The Finishing School

4.5 stars. Wow, I was not expecting those twists. I think it helps that I didn't read the synopsis of this book before going into it. All I knew was that it was a mystery set at a boarding school, and a former client of mine recommended it to me. I did read the synopsis after I finished, and I think it gives a little too much away. I would have seen one of the twists coming if I had read the synopsis first, so I'm glad I didn't. I recommend going into this blind.

We follow the POV of Kersti, the main character, during 2 different times in her life. One when she was a teenager, living at a boarding school, and the other almost two decades later when she's married and trying to start a family. When Kersti was a teen at the Lycee boarding show more school, there was an accident involving her best friend, Cressida. Cressida fell off a fourth story balcony and suffered permanent injuries. Now years later, Kersti gets a letter from another friend of theirs that makes her question what she knows about that night. Did Cressida try to commit suicide? Was she pushed? Was it really an accident? Kersti decides it time for her to find out the truth.

This was really good, and I did not want to put it down. Like I said, I was not expecting this book to go where it did. The mystery was great and kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what happened. Kersti kind of annoyed me at times, especially when she kept acting like a stupid teenage girl, even though she's a grown adult now. She did grow a lot towards the end, however, so that's good. I didn't like Cressida's character either at first, but the more I found out about her past and understood her, the more I felt bad for her. The ending felt just a little too quick, and I wanted more from the end, but overall, I enjoyed this one a lot.


CW: sexual abuse and suicidal characters show less

The Lycée is celebrating its 100th anniversary and not only has Kersti Kuusk been invited back to the elite boarding school in Switzerland where she spent four years of her life, she has been selected as one of their "One Hundred Women of the Lycée." But for Kersti this opens up an old wound. Almost twenty years ago Kersti's best friend, Cressida, fell from her fourth-floor balcony just before graduation. This was quickly deemed an accident and the whole thing was over and done with before any publicity. But Kersti can't help but dig around especially with the anniversary coming up and after receiving a letter from an old friend of theirs from Lycée. Kersti never forgot Cressida's obsession with a secret club that was banned years show more before their arrival, a secret club that had two of its members expelled from the school - something that had never happened before or since. Kersti is determined to get answers about the club and about what happened to her best friend that night long ago.

I could not get enough of this book! I love reading about boarding schools. The chapters go back and forth between past and present and I did enjoy both, but there's always something about the past that makes me like it just a little bit more. I loved the setting - the beautiful mountains, the crisp air, the light powdery snow. I liked the twists and turns, the friendships and the suspense. show less

It has been 20 years since Kersti Kuusk set foot on the grounds of the Lycée, the prestigious boarding school she attended as a teen. Kersti was a scholarship student from Canada at the elite school, and she left abruptly in her senior year, after her best friend, Cressida, fell from her balcony one evening. The school declared the event an accident, but now, Kersti finds herself unconvinced. A timely letter from another of her school friends brings up more questions: was Cressida pushed, or did she attempt suicide? Kersti knows that Cressida had become increasingly obsessed with a secret society within the Lycée--banned since the 1970s when two of its members were expelled. As the school plans a celebration of its 100th anniversary, show more Kersti considers returning. She also starts looking further into Cressida's fall. However, some secrets are meant to stay buried.

THE FINISHING SCHOOL is told in alternating chapters between the present day and Kersti's school years, leading up to Cressida's fall from the balcony. This effective technique certainly creates tension and suspense, leading you to madly flip the pages, trying to figure out what happened - particularly to Kersti's group of friends at the Lycée twenty years ago. The novel pulls you in fairly quickly and hooks you rather rapidly. Goodman is quite adept at capturing the voices of her characters, especially the teens, and the boarding school passages are rather effective. (They are also great at making you want to never send your child to boarding school. Parts of it reminded me of Tana French's THE SECRET PLACE in that way.)

For me, the only thing that held this book back was that some of the plot was a little weird: mostly some of the things relating to Kersti's personal life and her obsession with Cressida. They didn't necessarily seem required for the story to be successful, but they bothered me. It's a shame, because overall I liked Kersti, and I felt a connection with her. Present-day Kersti is suffering from infertility, and, as someone who has been there, I can say that Goodman captures that angst very well. I just wasn't sure about some of her choices.

At times, some of the school drama gets a little tedious, but it picks up as the novel gains momentum, especially near the end. I figured out parts of the plot, but not all of it, and I was quite frantic to finish the last portions of the book to put it all together. It's quite a dark and twisted tale, overall. Certainly worth a read. 3.5 stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!); it is available everywhere as of 04/11/2017.

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Google+ show less

This mystery which flips between the past and present reads like an abridged version of what could have been a good book. The mystery part of the story that takes place in the past in a Swiss boarding school is interesting. The detective part of the story that takes place in the present is not. The main character (detective) is dealing with infertility issues and has a self-identity issue related to her family and ethnicity. It's hard to know how much of this is the author's issue or if it's meant to give some depth to the character. Either way, I found it distracting and mostly irrelevant to the good part of the story. The dialogue between the character and her husband never strikes me as realistic. They go from lovey-dovey to full out show more argument and silence with trite dialogue. (It is totally possible that the dialogue issue is cultural, but I don't know.) Anyway, I didn't like the present-day story, not just for the relationship issues but also for how the protagonist hops around on a plane at a moment's notice (after her husband complains about money) and visits all the people she perceives as the key witnesses and gets them to readily admit to deep secrets or info. Of course, she misses the most important witnesses until the very end when she risks her life a la Nancy Drew.
If the book was just about the finishing school story in a linear timeline, fleshed out about that world, and THEN in a "part 2" went into the future to solve the mystery without the personal issues, I might have enjoyed the book more. Maybe.
Quick read, okay mystery (some obvious clues), mediocre results. show less

This was my first book by Joanna Goodman, and I highly doubt that I will read another. Dealing with topics such as friendship, deceit and loyalty, I was expecting a much more provocative book than I got. The author tied to supply every detail hat she could to enhance her story, but I found it ended up being too wordy.

A writer of historical novels who was a student twenty years ago at an elite Swiss boarding school, decides to investigate the mysterious case of another student who jumped, fell or was pushed from her balcony. This student was her best friend and she wonders now why she didn’t seek an answer at the time. The book jumps back and forth to the past and present. She and her husband have been trying IVF but after many show more disappointments her husband is ready to give up while for her, the desire to have a child grows ever stronger.

The book is slightly over 350 pages, but felt much longer. I had long given up wondering before I finished the book. Although most of the book was rather tedious, it did pick up somewhat during the last third of the book. show less

I was thinking I could guess what was going to happen but although I was somewhat close the ending was still a surprise. Goodman does the same thing in her newer novel---going back and forth in time. This was a somewhat complicated story and Goodman pulls so many characters into the story that she manages to provide enough detail about that she amazes me. How can you write with so many twists and turns and keep it all straight?? Whew!

Suspenseful story of life and abuse in a girl's boarding school.