Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - The Book of Cold Cases

Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

21 reviews

art_books_chemistry's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

My first gut instinct when finishing this book was that I liked it. After thinking about it more and ripping through it in my bookclub I have decided to lower my rating from a 4 to a 3.

First off this book is classified as a mystery as well as horror or paranormal. Although there is some of the latter (no horror in my opinion), it is used as a device in certain spots to further the plot in such ways that would be unnecessary if the sequence of events was simply thought about a bit more. This book would have been much more suspenseful and mysterious if the paranormal bits were more vague. Some people will laugh but some of the paranormal instances in the book don't fit in with the typical standards for such things making it feel forced.

There were a variety of other details that felt forced, as if the author was trying to meet a page count and didn't have enough ideas left to develop the plot further. I love the cat, but it's storyline was thrown in as if we needed to see that Shea's life is perfectly-normal-thank-you-very-much-look-she-has-a-cat. However, Shea has an incredibly rich back story that could be delved into a lot more. We barely scratch the surface of her trauma, instead focusing on her fear of cars. Maybe a psychologist would disagree but it felt very flat and unrealistic. And I don't mean in the sense that someone can't have a pathological fear of cars or strange ways of dealing with trauma; I mean the way she acted and reacted in the book felt like how someone without trauma thinks people with trauma are.

I liked the base storyline and thought the mystery components were well thought out. Some of the characters were likeable. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this to anyone.

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tlynn_07_14_21's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book and cannot wit to read more by this author. This book was definitely dark and mysterious, creepy and suspenseful. The mansion was so atmospheric. I truly got some Goosebumps at times. The first chapter of this book grabbed a hold of me like no other book of this genre ever has. I was not expecting that paranormal twist at all.
Beth Greer gave me some serious Evelyn Hugo vibes, but darker.
Lily Knowles 100% Lisa vibes from Girl, Interrupted.
Even the MC, Shea is lugging around some darkness.
If you're into Thrillers, this should be on your tbr.

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horizonous's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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alliemikennareads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Ghosty, eerie, atmospheric. Kept me guessing and wasn’t overly predictable. Had a hard time putting it down. Loved the chapter length and overall pacing. Equal parts mystery and ghost story with characters that drew me in. Would recommend to mystery and ghost story fans!

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bookwrm526's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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doreyghc's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A haunted mansion, a true crime researcher dealing with her own demons, a possible murderer acquitted for 40 years...you know, just regular stuff.

I have so many conflicting feelings on this one so let's go:

Positives! I liked the dual timelines, but I definitely liked the 1970's timeline better. I think that Simone St. James' strength is definitely in period pieces, and while I know that the present day perspective is necessary for the book to work, I just liked the past timeline better. I thought that the spooky scenes were extra spooky and often made me scared to turn my light out, and that addition to the plot made things way more interesting and tragic to me. There was one character who I thought was absolutely terrifying and interesting and I enjoyed every scene with her, but I'm not going to say more than that because spoilers. I thought some parts were predictable, but not in a way that angered me, more in a way where I was glad to have my suspicions confirmed.

That's kind of where my positives end? I feel torn, because there were parts of this I really enjoyed, but then there were so many parts that I thought could've been done better if someone else had written it. Before page 140, I was considering a DNF, but I wanted to give it a chance to redeem itself, and it did, but not as much as I would have liked it to.

Also....why does every book this woman publishes have a romance with a cop??

Overall, I think people who liked The Haunting of Hill House or Haunting of Bly Manor will like this one, but it wasn't my favorite.

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