The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

This book has been sitting on my shelf for a few months now, despite my want to read it, I got sucked into my Stephen King books. But I feel like The Broken Girls was the perfect book for this time of the year, with the perfect mix of mystery, suspense, and ghosts.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

In 1950 Burrows, Vermont, there is an all girls boarding school for troubled girls, Idlewild Hall. It is here that Katie, Roberta, CeCe, and Sonia become friends. They bond over their wrongdoings by family that led them to Idlewild, and their run-ins with the schools ghost, Mary Hand, who somehow knows everyone's deepest, darkest secrets. Their friendship makes this horrible place a little bit easier, but when Sonia goes missing and no one looks for her, the girls are determined to whatever they can to find justice for their friend.

In 2014 Burrows, Vermont, Fiona Sheridan is having a hard time coping with the death of her sister, even though it has been 20 years and the killer is behind bars. These feelings become stronger when Idlewild Hall, the place her sister had been found dead, has been sold and the new owners want to re-open it as a girls school again. To help her work through these feelings, she decides to write a piece on the school and property. While on a tour of the grounds, a body is found; a body that is at least 60 years old. As Fiona dives more into the life of the girls body found, and the lives of the other girls who were at the school, she is determined to find out what happened to this girl. What she did not expect was that by searching into a cold case, she would discover facts about her sisters murder that were covered up. What she also did not expect was that this could cause her not only her relationship with her boyfriend, but her life.

(Source: Giphy)

This book has a lot going on but in all the right ways. You have the stories of the girls from 1950 to follow. You learn why each one of them was placed at Idlewild, and all of the reasons are extremely frustrating, but when you think of the time frame, understanding. Aside from Sonia's story, which is pivotal to the plot, I found Katie's story the most upsetting. She was raped by a neighborhood boy, and so her parents sent her away. She did not even get pregnant, just the rape itself was enough disgrace on the family name to send her away. Given the current political climate and all of the sexual assault stories coming forward, it makes me sad at how little has changed in the world.

Sonia is a survivor of the Ravensbrook concentration camp, however, she lost both of her parents. When the camp was liberated, she was sent to America to live with her elderly great aunt and uncle who cannot physically take care of a child, and so she is sent off to Idlewild. Sonia is careful not to mention her time in a camp, because even though she is not Jewish, it is assumed of everyone who was in a camp, and she would be treated like a second class citizen. Her friends are the only ones that do not care about this detail of her past, they just want to help her survive her PTSD.

(Source: Giphy)

Then you have present day Burrows, Vermont and the story of Fiona. Although there aren't any flashbacks to 1994 when her sister was murdered, there are a lot of instances of Fiona thinking back to that time and what it was like in the days and weeks following the murder, and an article from the time. So you really have to keep your details straight on the case of her sisters murder. You also have her boyfriend, Jamie, who is a police officer, and their weird relationship that they keep hidden because apparently journalists and the police are mortal enemies (?) even though they have been together for a year. This creates an awkward dynamic between her and his parents, which has the makings of a very awkward dinner scene.

"'What do you know about it?' he asked softly, and suddenly she knew, in a perfect premonition, that he was about to hurt her. That he was about to hurt her hard. 'Tim Christopher was a good man, too, before his life was ruined.'

For a second, she had no words at all. 'What did you just say?' she managed.

'I've always wondered, Garrett said. 'A witness who saw them arguing, and a drop of blood on his leg? That's circumstantial evidence.' He shrugged, but the look he gave Fiona was deep and sharp. 'Maybe he was railroaded. Don't you ever wonder?'

'Stop it.' The words came out like someone else's voice. 'Just stop.'

'I'm not the only one,' Garrett said. 'Because you can't leave it alone.'

There was the snap of the dishwasher closing in the kitchen, the rush of water. Diane laughed at something Jamie said.

'It's been twenty years,' Garrett said softly. 'You think Jamie doesn't tell me?'

Fiona felt her dinner turn in her stomach, a rush of acid up her throat.

'Wandering around on Old Barrons Road,' Garret said. 'Climbing the Idlewild fence. Deep down, you wonder about it just the same as I do. You're a mess, sweetheart.' (p. 174)

If someone told me that my sisters killer was innocent, I would have a much more physical reaction than just saying "Stop it." While this disagreement pushes Jamie and Fiona farther apart, it makes her work harder at finding Sonia's murderer.

(Source: Giphy)

You also have to consider the person who has bought Idlewild, Margaret Eden. I found her to be one of the most interesting characters because I could not pin how she was attached to Idlewild. None of the girls mentioned were named Margaret or Maggie or Marge or any other form of Margret. 

The last bit that you have to keep in mind is the ghost of Mary Hand. Every character has a run-in with her at one point. What makes her more terrifying is that no one really knows her story or why she haunts the school grounds. There are rumors that she was locked out and froze to death, rumors she had a baby and it is buried in the garden, that she wanders around the field in a black dress and veil, that she will knock on the windows begging to be let it. But no matter what, do not let her in. They never say what happens if she is let in, but I am not going to be the one to push my luck and let her in.

(Source: Giphy)

What I really enjoyed about this book was how Simone St. James combines historical accuracy with a murder mystery with a suspenseful thrill and just a pinch of ghost story and makes a brilliant book that actually works and is mesmerizing. This is definitely an autumn book to get you in the spooky mood.

Rating: 8/10

Author: Simone St. James

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Thriller

Dates Read: September 13-18, 2018