Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

64 reviews

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

boldphoenix's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

This is such a gripping, creepy, thought provoking thriller.  I was enthralled by the character-driven plot, and was kept wondering if the supernatural vibes were legitimately paranormal.  The characters Shae and Beth were fleshed out, which I love, and I felt like I really knew something about their personalities.  Simone St. James did a wonderful job flowing back and forth from past to present, and I was invested in Beth’s story about what ‘really happened’ in 1977. I had a hard time putting the book down, because I just wanted answers! 

 Favorite Quotes:
>"It made no sense, but guilt doesn't have to. It simply exists, weighing you down and choking you until you can't breathe anymore."
>"It's amazing what you can do when you stop sleep-walking through your own life."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Minor: Car accident, Rape, and Kidnapping

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).

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

liv_camryn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Addiction, Physical abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, Car accident, Death, and Mental illness

pernillelsk's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Gun violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Car accident

Minor: Sexual assault and Pregnancy

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

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

torturedreadersdept'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

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