Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

28 reviews

iriswhatiris's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, Grief, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Infertility, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

Minor: Pedophilia, Miscarriage, and Rape

itshrewsbury's review against another edition

mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Minor: Miscarriage

kmsander4's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

I desperately wanted to love this book. As a true crime fan who listens to podcasts, watches documentaries, and reads biographies of serial killers, this was right up my alley. But, in reality, this one was meh.

The mystery was easily solved and the ghost story wasn't something I really wanted or needed. It was fitting for spooky season but if it wasn't this time of year, it probably would have fallen to 2.5 stars.

It's fine if this is your kind of thing, but there are better mystery-thriller options out there!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, and Car accident

Moderate: Rape and Child death

Minor: Miscarriage

sosocrafty's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, and Child abuse

Minor: Infertility, Rape, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

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).

alibrarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I thought I’d had this book all figured out, and I sort of did, but the twist was fantastic! The dual point of view was interesting and a great way to tell different aspects of the story without rushing key plot points with the court transcript deviation that was surprising yet played a huge part in making the book move forward. Simone St. James did. an excellent job creating interesting characters and a compelling story!

The only part I wasn’t super fond of was Beth’s storytelling close to the end. I get the why behind it, but it somewhat dragged and didn’t add too much for me, personally. Overall, a book I would recommend listening to because the narration is great, but also enjoyed reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Death, Blood, and Mental illness

Minor: Rape, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Sexual violence

katyannreads's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I really liked the concept of this story. Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is I’m not a fan of the paranormal / ghosty trope. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Infertility, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

selene_nyxly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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

Moderate: Murder, Child death, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia and Miscarriage

jax00's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

It seemed to be two different stories. I wish it was either a ghost story or a detective story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Addiction, Car accident, Chronic illness, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Blood

ravenpuff's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Death, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Kidnapping, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Stalking, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Minor: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, and Misogyny