Initially I couldn’t seem to get into this book and picked it up and put it down more times than I care to remember never getting past the opening chapters. Then I decided to give it a go again and am I glad I did!! A truly wonderful tale with a ghost story (who doesn’t love a ghost story?) and a hint of mystery.

Fiona is a journalist and for the past twenty years her sister’s murder has weighed heavily on her mind. She was found in the grounds of an old, disused boarding school and Fiona has never given up trying to get answers. When she gets word that the boarding school is to be restored she decides to do a bit of research.

This book goes from telling us Fiona’s story in the present day to the 1950’s when the boarding school was in use, a home for girls whose parents no longer wished to care for them. There’s a rumour of a ghost, Mary Hand, who is rumoured to haunt the gardens.

The story continues with past and present interlinking until it reaches its climax. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Wow, couldn't put this book down! It started a bit slowly but once it got going, it was hugely gripping. I was really intrigued to find out more about the victim and see if Fiona could shed any light on another mystery involving her sister. I can't wait to read more from Simone St James in the future!

I thought this book was brilliant.
I'm not normally a fan of books which go from past to present but I found this really easy to follow and get into.

Not my normal genre and took a while to get into the story,however I’m very glad I persevered because it became a gripping and intriguing storyline. A great read, thoroughly recommended!

1950 - At the crumbling Idlewild Hall school for unwanted girls, four room-mates begin to bond over dark secrets and whispered fears - until one of them mysteriously disappears . . .

2014 - Journalist Fiona Sheridan can't get over the murder of her sister twenty years ago, near the ruins of Idlewild. And when another body is found during renovations of the school, she begins to uncover horrors that were meant to remain hidden - and a voice that won't be silenced.

A solid story set in an eerie old school, which many times is extremely atmospheric and so spooky you can actually feel the uneasiness eminating from the page.
The different timelines are well written and not confusing in the least, you always know what’s going on in regards to the past and present and it blends well, within each year.

The characters were nicely described and likeable, I especially liked the 1950 girls as they were so full of attitude and strength despite the harrowing ordeals they suffered.

All in all, a spooky story, with a decent pace and an interesting plot, well worth a read.

5 Stars.

Thank You to NetGalley, the publisher and Simone St. James for letting me read a copy of this spine tingling book.

"Oh My God!!!"I think it is going to take me a while to get over this book. I like ghost stories and don't normally get effected by them, this one was different. I was hooked from early on in the story which I liked as I felt like I wasn't waisting valuable time.

While I was reading this I found myself on the edge of my seat and wanting to hide in the dark plus lock the book away, it was that frightening at times. I loved the fact that it was so frightening as it made me want to carry on even though I was scared. I am so glad that I carried on and finished the book as I was not expecting that outcome.

Well done Simone St. James for producing such a fantastic spine tingling book. You have gained another fan through me and I look forward to reading another book in the future. I really dont think that you can make a book scarier than the one I've jusr finished reading.

I reccomend this book if you want a really good fright.

I don’t tend to read ghost stories but this one had me spell bound from the beginning.

Told in 2 timelines. Set in 1950 there is a boarding school for girls who are not wanted and it’s called Idlewell Hall. A group of girls become friends which will last a lifetime. When one of them goes missing they won’t give up trying to find her unlike the school and police who think she ran away, but her friends think someone has killed her. But why?

The present time 2014 Fiona is still finding it hard to come to terms that her sister was killed and her body left in the abandoned Idlewell Hall. Someone has now bought the old hall and wants to turn it back into a boarding school, but a shocking discovery in the grounds might put a stop to these plans.

Loved how the 2 timelines run parallel to each other, then join seamlessly like a giant jigsaw puzzle!!

A must read book that embraces friendship, full of mystery and has plenty of twists to keep you gripped. The ghost element is believable and very creepy!!

I loved this book and will definitely be watching out for this authors next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy on exchange for a review.

To be honest, this book is not my usual genre, but I am so glad I read it. WOW, It has mystery, supernatural elements. It is amazingly well-written and not to be missed. Not for the faint-hearted. It is entertaining which is what a book should be about. Recommended Five Stars.

