Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Book of Cold Cases

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

97 reviews

ashhearddwrites's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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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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krys_kilz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

3.0

The first half of this book had me hooked, but the second half started to drag a bit and felt less high stakes. Some of the reveals were made too soon and the reveals towards the end were just lackluster in comparison. The characters relationships also felt unbelievable to me, they were far too convenient and the secondary characters felt so underdeveloped.

I also don't know if the paranormal element worked for me... it just felt like it was more of a plot point than an actual elemental piece of the story. If the house itself had been more fleshed out as a character, it would have been more effective.

The ending was way too neatly wrapped up and the last chapter's attempt to close on a creepy note really fell flat. A lot felt unresolved, and not in a mysterious open-ended kind of way, but in a this was super rushed kind of way. Also, the pro-prison shit, no thank you.

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et3rnali33's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

what the fuck is one response to this book but, oh my god is the second.
This was made for the thriller/suspense/mystery book lovers. With a hint of paranormal activity which would make my eyes watery…yes im a little bitch lolol
No but really, I kinda wish I read this during Fall not summer because it is an intense and creepy yet mysterious read that through off my summer vibes haha. But, you will definitely be hooked and the twist and turns you take trying to solve and crack the case with Shea.
Definitely recommend again for those who love thriller/suspense novels!! Not to mention there is duo POV with first and third person along with court transcripts that added more to the experience!
I WISH THE PODCASTS AND TRANSCRIPTS ACTUALLY COULD BE HEARD WITH A QRCODE OR SOMETHING!!! That would’ve been a BETTER experience <3

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local_hat's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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randrus's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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scal19's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.0

really enjoyed this book. The pacing was fast enough to keep me interested but not slow enough for me to get bored. I think the character development of Shea is fantastic - Beth is a harder read which I think was intentional and the author did a good job of allowing Beth's personality to shine through.

I will say my only grievance is that the supernatural element was never really fleshed out or explained. At the beginning when we first hear from Beth's point of view I was under the impression that her experiences with the supernatural forces would play more of a part in the whole story - not just the ending.

Regardless I found it to be a very good book. I probably won't reread it, but I would recommend it!

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augustinedreams's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat through every plot-twist. The character relationships are so intriguing, and complicatedm It's a true crime murder mystery with a side of paranormal, just the way I like it.

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ambenicole418's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I really like this book! It’s a murder mystery with a touch of ghost story. We don’t get to see the bulk of the ghost stuff until the last half of the book (because who is haunting the house is important to the overarching murder mystery plot), but when you do get to the parts about the ghosts you can feel the intensity and spookiness of the whole situation. Overall, while I did take a few issues with the book I really enjoyed this story and would recommend to anyone looking for a murder mystery/thriller book.

Dislikes:

I didn’t really like that they never explained the haunting of the house, specifically, they never explain why the house itself feels sentient in the fact that it seems to be taunting Beth at times with her alcoholism and images of her father or why Marianna is also haunting the house.
The first and last time we see her ghost towards the beginning of the book she is opening doors in the house looking for someone and then banging on Beth’s door loudly for her to open it, but they never give an explanation for why she does this. We also don’t find out what happened to Marianna’s ghost at the end of the story. At the end of the book they explain that the house is still haunted and mention that there are now two ghosts in the window which we assume to be Lily and Beth, but they never say anything about Marianna’s ghost.
Is she still there and if not what made her finally leave?
And while the ending was satisfying enough I wasn’t a huge fan of the some of the choices.
The way Shea paints Beth as a muderous villian and makes it her mission to put Beth away for Lily’s death you would think that Beth killed an innocent person in cold blood. The police were never gonna put Lily away for the murders she committed. There was no evidence and the only person alive that even knew she existed and what she was doing was Beth. Lily made it clear that she wasn’t going to stop killing people and she was probably gonna force Beth to kill too. I mean even in death she was still trying to kill people. I’m not saying Beth was a righteous hero or anything, but by killing Lily she stopped more innocent people from dying, and I don’t think she deserves to be condemned and jailed for that especially at Beth’s ripe age of 60+ years old.

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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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