Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

9 reviews

lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Gun violence, Car accident, Child death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Bullying, and Child abuse

With thrillers like this, there are always a lot of CWs, so please check them before reading, if necessary. This book was a solid mystery, but St James's novels (of the two I have read, at least), are more about the characters and how they solve the mystery and their own traumas, rather than shocking last minute reveals. The solutions are not really that surprising. I couldn't help but comparing this to the author's book, The Broken Girls, and this one felt like a lesser (and less interesting) version. There are a LOT of surface level similarities with the character types, a spooky building, even careers of the the heroine and hero. The two main characters here were semi-decently fleshed out, but the other minor characters really weren't. I read it in literally one sitting, but more just to be done with it, rather than that I couldn't put it down. All the same, I would still give St. James another try. This was solid (and The Broken Girls was very well-done and memorable).

honeywine's review against another edition

adventurous 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

This book pulled me in quickly and I enjoyed my time reading it. The mystery felt solved about 3/4 of the way through, however, and the final quarter of the book was more of a long, drawn out afterword. 

There are ghosts, which I love, and the main character is likable and relatable. I’d recommend this book to people who like darker stories and paranormal sprinklings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Bullying, Stalking, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Confinement, Child death, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, and Car accident

tlynn_07_14_21's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

odrib's review against another edition

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

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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

kris386's review against another edition

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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying and Suicide

basicbookstagrammer's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Child abuse, Gore, Bullying, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

theidlereader's review

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

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

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

gholdreith's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I did not love this one. I don’t prefer paranormal activity in mysteries and this one I really didn’t enjoy it, it felt like a very obtuse plot device. I like mysteries for the puzzle and the paranormal activity just felt like a way to get explanations in. 
This book is 100% plot driven. The characters all have trauma, and some even show growth but they are very two dimensional. The plot is not especially complex or compelling, it’s just withholding of information and drives the reader to continue out of a dearth of information rather than a compelling story. I kept waiting for it to get interesting  and for the next reveal to be complex but I was never satisfied. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder