The Broken Girls

Monsters are real.

I could feel the bone chilling cold, smell the rotting leaves, hear the crunch of branches and see the fleeting shadows of the ghost.

The book is rich in subplots, weaving between an uneasy love, corrupt police, unaccountability of wealthy, ghost lore crossing into real life, pain of loss, strength of survival.

And monsters.

As story progresses, the ghosts fade while the real horrors of the life take front stage. Nothing is as scary as people, especially people in the position of authority or the ones you thought you could trust.

A mother trying to kill her daughter. Chief covering up multiple murders and willing to kill again to keep the secret. Families abandoning their children in the time of need. The plot is alternating between two timelines but betrayal and violence is a constant theme.

The ghost, in the end, is not threatening but simply another victim.