4.5 stars.

An incredibly atmospheric read with a good, lightly creepy mystery. This book ticked a couple of boxes for me and sailed along fantastically. Boarding school, creepy circumstances, ghosts, murder mystery. Yep, yep...loving it. The juxtaposition of a modern day mystery with an old cold case was an awesome bonus.

I love St. James' writing. She creates such a powerful scene and always draws me in just right. The creepy factor is enough to be uncomfortable without being nightmare fodder. I adored the boarding school setting, though I will admit that I wanted more of it. I could have easily done with another book fully about Idlewild alone. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.

I wasn't a huge fan of the relationship component to the book, but what are you going to do? There's bound to be something in there and some readers will appreciate it. It's just not always my cup of tea.

The mystery was well-written and not at all heavy handed. That was much appreciated as I sometimes feel like mystery and thriller authors try to beat readers over the head with context clues. This writing was nice and subtle, with an easy flow and enough intrigue to keep me wanting more without feeling overcomplicated. There were some pieces that could be considered somewhat predictable, but I think they were hidden well enough. I enjoyed the twists and didn't find them too blase or outlandish.

I breezed through this book and didn't want to put it down. It was a really fun read and I very much enjoyed myself. This was my 2nd St. James read and I will now be reading her entire backlist. Success.