Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

29 reviews

cmaples's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.25

Was disappointed in this after reading the Sundown Motel. The plot was predictable and the atmosphere just wasn't there. Also, the characters are very same-y. You'll see lots of parallels between this and Sundown, but it's definitely the lesser of the two, and those parallels aren't always there in good ways. A lot of the characters are similar and their stories even end in similar ways. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Car accident, Classism, and Terminal illness

Minor: Rape and Pregnancy

plays into the trope where the child of rape/child given up for adoption is evil

local_hat's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Murder, Sexism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Child abuse

Moderate: Terminal illness, Violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Rape

beckyremillard's review against another edition

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

3.5

Shea is a true crime blogger who happens to run into acquitted murder, Beth Greer. Beth was accused of murdering two men in 1977 and agrees to give Shea the first interview she’s ever done.  Shea finds out there is a lot more to Beth’s story than she ever expected. 

The majority of the story is told from Shea’s perspective in 2017 and Beth’s perspective in 1977, although part two contains chapters from Beth’s point of view before and after 1977. 

I really enjoyed the first part of the book. However, part 2 didn’t hold my attention as much. There were chapters that were interesting but I didn’t feel part 2 was as good as part 1. 

In addition, I read The Sun Down Motel by the same author right before this and I didn’t feel this book quite held up to that one. 

I’m also curious why both books have the modern point of view in 2017 when the books were published years after that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Murder, Mental illness, and Gun violence

eed8's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Terminal illness, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

odrib's review

dark mysterious sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Grief, Bullying, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Sexism, and Car accident

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review

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

4.5

This one is gave me big The Haunting of Hill House vibes, and I felt very engaged from the very beginning. I always love a dual pov, especially ones that flash through time, or give the perspective of a closed off, unlikeable character and the way that Simone St. James does this is similar to The Sun Down Motel, but with a completely different result. Between the two, I’d say I enjoyed them equally for different reasons. This one was much more gothic, and felt reminiscent of reads like Rebecca or Jane Eyre—which are some of my favourite books of all time, so it’s in good company. Whereas The Sun Down Motel was like 80s horror and scared the pants off me! All in all, this one lives up to the hype and is definitely worth getting into. 

Pick this one up if you like

• Gothic fiction
• Haunted house stories
• True crime

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Terminal illness

amandas_bookshelf's review

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cursing, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, and Rape

Minor: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Infertility

doreyghc's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Death of parent, Gun violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Medical content

martamae77's review

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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Death

Moderate: Kidnapping, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, and Pregnancy

mkzach's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Alcoholism, Murder, Car accident, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Rape, and Medical trauma