Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

99 reviews

writtenbydnicole's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

leebeeloves's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Pregnancy

xlivinglikejen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape

brandywinebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Watch my vlog for my full thoughts: https://youtu.be/-fGvjepIiKM

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Rape

theidlereader's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy

silene's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

While this is a mystery, the motivation and the details are more mysterious than the precise events. Even with the dual timelines, the order in which the secrets are revealed may not be what you expect. It works well for it. I love the haunted house. The ghosts are explained, but we never do find what started the eeriness about the house before the murders ever began. That suits the story, too. The characters are compelling, if not quite lovable. I like Shea and we do see her grow, but she is fairly overshadowed by Beth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Murder

Minor: Rape

shadowbearreads's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, and Pregnancy

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Rating: 4/5 stars

Shea Collins is a receptionist by day and a true crime blogger by night, her passion for crime stories fueled by her own experience surviving an attempted abduction as a child. When she convinces infamous suspected (but acquitted!) serial killer Beth Greer to sit down for an interview about the unsolved “Lady Killer” murders, Shea is unwittingly pulled into a web of murderous secrets and ghosts that won’t stay buried (literally!)

Simone St. James’s The Sun Down Motel is one of my all-time favorite books, so needless to say The Book of Cold Cases was one of my most-anticipated reads of 2022. It’s almost impossible for a book to live up to expectations as high as mine were, but this novel came *very* close. The spooky paranormal vibes were impeccable, and I loved the characters so much—Shea was endearing, Beth was intriguing, Michael was a gem, and Winston Purrchill the cat was, of course, a stand-out favorite. I did wish for a few more twists from the plot, which reveals its secrets fairly quickly (around the halfway point), but I am also someone who likes a lot of closure in a book and this one definitely delivered in that regard.

In short, The Book of Cold Cases definitely didn’t replace Sun Down Motel in my heart, but I also won’t stop thinking about it any time soon!

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: true crime vibes; paranormal spookiness; layered and lovable characters.

CW: Death (including death of a parent); murder (including mentions of child abduction/murder); alcoholism; mentions of rape/sexual assault; mentions of infertility/miscarriage/pregnancy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny and Violence

Minor: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

ohhthehorrors's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail