The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

"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..." (goodreads)

By the time I reached the end, The Broken Girls had literally taken my breath away. I love mystery books, and I love to figure them out before the big finale. I actually did figure out most of this novel. But one of the reasons I loved it so much was how insane it was. Some of my theories while reading were literally INSANE, and yet I was still right. I couldn't get enough of this book. The Past characters, I loved all four of them so much. Katie, CeCe, Roberta, and Sonia I love their story, as sad as it was. Fiona grew on me. I was sympathetic to her side of the story, but not as invested. I felt Idlewild had more of a story to tell, but Fiona was not ignored and her story broke through too, throwing herself in the unsolved murder of a student from Idlewild.

The Past and Present angle is always something I really enjoy, it breaks the story up and keeps both sides lingering with clues to follow the overall story. I usually favor one side of the story more which for half of the book was the 1950's side. However after the meeting with Margaret Eden, I was just as self involved in Fiona's 2014 chapters as the past ones.

Margaret Eden was nothing like I imagined her to be but yet everything Anthony Eden said she was. When we finally get to meet the mysterious woman she was actually surprisingly an open book. Meeting Margaret Eden was a major turning point in this book (for Fiona's chapters), I became obsessed with where this book was going.

 The identity of the dead school girl was something that came up earlier in the novel than expected. It did add something to knowing who would die but reading their chapters in the past while still alive. As the timelines began to creep up (arriving closer to her death which we already know about in detail) I was eager to see how we would experience her actual death scene, which we didn't get to experience. This was a little disappointing but since the killer was still unknown I could accept this since we got a general idea of how everything went down once the murder was identified.  

I didn't expect the historical fiction aspect of this novel but it was done amazingly adding something to the story. There are so many elements to this book that keep it so entertaining.

If you read one book this year make it The Broken Girls.
Boarding school for troubled girls, a ghost story, murder mysteries, historical fiction, and conspiracy theories; this book deals with it all.

My Rating: 5/5 Stars