I expected the normal run of the mill dual timeline story, but I did not expect to be so drawn in and quite frankly spooked. Really enjoyed this one and the tension held me all through the book. I shall definitely pick something up by her again, the mix of "Is it a ghost or not", "who can be trusted", "what did really happen" kept me reading - next time though I shall be reading it in daylight rather than at night, had to cuddle the cat several times to calm down.

A beautifully written cold case mystery which is so cleverly crafted you don’t even realise when you are slipping from past to present.

Fiona the main character is a journalist, the most important event in her life was when she lost her older sister. Her sister was murdered on the grounds of a local school called Idlewild Hall, which is abandoned and reputedly haunted.

When a new owner comes in to restore and reopen Idlewild Hall as a boarding school. Fiona decides to investigate the new owner and stumbles across a body and hidden secrets from 60 years in the past when it still was a school for 'difficult/ inconvenient' girls.

We slip from Fiona's present to the near past when her sister was murdered, and further back in time to four particular girls' stay at school.

This was an intriguing read with twists and turns you never see coming.

I found I could not put the novel down and kept thinking about it when I had to. A highly recommended read.

I was given the novel free by netgalley.com for my fair and honest review.

Just when you think you've read it all something like this novel comes along. As a first time reader of this author, I went in expecting a standard whodunit but was pleasantly surprised by how it unravelled.

There are many mysteries in the story. In 1950's Vermont Idlewild Hall takes in wayward girls....wayward meaning no one quite knows what to do them, they can be illegitimate or traumatised. A group of girls take refuge in their friendship, but then one vanishes but no one appears to care. In 2014 Fiona Sheridan obsesses over the details of her sister's murder twenty years before. She knows that someone was tried and convicted but her journalistic and sisterly instincts tell her otherwise. Her sister was found on the grounds of the hall so the news that the school is about to be renovated and reopened shocks her. Using her access as a journalist she decided to write about the renovations but a shocking discovery changes everything.

As thrillers go this is quite slow but never boring. If I had to draw a comparison I'd say this reminded me in both style and subject of one of my very favourite writers Sarah Rayne. It's dark, mysterious and a wee bit spooky in places. Well worth picking up on a cold dark night.

This is a first for me by this author... and oh my goodness what a dark and chilling story it was... a well written gripping novel!!

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.

I was unable to put it down once I started... I loved the plot, the characters and the supernatural aspect... just fantastic!!!

I'll be keeping my eye out for more by this author in the future.

Thank-You Netgalley for my ARC.

I was a little unsure about this book to begin with - but I'm so glad I stuck with it, as it was absolutely fantastic. The more I read, the more I loved it and the ending I felt was absolutely brilliant. I would normally avoid books with a supernatural element but I felt that it worked really well in this story. Yes, this is definitely one I would recommend.

I found this book to be interesting and enjoyable. Definitely recommended.to those who enjoy reading detective stories with a spooky influence.

If you are looking for a spooky ghost story with a murder mystery as well, than this is definitely the book for you.

The story is told over two timelines, the 1950s, when Idelwild was a working boarding school for girls, and 2014, where Fiona is a journalist that is still suspicious about her sisters death and the culprit who has been found guilty of her murder. Over the two timelines we find out what really happened and why everyone seems to hate Idelwild.

There are secrets galore surrounding Idelwild that slowly are discovered throughout the book. This is a ghost story with a difference, as there is also a murder mystery storyline, so even if you are not keen on ghost stories I think this book will still keep you gripped and wanting to find out the truth.

Thank you to Headline and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

In vermont in the 1950`s a girls boarding school, Idlewild Hall is the place to send illegitimate daughters and troublesome girls.
Here the girls lead a bleak and miserable existence cut off from the outside world. One such group of four who share a bedroom become firm friends and when one of them, Sonia disappears it seems noone but them are concerned.
Sonia is never found.
Fast forward to 2014 Idlewild Hall now a ruin is to be renovated. A local girl Fiona Sheridan , a journalist determines to write a story about the hall which has had a terrible connection to herself and family.
Twenty years ago the body of Fiona`s elder sister was discovered in the grounds of Idlewild Hall and though her boyfriend was convicted of her murder Fiona has always felt a nagging suspicion that there was much more to know about her sisters death.
Fiona`s research reveals the tragic backstories of the group of four friends, the traumas they had survived. Disturbing happenings at the school lead to the belief it is haunted, when Sonia disappears the remaining three friends contrive a plan to get away before anything happens to them.
She also exposes police corruption and more crimes that have gone hidden, ultimately putting herself in danger.
A gripping read, twists aplenty with a tense creepy atmosphere. I loved it and couldn`t put it down. Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for the chance to read this as an ARC.

