Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

29 reviews

cyndi1966'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Addiction

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Rape

jjames_mal'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This suspenseful novel follows our protagonist Shea as she recognizes a woman who was acquitted for murder many years ago, and this woman just happens to want to give Shea the chance to hear her side of the story.

Another spooky murder mystery about a murder that happened years ago. I don’t know why but these books seem to always follow a pattern, not that I’m complaining. I liked the characters and the mystery, with the only thing stopping me from giving it 5 stars being the true crime aspect that had just a smidge of the whole some people are just evil and cops are good rhetoric which I know this type of book did not have to deconstruct, but it still made me uncomfy. But overall I loved the creepy house and the ghosts that feel like a staple for St. James’s books.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants a little paranormal in their murder mystery, and I’ll be continuing to pick up anything Simone St. James writes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Addiction, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Car accident and Cursing

Minor: Terminal illness, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Infertility

libraryghost'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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Kidnapping, Medical content, and Terminal illness

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

carlyjb16's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

Minor: Terminal illness and Rape

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

thelassinlinen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

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

blouviere4's review against another edition

mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Car accident, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Murder, Grief, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Alcoholism, and Blood

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, and Sexual violence

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