A review by thebalancedbookshelf
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

dark mysterious

4.0

While this book had a lot of different elements to it I found myself enjoying it. Initially, I struggled with all of the characters but in the end I could see why they were included. 

I didn’t expect the turn that this story took but I found it to be really interesting. I liked how the story highlighted different issues of the time period and a women’s concentration camp survivor being one of them. This book showcases how easily it is for women to be forgotten or ignored. It also shows that this still can happen and not just in 1950. The carelessness and corruption of the police department was done well and I liked that Jamie didn’t fall into it. 

Fiona was probably my favorite character in this and I enjoyed her chapters the most. I loved her journalistic nature and how dedicated she was. She not only wanted to get justice for Sonia but for her own sister whose story she still felt was unfinished. I also feel that she was still able to do her job while balancing the new information about her sister’s murder. 

My biggest issue is that I do think this book had a little too many angles. While reading I found myself enjoying the 2014 sections better than the 1950’s due to all the POV changes. I do wish we just stuck with one girl at the school instead of all of them and personally wish that Mary Hand wasn’t involved at all. For me she didn’t really add much to the story but just another complication. 

I think that this story did a good job of combining the two murders 64 years apart. I liked how the school played a role for every character and how it all came together full circle. Everyone got a resolution and for this story I was okay with it.