An amazing book set around Idlewild Hall a derelict boarding school.

The story is told from two time frames.

In 1950 Idlewild Hall is a boarding school for girls who are unwanted, troubled, an embarrassment to their families. We read about four room mates who bond over the circumstances that led them to be in Idlewild until one of them goes missing.

In 2014 Idlewild is derelict when it is bought for regeneration. Fiona a local journalist has an interest as her sister was found murdered on Idlewilds grounds 20 years previously.

Idlewild was and is still haunted by a woman known as Mary Hand, I was unsure about this aspect of the book before reading because of the ghost, I don't read ghost stories as a rule and I wanted this to be more.

It was. I absolutely loved it. The author told the story beautifully while keeping the thrilling and spooky atmosphere. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of an amazing book in return for an honest review.

This was a creepy, chilling, but great, thrill ride of a story. Truly suspenseful, and sad in palces, this will have you needing to know what has been happening at Idlewild Hall!!!

1950-Idlewild Hall School is a school for unwanted girls. Four roommates who are very different from each other bond over their dark secrets until one of them disappears. The police think she just ran away but her friends insist she wouldn't do that and that something really bad has happened to her, the police don't believe them.
2014-Fiona is a journalist who is still struggling to get over her sisters murder, she knows someone knows more than they're letting on. So she digs and finds herself in danger. Then they find a body at Idlewild Hall, could this be the missing girl who dissapeared all those years ago...?

I thoroughly enjoyed this, going back and forward in time with different stories was very easy, I'd recommend this book whole heartedly, loved the way they came together

What a book!!!

Dark and disturbing, it takes you on a journey via murder and a boarding school for 'abandoned girls'.

I adored the solidarity of the women in this book and devoured their desperation to discover the truth.

A BRILLIANT book.

An intriguing story that moves between the past and present with ease, to reveal small town secrets, supernatural things that go bump in the night and the sad lives of the girls who board at Idlewild Hall, the school which is essentially a dumping ground for inconvenient teenagers.

Holding this tangled web together is the core of the story; Fiona Sheridan, a local reporter, is writing about the regeneration of the now derelict Idlewild Hall. The place where her sister was found murdered 20 years earlier, and where a young girl went missing from over 50 years earlier. She is determined to get to the bottom of who the mysterious benefactor is who has organised the regeneration, and satisfy her own questions about the death of her sister.

More than a very creepy thriller, the book also demonstrates the strength of human resilience and the rallying power of female friendship. The pace is good and there was enough intrigue to keep me guessing right up until the final pages what had really happened at the school over the years.

My thanks go to the publishers and net galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This was a creepy ghost story with a murder to solve.

Mary was a disturbing apparition at an old boarding school, whom legend told you 'not to let her catch you'.

There were two concurrently running stores from the 1950's and the 2010's.

The story was good. You wanted to turn the pages to carry on with the mystery. It was a bit spooky, so perhaps best not read before bed for some.

I liked Jamie, how sweet was he? :) the writing was good.

Overall a good read.

Wow. A spooky & thrilling read...lost sleep because I had to keep going with this book. Would highly recommend.

OH MY…. Where do I even begin with this, its taken me a few days to start this review because I’m that flabbergasted and still thinking about it and all the while wondering what would Mary Hand show me!!! That’s been playing on my mind since!!

Set in a rural smalltown in America, this story is told in two timelines, one in 1950 and the disappearance of a 15 year old girl and the second in 2014 where journalist Fiona Sheridan is covering a story about an abandoned boarding school, Idlewild which is about to be given a new lease of life and also the scene of where her sister Debbie was found murdered and raped 20 years previous.

In 1950, Idlewild Hall is a boarding school for troubled girls, girls whose families found difficult to deal with, the ones who caused troubles, the ones who were illegitimate, the ones who had no family left, the ones who were going through a traumatic event. Among them, four girls, roommates, and best friends, Katie, CeCe, Roberta, and Sonia. As each is going through their own personal problems, they also have to deal with Mary Hand, the ghost who haunts Idlewild Hall’s gardens and who reveals each girl’s worst fear.

“Mary Hand, Mary Hand, dead and buried under land…
Faster, faster. Don’t let her catch you.
She’ll say she wants to be your friend…
Do not let her in again!”

Whilst meeting with Idlewild’s owner, Anthony Eden for a tour of the grounds, the builders happen upon a discovery out in the old well while digging, the skeletal body of a young girl. Fiona is keen to get to the truth of what happened and to identify the girl in the well whilst also wondering if her sister’s boyfriend did actually murder her sister given that he has always claimed innocence.

Hold onto your hats cos you’re in for a wild ride, full of twists and turns, mystery, crime and a bit of ghostly antics, this is one book you won’t forget in a hurry!

I would like to thank the author Simone St James, Headline Wildfire and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

Where to start with this review...Wow. Part thriller, part murder mystery and part ghost story, this book is so good, I stayed up half the night to finish it.

The Broken Girls is set in a dual timeline - the story of the disappearance of a 15 year old school girl in 1950 and the murder of a young woman in 1994, both taking place in or around the grounds of the boarding school known as Idlewild. Idlewild was a school for wayward, troublesome, unwanted or just plain unloved girls. The school closed down in 1979 and the premises and surrounds left abandoned. That is to change in 2014 as the property has been sold and is due for renovation.

We meet Fiona in 2014, sister of murdered Deb in 1994, who undertakes to do a story on the renovation of Idlewild and sets out to meet the new owner of the property. Delving deep into the past of Idlewild, not only does Fiona unearth secrets meant to stay buried forever, she comes upon the story of Mary Hand, a ghostly apparition that has been terrorizing the pupils of Idlewild for decades.

In 1950, we meet four school girl roommates at Idlewild, Sonia, Katie, CeCe and Roberta, all close friends and each boarding in Idlewild for various reasons. The legend of the ghost of Mary Hand is rampant in the Idlewild School of 1950 and the girls are terrified of Mary Hand. The stories that abound about whether she was a real person and whether there really is a ghost, all gives rise to tangible fear amongst them. When one of the four girls go missing, the fear is palpable as they try to uncover what happened to her, and so the mystery deepens.

"Mary Hand, Mary Hand, dead and buried under land.
She’ll say she wants to be your friend.
Do not let her in again!"

This book a fantastic read, it is chilling, spooky, atmospheric and a good murder mystery with elements of historical fact and fiction thrown in. The characters are all extremely likeable and cleverly drawn out. I got a real sense of what life is like in smalltown rural America, both in the mid-20th century and today. A superb easy reading thriller with something for everyone. I loved it.

This novel is set around a school, Idlewild, where a series of sinister and ghostly events have occurred. The narrative shifts between 1950 and the present. In 1950, we meet 4 roommates at the school, all there because they aren't wanted at home or don't have a family. In the modern day, the school is abandoned and the site where the main character's murdered sister was found. When the school is bought for renovation, secrets long hidden start to come to the surface.

I thought this was a clever novel, shifting between the time periods but drawing out the connections. I wasn't sure about the ghostly element before I started reading, but actually this made the novel more tense and added a twist to the tale. The characters in the modern period were especially well drawn, although I did struggle more to engage with the girls in the 1950 sections. I also loved the atmospheric descriptions of the school which added to the sense of foreboding and unease.

Although I wasn't totally convinced by the final denouement, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery novel. It's engaging, tense and quite creepy and will keep you reading long into the night.

This is spooky and addictive. It keeps you guessing and it’ll keep you awake as very atmospheric and weirdly believable.
It’s set now and in 1950 which gives it a page turner effect.
I usually shy from spooky but I loved this.
I’d love read more by this author. Fabulous book!