Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

27 reviews

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

emmaline09's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse

Minor: Pedophilia

honeywine's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

This book pulled me in quickly and I enjoyed my time reading it. The mystery felt solved about 3/4 of the way through, however, and the final quarter of the book was more of a long, drawn out afterword. 

There are ghosts, which I love, and the main character is likable and relatable. I’d recommend this book to people who like darker stories and paranormal sprinklings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Bullying, Stalking, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Confinement, Child death, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, and Car accident

tlynn_07_14_21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book and cannot wit to read more by this author. This book was definitely dark and mysterious,  creepy and suspenseful. The mansion was so atmospheric. I truly got some Goosebumps at times. The first chapter of this book grabbed a hold of me like no other book of this genre ever has. I was not expecting that paranormal twist at all. 
Beth Greer gave me some serious Evelyn Hugo vibes, but darker.
Lily Knowles 100% Lisa vibes from Girl, Interrupted. 
Even the MC, Shea is lugging around some darkness. 
If you're into Thrillers, this should be on your tbr.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

shannasbooksnhooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

"'You don't always get a motive....That's something you learn in police work. You don't always get the why, especially with stranger killings.'"
This was a fun book, and I'm glad I picked it up. This was my first dip into the true-crime and mystery genres. While I'm not sure if I'll dive into it with more reads, I know I enjoyed this read. It was fun for what it was, and it was nice getting to know all the characters. I think this is a good book for that nice dip of your toes into the waters of mystery and/or true-crime books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

I 100% think that Beth's home was haunted, possibly by her parents' ghosts, and that it wasn't just Beth's drinking problem (although the alcohol almost certainly exasperated it).

sylvestra's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia

Minor: Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

gengariite's review against another edition

mysterious fast-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Kidnapping and Pedophilia

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cursing, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, and Rape

Minor: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Infertility

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

A haunted mansion, a true crime researcher dealing with her own demons, a possible murderer acquitted for 40 years...you know, just regular stuff.

I have so many conflicting feelings on this one so let's go:

Positives! I liked the dual timelines, but I definitely liked the 1970's timeline better. I think that Simone St. James' strength is definitely in period pieces, and while I know that the present day perspective is necessary for the book to work, I just liked the past timeline better. I thought that the spooky scenes were extra spooky and often made me scared to turn my light out, and that addition to the plot made things way more interesting and tragic to me. There was one character who I thought was absolutely terrifying and interesting and I enjoyed every scene with her, but I'm not going to say more than that because spoilers. I thought some parts were predictable, but not in a way that angered me, more in a way where I was glad to have my suspicions confirmed.

That's kind of where my positives end? I feel torn, because there were parts of this I really enjoyed, but then there were so many parts that I thought could've been done better if someone else had written it. Before page 140, I was considering a DNF, but I wanted to give it a chance to redeem itself, and it did, but not as much as I would have liked it to.

Also....why does every book this woman publishes have a romance with a cop??

Overall, I think people who liked The Haunting of Hill House or Haunting of Bly Manor will like this one, but it wasn't my favorite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Stalking, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Misogyny, Abandonment, Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage

jennalynn48's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Blood

Moderate: Suicide, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Car accident