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| The book that started it all... |
Very rarely do I pick up books with covers that feature a fetching young woman in 1920's garb, looking resolute, worried, or scared. These always end up being campy, poorly written, and redundant. However, in 2013, I picked up
The Haunting of Maddy Clare (2012) by Simone St. James and thought, "What the heck? Let's go for it." I read it in one day. It was full of intrigue, historical accuracy, clever women, fighting the patriarchy, sexual tension (St. James can paint a steamy picture!), and, possibly best of all, ghosts. I made my mother read it, I did an entire display around it at my library job, and then unfortunately for me, forgot about it. Fast forward five years later, when I check out
Lost Among the Living (2016). I read the other five St. James novels in a month. And am still
obsessing over them.
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| Simone St. James |
Simone St. James is a Canadian author who worked in television before becoming an author. She has made an excellent career shift. She has perfected her ability to write a book that not only intrigues the reader with a mystery, but also disarms the reader with twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end. St. James engages in cliched tropes in books... but somehow it works for her. She has the overdone post war setting; World War I has usually just ended in her books, but, under her, this time period is gritty, miserable, and confusing, a complete juxtaposition to the romanticized post war period often portrayed. She has ridiculously romantic situations, which are gripping and challenging, and add to the characters' growth in the story. The setting is usually some huge, crumbling mansion that people are desperate to maintain to keep some semblance of normalcy in their lives, despite the mystery and paranormal swirling around them. This has been done over and over in most gothic mysteries, yet seems new and compelling through St. James. It's insane how St. James manages to twist all of these standard plot devices and weave them into a story worth rereading. St. James' strength lies in her ability to write flawed heroines, women who fight the fight despite setbacks, but also recognize and struggles with their problems and mistakes. Readers can identify with her impoverish, but hopeful, sad, but resilient, clever, but humble protagonists. These women, however, are unapologetic for being who they are and that is their common strength. Enter the dashing hero who loves her for her. It is a cliched trope, but somehow, St. James makes these love interests interesting, flawed, and admirable. The reader is rooting for the characters' love connection.
Yet, love connections cannot detract from the main component in St. James' books: ghosts. Ghosts are difficult to write and authors unknowingly stumble into the pit of religious debate with life after death. However, St. James steers clear of this and creates her ghosts to be willing participants in seeking revenge for their deaths and solving mysteries perpetuated by the bad guys that endanger the living. These ghosts interact with the living and remain a constant source of anxiety and action throughout the book. There are no friendly ghosts; just ones that seek to discover the truth. Ghosts and their paranormal interactions is what propels St. James' books into the 'Must Read' category. It is rare to find an author who can have ghost, horror, and death without gore or extreme violence and still be fascinating. St. James has a style of writing that is clipped, precise, and peels like an onion, revealing bits and pieces of information slowly and methodically, until the reader is screaming with revelation at the end.
St. James' latest book,
The Broken Girls (2018) is a slight departure from her usual. The story
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| Be still, my anxious heart... |
bounces between the present and the 1940's at a girls boarding school. The two eras are tied together by a crumbling campus, death, and a ghost who reveals the worst moment of your life at the worst moment. The protagonist might be one of St. James' best; she is relentless, determined, almost impossible to sympathize with, and is so wonderfully realistic, you cannot help but root for her. The reader will take on her obsession and will be turning the pages until the dramatic conclusion. This book, unlike St. James' past books, focuses on human connection and the human experience rather than just a murder mystery. It focuses on the obsession of our inner demons and how evil from the past is never really done.
These books are must reads for anyone who appreciates strong women, mysteries, and the paranormal. They are quick reads, but the story will stay with you for a long time. The romance, the action, the mystery, and the strong writing keep the plot quick paced and before the reader knows it, they're in the middle of a riveting confrontation in a world where the lines between life and death are blurred. You cannot help but question the possibility of ghosts after reading a St. James book; besides, in their situation, what would you do to seek revenge?
Pictures courtesy of Goodreads.com.