I've not read a book like this before but it turns out that this is my favourite kind of book ever and I need more. The Broken Girls has got to be one of my favourite reads this year.

I loved everything about it. The characters, the plot, the eerie-ness and especially the spooky paranormal ghost story. I didn't expect any of it, I went into this book not knowing what it was about and I loved being surprised by everything that happened.

I love a good mystery, working out 'whodunnit' and being completely thrown off at the last second but there was no way on this earth was I expecting that ending. You can't even think you've got it worked out because it's written so well, that even when you feel like you're expecting something, it's not what you think at all. It's not like any other book I've read before, it's not predictable in the slightest. It's so different and I think that's what made it so perfect.

It's perfectly balanced too, you're given so much throughout the book that you're not left bored or waiting. Something is constantly happening to pull you in. There's secrets constantly being revealed, characters throwing you off course and the separate mystery of Mary Hand is just so addictive. I would have read it just to find out the truth behind that to be completely honest. It was a creepy ending but it finished the book perfectly and I was more than satisfied with how everything came together.
I just loved it and I would recommend it ten times over.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my ARC copy in return for an honest review.

This book was an intriguing read with the slant on a ghost doing the killing at Idlewind and local vicinity. Idlewild, an old girl's school that was about to redeveloped by a mystery owner that doesn't appear to have any links to the area. It had been left to deteriorate after the school closed many years. Fiona's elder sister had been killed close to the ruins and started to look into the details after deciding to write a journalistic piece covering a disappearance of a girl many, many years ago. Little did she know what a can of worms she was opening.

The book was well written with a lot of detail.. It went between the past and the present but at least told you where you were when this happened, The writing of the ghost part was good too and was chilling, a good mix of mystery and ghost story and intriguing conclusion,

Fiona Sheridan's sister was murdered 20 years ago and although the murderer is in prison, journalist Fiona can't shake the feeling there was more to what happened. Her sister's body was left on the grounds of Idlewild, a derelict estate which used to be a girls' school in the 1950s. Back in the 1950s, we meet Katie, CeCe, Roberta, and Sonia as they struggle with being sent away to a boarding school for troubled girls and the alleged haunting of the school by a ghostly figure.

I absolutely loved reading this book. It was a pitch perfect mix of suspense/thriller with paranormal overtones. Viewpoints alternated between present day and 1950s and although this can sometimes slow down a story, it worked really well here. I thought the main characters were easy to identify with, and although I did work out 90% of what happened, there were still a couple of surprises at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Headline, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

Where to start...I absolutely loved this book, the characters and storylines. Just brilliant.

The story is set in 1950s and the present day (2014) and is seriously good. Idelwild Hall is a school for unruly girls, those their families can't control, runaways, orphans and difficult girls. Four roommates become friends and when one of them goes missing they don't and can't believe she's run away like the police and school think.

The story then jumps to the present day and plucky journo Fiona Sheridan. Her dad is a famous journalist so she's got a lot to live up to. Twenty years ago her sister was murdered and her boyfriend is now serving life. Fiona just can't leave it alone, it's always in her mind and especially as she thinks it's not all it seems.

She finds out the hall is being restored by a mystery buyer and decides to write a story about it. Her cop boyfriend feels she's clutching at straws. His dad was Chief and presided over her sister's case and he feels she should leave it alone.

The story jumps back into the past and we learn more about the girls and their life at school. We also discover the Hall is haunted by the ghost of Mary Hand who lost her baby. The girls write facts and fiction in the lines of the textbooks for future girls to find.... On no account have you to let Mary in....

It's such an atmospheric book and you almost feel that you are there and experiencing it all both in the past and present day. There are some great twists and moments which left me breathless... Can't recommend it highly enough.

