The Broken Girls

by Simone St. James

[MurderByDeath]

Outstanding.   I didn't have a good feeling about this one when the pre-release stuff came out, because I loved all her previous work, this was a departure, and I hate change.  I couldn't not read it, because that would be dumb, but when I started it I was even more unsure; I dislike alternating time lines and POVs almost as much as I dislike change.   Anyway, the one pivotal thing that didn't change is that this is a Simon St. James ghost story.  So, I got up at 6 this morning, got the house keeping over with, then sat down with this book at 8, because I can't read St. James' books in anything but broad daylight.  I love her ghost stories, but they scare me spitless.    The ghost doesn't have the same front-and-center starring role, but she made up for the lack of page time with quality creepiness. And the rest of the story... well.  I don't want to give a lot away, which makes it hard to say the things I really want to say.  Therefore, I'm just gong to bullet point a few things that feel important:    - Like her previous books, there's a war connection.  The best one yet (imo);  - There's a murder mystery;  - The author does not take the reader down the expected paths.   There are two plots in this book, tied together by a common place, but they remain distinct and they are both devastating.  Utterly.  St. James pulls no punches.  In my opinion, this is what fantastic fiction is all about - I was utterly captivated, entertained, and at the end, left with much to think over.  This is a book about the power of the families we choose, when the ones we are born to betray us.   Outstanding. Just don't read it in the dark.