Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

20 reviews

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

horizonous'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, and Kidnapping

Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

◦ Mental illness = PTSD

alliemikennareads's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pregnancy

bookwrm526's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Murder, and Emotional abuse

doreyghc'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

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

toofondofbooks_'s review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

A haunted mansion, a true crime researcher dealing with her own demons, a possible murderer acquitted for 40 years...you know, just regular stuff.

I have so many conflicting feelings on this one so let's go:

Positives! I liked the dual timelines, but I definitely liked the 1970's timeline better. I think that Simone St. James' strength is definitely in period pieces, and while I know that the present day perspective is necessary for the book to work, I just liked the past timeline better. I thought that the spooky scenes were extra spooky and often made me scared to turn my light out, and that addition to the plot made things way more interesting and tragic to me. There was one character who I thought was absolutely terrifying and interesting and I enjoyed every scene with her, but I'm not going to say more than that because spoilers. I thought some parts were predictable, but not in a way that angered me, more in a way where I was glad to have my suspicions confirmed.

That's kind of where my positives end? I feel torn, because there were parts of this I really enjoyed, but then there were so many parts that I thought could've been done better if someone else had written it. Before page 140, I was considering a DNF, but I wanted to give it a chance to redeem itself, and it did, but not as much as I would have liked it to.

Also....why does every book this woman publishes have a romance with a cop??

Overall, I think people who liked The Haunting of Hill House or Haunting of Bly Manor will like this one, but it wasn't my favorite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Stalking, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Misogyny, Abandonment, Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage

juliaraimondi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Death, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Moderate: Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Drug use, Addiction, and Drug abuse

bekah1210's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Rape

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, Death of parent, Murder, and Physical abuse

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

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

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