Reviews with content warning for Car accident - The Book of Cold Cases

"On the bus, I pulled out my phone, put my earbuds in my ears, and played the audiobook I was in the middle of listening to. A thriller: a woman in danger, most of the characters possibly lying, everything not quite as it seemed. A twist somewhere near the end that would either shock me or it wouldn't. There were dozens of books just like it, hundreds maybe, and they were the soundtrack of my life. The woman's voice in my earbuds told me about death, murder, deep family secrets, people who shouldn't be trusted, lies that cost lives. But a novel always ends, the lies come to the surface, and the deaths are explained. Maybe one of the bad characters gets away with something --that's fashionable right now --but you are still left with a sense that things are balanced, that dark things come to light, and that the bad person will, at least, most likely be miserable." p.7

These are the words of Shea Collins; doctor's office receptionist, part-time true crime blogger, and child abduction survivor. She is the main character in "The Book of Cold Cases" and when I read this in the opening pages of the book, I wondered if I had just had the main points of the plot summed up for me. It's not too far from the way the book played out, but even with that neat little outline to follow, this was one gripping story. Thriller? Check. Murder mystery? Check. Amateur sleuthing? Check. Creepy haunted house? Check. Family secrets? Check. Morally ambiguous/possibly mentally unstable characters? Check. Throw in multiple POV's and timelines, a dash of romance, and enough twists that what might have been formulaic felt original and utterly readable. This was my February "Blind Date With a Book" selection from my local library, and it was a hit. Because of the supernatural/ghostly aspects of the book, I probably wouldn't have picked this book out for myself, but because I really did enjoy reading this, I will undoubtedly look for this author again.

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kmsander4's review against another edition

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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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cyndi1966's review against another edition

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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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jjames_mal's review against another edition

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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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