Holly B / Dressedtoread

#BookReview: The Broken Girls by Simone St.James @simone_stjames @BerkleyPub

35533431My Review…

An eerie ghost story set in Vermont. Two timelines (1950 and 2014) merge to unfold a haunting tale with plenty of spine tingling revelations.

A boarding school for troubled girls in 1950,  conceals secrets that are begging to be told.  The foreboding rhyme of Mary Hand is whispered through the walls.  One of the four bonded roommates disappears and the others are left afraid and worried for their friend.

It’s 2014 and Fiona has questions about her sisters murder, although it has been twenty years.  Her body was found nearby the school and she has  some of her own suspicions.

What is the story behind Idlewild Hall, Mary Hand, and Fiona’s sister?  Is it too late for the truth to be revealed?

I enjoyed this spooky, atmospheric read and the images of Idlewild Hall that the author’s descriptions conjured up.  I wanted to know more about Mary Hand and I was expecting the end to be a bit more electrifying, but still one you won’t want to miss!

A 4 star for me!

Book Description…

 

 

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.

 

 

18 comments

    • I haven’t either and then yesterday I started listening to Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson and it starts out in an old boarding school and then switches to present time! I’m like….again!! But I’m hooked so far!

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