Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

20 reviews

jillie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

Ooooh!! Loved this atmosphere & the way this story unfolded! Dark & eerie, this story pulled me in & stuck with me. I REALLY enjoyed the mystery & how even when I guessed pieces, I never got the whole picture on my own. Can’t wait to read more from this author! Check the content warnings.

Read if you like:
- dual timelines (done well)
- creepy atmosphere
- slight paranormal elements

November 2023

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Minor: Sexual assault and Forced institutionalization

fiction_addiction_1994's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

TW ⚠️: Toxic Family, mild drug use, alcoholism, Suicide (mention), sexual assault of a minor (mention), DUI 
BoTM pick
🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂
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•What did I think of this book? (Duel POV)
This was my first book by this author, and it was Epic! What a way to reign in the spooky season! 👻  a true crime blogger following crimes surrounding her small town runs into an acquitted suspect in the towns most notorious serial murders. As they get to know each other through interviews somethings aren't adding up. And strange things begin to happen in the house that may occupy more than one killer..Shea struggles with her own past. Can she correct Beth Greer's the Lady Killer?
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Thoughts and Quotes:
~'Am I bitter or am I sweet? Ladies can be either.' -p.19

~ What was the difference,  I wondered, between a sociopath and someone who does everyday lying to please other people? -p. 49

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Drug abuse and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape and Suicide

maddiearthur's review against another edition

dark 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Car accident, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Infertility and Pregnancy

jillianalice's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

I loved the twists and turns in this book and how all the pieces fit together in the end. The character development was satisfying and written very realistically.

I didn’t like the paranormal aspects of the book and found that portion unbelievable. Otherwise, I love the author’s writing style and the atmosphere she creates. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Sexism, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Death, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual assault, Violence, Pedophilia, and Rape

spookysierra's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Drug abuse, Addiction, Sexual harassment, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Murder and Gun violence

Minor: Kidnapping and Sexual assault

bethasaurus13's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

I really enjoyed this! It was a very quick read for me. I loved the multifaceted characters and how nuanced Beth and Shea were. Their relationship was complex and I appreciated the portrayal. I also loved that the book had 2 female main characters. 

while I did thoroughly enjoy this, I knocked it down half a star because of the paranormal aspect. I’m not a big fan of paranormal reads. It did also slightly remind me of haunting of hill house and also PLL because of the evil psychopathic secret sibling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility

litliz's review against another edition

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Death of parent, Rape, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infertility

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

elysedc's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Gore, Blood, Death, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

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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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, and Drug abuse

Minor: Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Terminal illness