I picked up this book mostly because I had a suspicion I would be caught in a very, very bad traffic jam and I wanted something to kill the time (I was right but I didn’t have as much opportunity to read). What I didn’t expect was that this book would be captivating and so hard to put down once I started reading.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James is a dual-narrative story. In the present, Fiona Sheridan is shocked when Idlewild Hall, the place where her sister’s body was found, is supposed to be developed. She uses a newspaper story on the Hall as a reason to get access to the place, but things take a turn for the worse when another body is found on the grounds. In the past, Katie, CeCe, Roberta, and Sonia are roommates at Idlewild Hall, the school for unwanted girls. We follow their lives and learn about their fear of Mary Hand, the ghost that haunts Idlewild Hall.

It’s quite normal, in the case of dual-timeline stories, for one timeline to dominate. In this case, however, I found that the two timelines fit together seamlessly and I loved how they balanced each other out. While the story of the girls’ wasn’t immediately relevant to Fiona, as the reader, I grew invested in their lives and quickly started to see connections between the two stories. At the same time, Fiona’s hunt for the truth behind her sister’s death – if the right man was convicted – was a mystery that left me turning the pages to find out more.

In terms of character, I think St. James hit all the right notes. I sympathised with Fiona from the start – her sister’s murder has hurt her and her family deeply and I immediately understood why the news about Idlewild Hall would come as a shock and why she would want to investigate. And while I took a while to warm up to Katie, Cece, Roberta, and Sonia, I grew to love them and their friendship. I liked that we had chapters from all the girls’ perspectives in the book – I did initially wonder if there would be too many POV characters but it turned out to be a great choice. While the plot is very strong, I would still think that these characters and their relationships are at the heart of the novel, giving it a lot of emotional power.

I also really loved the element of the supernatural in this book. The legend of Mary Hand features prominently in both narratives and helped to tie them together from early on. At the same time, it’s a legend that may or may not be relevant to the plot; something that I found fun to consider when thinking about the book.

[SLIGHT SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH] Another thing I was impressed by was how St. James handled dark topics. At one point, Ravensbrück Concentration Camp came up in the narrative and I was impressed by how the author handled the issue sensitively yet without obscuring the darker parts. Her description of how life in the camp might have impacted someone was something that struck me deeply.

Overall, I found this a captivating and hard-to-put-down story. It’s not only an interesting and nail-biting thriller, it’s also a historical novel with characters that I grew to love and cheer for. I’d recommend this for fans of mysteries with a historical twist.

Featured Image: Photo from Canva

P.s. I received a notification that I’m reaching my bandwidth limit despite my best efforts. I’m going to try and upgrade my plan but don’t be surprised if I don’t upgrade in time and the blog goes down for a few days!