors' life and writing career that is setting her work up to meet a different audience or at least attract them in a different way.
In her previous books, Simone generally stuck to the historical fiction aspect, placing the entirety of the storyline within a time period, whereas with this newest release she has two time period storylines working alongside and against each other. But it isn't only the design of the story that seems to be exploring new ground, but the cover design of the book as well. This book has a gloriously modern cover that definitely screams mystery. This is completely new as her previous books boasted (in my opinion, beautiful) covers that lent themselves to the historical fiction genre with a woman in period dress in a vague landscape. So, for anyone who would probably overlook her older novels, would feel more inclined to reach out for this one.
St. James has wormed her way into my top authors that I make a point of following and eagerly purchasing whatever comes next. Her most recent novel, Lost Among The Living was really lovely and followed along to her formula, but it's surprising to note that I feel this novel strays from that. You can tell it's a point in the authors' life and writing career that is setting her work up to meet a different audience or at least attract them in a different way.
In her previous books, Simone generally stuck to the historical fiction aspect, placing the entirety of the storyline within a time period, whereas with this newest release she has two time period storylines working alongside and against each other. But it isn't only the design of the story that seems to be exploring new ground, but the cover design of the book as well. This book has a gloriously modern cover that definitely screams mystery. This is completely new as her previous books boasted (in my opinion, beautiful) covers that lent themselves to the historical fiction genre with a woman in period dress in a vague landscape. So, for anyone who would probably overlook her older novels, would feel more inclined to reach out for this one.
Alright, let's get into the review of the story! Simone did a wonderful job of building up the setting of this story, as everything is directly connected to where the events are happening. As we take on Fiona's perspective in the present storyline, as a journalist she takes notice of the tiny details and we as the reader get to take in her vision of a place that in itself is a major character of the book. You see, the story sets off with Fiona wanting to do a story for the magazine she works for on the new announcement that Idlewild Hall is being renovated to become a boarding school once again. Knowing she always felt off about her own sister's murder on the grounds, she wants to find out who this mysterious benefactor is and also try to see if there is anything that she could find out for herself to bring closure to her past.
That being said, she is able to secure a personal tour of Idlewild Hall by the son of the woman who purchased the school and is behind the renovations. During the tour, she observes the construction crew as they discover something tragic at the bottom of the well on the school grounds...a body of a teenage girl, and it looks to have been in there for years. WOW, who do you think it is my friends!? it's the body of the girl that went missing from the group of four friends that we learn about during the past storyline! WOO! CONSPIRACY!
As mentioned, the story follows multiple perspectives and jumps back and forth between time periods, giving you multiple plots and storylines which work together to intertwine to a shocking end. In the past we follow the four girls and are provided contexts for each of their scenarios, being able to see inside their heads and understand them individually. Being able to know each character on a deeper and more personal level gives the reader the opportunity to not only understand why things are the way they are during their time at the school, but also showcases the school of Idlewild Hall and just what kind of establishment it is as far as the students and staff. Through these flashbacks, we learn who the girl is, always left wondering as we push back to the present, what exactly happened?
All the while we have this ghost that is hanging out and we are left to discern, well is she really there? And not only that but why is she there and what does she hope to gain?
Overall I really enjoyed this book and was able to bust it out on the flights home and happily consumed it. My initial rating was 4/5....but to be completely honest, I'm going to bump it down to 3/5, and here's why:
I read this book (at this point) over two weeks ago, and I don't have any lingering feelings over the story. I read it, I enjoyed it, and that's it...it's not a book that I will be toting along with me again or possibly ever reaching for a second time. This is pretty sad to me as I enjoyed her other books so much and want to take the time to re-read them, but this may not be incorporated in that re-read marathon.
So my biggest thing is this...If I were to recommend this, I feel obligated to mention that in this story, the ghost isn't the central storyline, and although the ghost affects the characters and causes them to respond, it doesn't ultimately reflect on the overall overarching story. Which, for certain readers, may be good or bad depending on what you are expecting to come out of this story. As for myself, this was the case, and throughout the entirety of the book, I wanted to know more and more about the ghost and its story rather than what was actually happening.
In the end, the resolution to the ghost and what we learn about her was so lacking in detail and any real substance that I felt cheated, as though the ghost was simply a gimmick dangled in front of you to get you interested but then never really delivers. I've never had this feeling after reading her other novels but it was so apparent to me whilst reading this that it definitely dragged down my motivation and overall mood as I finished it off.
Again, this isn't to say that it's a bad story, on the contrary, it's an interesting and well thought out crime/psych/mystery thriller with a flair of the paranormal...whereas I was expecting the paranormal to be more present and at the forefront of the story.
So to finish this long ass post, it's a good book, but missed the mark for me! I wanted more ghostiness and crazy paranormal hoohah! So maybe next time...
I read this book (at this point) over two weeks ago, and I don't have any lingering feelings over the story. I read it, I enjoyed it, and that's it...it's not a book that I will be toting along with me again or possibly ever reaching for a second time. This is pretty sad to me as I enjoyed her other books so much and want to take the time to re-read them, but this may not be incorporated in that re-read marathon.
So my biggest thing is this...If I were to recommend this, I feel obligated to mention that in this story, the ghost isn't the central storyline, and although the ghost affects the characters and causes them to respond, it doesn't ultimately reflect on the overall overarching story. Which, for certain readers, may be good or bad depending on what you are expecting to come out of this story. As for myself, this was the case, and throughout the entirety of the book, I wanted to know more and more about the ghost and its story rather than what was actually happening.
In the end, the resolution to the ghost and what we learn about her was so lacking in detail and any real substance that I felt cheated, as though the ghost was simply a gimmick dangled in front of you to get you interested but then never really delivers. I've never had this feeling after reading her other novels but it was so apparent to me whilst reading this that it definitely dragged down my motivation and overall mood as I finished it off.
Again, this isn't to say that it's a bad story, on the contrary, it's an interesting and well thought out crime/psych/mystery thriller with a flair of the paranormal...whereas I was expecting the paranormal to be more present and at the forefront of the story.
So to finish this long ass post, it's a good book, but missed the mark for me! I wanted more ghostiness and crazy paranormal hoohah! So maybe next time...
Until then my buddies!
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