Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - The Book of Cold Cases

This book is a masterful example of pacing, and as a result I managed to binge read it two days. The author does a remarkable job of creating that certain atmosphere that a murder mystery NEEDS, without ever becoming cheesy or predictable. Absolutely nothing feels forced it extraneous. Literally the only thing I could consider changing would be to give a more complete sense of who Shea is outside of plot-relevant info…but I have no clue how you’d go about that without ruining the flow so I’m not mad at it. Just read it, if you like complex you whodunnits, you’ll like this book.

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_savannahreads_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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paronomaniac'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

4.25

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booknerdnative's review against another edition

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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? No

3.5

A really strong 3.5 stars for this one! I really enjoyed the true crime elements to this story as a true crime reader and podcast listener myself. So, I loved that our heroine was fully immersed in that obsession. Ultimately what didn't work for me was the paranormal element. I felt that using that plot device in this case was cheating just a bit, and I wanted the plot elements to be brought together differently (trying to be vague to avoid spoilers!). I did really like the bit of romance that was added in, even though it wasn't necessary. I thought it was sweet, and liked how it tied into the story. This one was so easy to breeze through, I think that although this isn't a perfect mystery, it would make a great book to take with you to the pool this summer! Thumbs up overall.

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kassfromtheinternet's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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kaylashauntedlibrary's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The main thing off about this book for me was the pacing. I’ve seen others say similar things.

This is actually my first Simone St. James book and I definitely still want to read more by her!

There were points that were really atmospheric and creepy, but sometimes things sort of dragged. I found what I was told from the book important, but as I said, maybe it could have been done a little differently to be more engaging.

I also found the paranormal aspect to not quite go with the story? I don’t know. And also, I found the main character’s whole “almost got kidnapped” part odd since it didn’t tie in a whole lot.

Overall, though, I still enjoyed it and will be holding onto my copy.

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bekah1210's review against another edition

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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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shannnne_reads_words'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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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