Book Club Monday: The Broken Girls

Author: Simone St. James Title: The Broken Girls Publisher: Berkley Date Published: 03/20/2018

Read Dates: 08/22/2026- 08/27/2026
Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was my family book club pick for August.

The Broken Girls is a multi POV, dual timeline mystery/thriller. Set in 2014, it centers around a freelance reporter named Fiona, who cannot move on from her sister's murder 20 years ago. When the abandoned school where her sister's body was found is purchased to undergo renovations, she goes digging into the school's history and uncovers another mystery: the body of a student who was presumed to have run away in 1950. The story alternates POV with four students at the school in 1950, filling in some of the blanks on the missing girl, who she was, and why her case remained unsolved for over 60 years.

This was a re-read for me; I loved it so much that I recommended it for my family book club as well. I love the way Simone St. James mixes supernatural elements with mysteries and how (in the books I've read so far, at least) she works with dual timelines to connect past and present in unexpected ways. I don't usually do re-reads for mystery/thriller books, but I enjoyed looking back over this one for details I may have missed the first time around. 

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. . . .