Crime with a hint of supernatural? Yes please! I loved that there was a supernatural element to this book because the main focus was the crime, but it was also slightly creepy! Another thing I loved about this book was the chapters set in the past. I love a story that gives you a chance to read about what really happened and gives you an insight into the past. In this book you read about 4 school girls, and I love that there were separate chapters about all of them because you learn about them all individually and you can see things from their perspective. I also love that each girl is so different and individual - they’re all such different characters! They were also described so well that you could picture what they looked like. I didn’t find any of the characters in this one annoying and I loved reading about all of them. The surprise at the end was so amazing - I actually gasped out loud! Of all of the things that I was expecting to happen, that definitely wasn’t one of them but I loved it! I’ve never read a book by Simone St. James but I’m definitely glad that I read this one and would love to read more! The only reason I rated this one 4 stars is because it took me a little while to get hooked. I was interested from the start and wanted to keep reading, but I wasn’t fully hooked and engrossed. Other than that this book is almost flawless!

Idle wild Hall is a place where some girls were sent, the troublemakers, the illegitimate and the too smart for there own good. It's rumoured on the town where the boarding school is located, that it's haunted. In 2014, a journalist called Fiona Sherridan, is looking for more information on the murder of her sister twenty years ago, even though her boyfriend had been convicted for it. In 1950, we are introduced to four roommates who were just fifteen at the time when one of them went missing. And then there's Mary Hand....

This is a creepy atmospheric book. The story has a dual timeline which worked well for this story. This well written ghost story is just spooky enough as I hate when they are overdon as it makes it less believable. The story is narrated by multiple characters. A book where young disturbed girls are looking to be loved and find with their roommates and a woman who is obessed in finding out more about her sisters death.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Headline and the author Simone St. James for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so much more than a ghost story. This is a fascinating tale over two time periods (1950 and 2014) encompassing many strands: the relationship between four girls at boarding school and what led to them being there, the relationship between Fiona and her partner and how the local community felt about it It was well written and drew me in from the start. I am not into ghost stories but I was drawn in with this book and found myself believing in this one - a testament to Simone St James's writing.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Simone St. James/Headline for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

A wonderful, engrossing murder mystery with an eerie but also touching ghost story. A very enjoyable and atmospheric read.

It’s 2014 and Fiona Sheridan is still reeling from the murder of her sister twenty years earlier. Found dumped in the grounds of Idlewild, she is drawn to the old school now in ruins time and time again. News comes to her that Idlewild is being renovated and reopened as a girls boarding school, much to Fiona’s horror. Unable to stay away, Fiona covers the story for a local magazine and is at Idlewild when a body is discovered…..

Told from the present in 2014 as well as the past in 1950, The Broken Girls sends Fiona on a journey of discovery into the past. In doing so she not only uncovers long buried secrets from the 50’s, but also a few more from a more recent past. Secrets about what really happened to her sister 20 years ago.

I loved The Broken Girls. St. James did an amazing job of winding the past into the present and making what happened then relevant to now. Although a novel that jumps between timelines in this manner wouldn’t be my usual choice of story, I could not put this one down. Dark and captivating with a little touch of the supernatural. The Broken Girls unfurls slowing, drawing you in and keeping you turning page after page.

The Broken Girls is a thoroughly entertaining read with a little bit of everything - a couple of murders, a ghost, a historical mystery, the boarding school from Hell, a touch of Girl Power and lots of twists and turns. It is creepy without being cheesy and maintains a good level of suspense throughout. The two time lines come together really nicely and the ending is pretty much perfect. In all, a really satisfying read.

I love books that take place in boarding schools. It's always creepy, interesting and puts a lot of tension to find the criminal. I loved this book too, that I couldn't turn the pages faster.

A girl was found dead outside Idlewild Hall, the boarding school. The protagonist, Fiona is the victim's sister and trying to find the killer. meanwhile, there are secrets on the school in the past. I loved the plot. It was a thrilling mystery. Narration was told in a way we go back and forth between the past and present.
It also ended well, without plot holes, which is always a delight in crime books.

Thanks a lot to Netgalley and the publisher for a free access, in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was a very good mystery. I love the books that takes place in boarding schools and this wasn't a disappointment.

It goes between back and forth. Our main character Fiona is after her sister's killer, as her sister was found outside Idlewild Hall, the boarding school. She is going to discover a lot about the school past, and I really enjoyed reading past and present and In my opinion it was wrapped up beautifully in the end.