The Broken Girls
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4.4 • 500 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A journalist uncovers the dark secrets of an abandoned boarding school in this chilling suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel.
Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants—the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the ones too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall, and local legend says the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their friendship blossoming—until one of them mysteriously disappears....
Vermont, 2014. Twenty years ago, journalist Fiona Sheridan's elder sister’s body was found in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And although her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of the murder, Fiona can’t stop revisiting the events, unable to shake the feeling 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 renovations links the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past—and a voice that won’t be silenced....
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
St. James (Lost Among the Living) graduates to hardcover with this creepy supernatural thriller set in small-town Vermont. In 2014, journalist Fiona Sheridan's interest in finding out the truth about her sister's murder which occurred 20 years earlier near Idlewild Hall, an abandoned girls' boarding school is revived by the news that the property is being restored by a mysterious out-of-towner. Fiona's boyfriend and the police in his family, however, don't want her digging too deep. Flashback to 1950, when four roommates at Idlewild build deep friendships while dealing with the sinister presence of Mary Hand, a veiled ghost whom generations of students claim haunts the garden where her dead baby is buried. Mary is a pervasive but subtle influence who makes everyone in both eras feel "so horribly afraid." All the characters must also cope with human-produced horrors such as torture and neglect. The two story lines converge on a satisfyingly settled if unhappy ending. Readers will want to see more in this vein from St. James.
Customer Reviews
A bit over detailed
I really loved this book!! It took me a while to get really hooked on it. I’d recommend audio if too many details makes you lose interest. It’s worth making it to the end.
Excellent book!
A good read if you want to be captivated! Such characters coming to life. I felt like I was outside the fence watching it all unfold before me!
Too long
I did not like the lead character. I found her whinny and annoying. The story could have been interesting without the ghost of Mary Hand. I’m not sure what the author was trying to do by adding this element to the story. Totally unnecessary!