Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

110 reviews

jmkendall0218's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, and Gun violence

maddiearthur's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Car accident, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Infertility and Pregnancy

someryarns's review

adventurous 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Infertility and Pregnancy

katergirl12's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Pedophilia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

cassielaj's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

This story is CHILLING. Lots of twists, some interesting commentary on how women are viewed in relation to crime and the role media plays in sensationalizing crime stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Drug use and Sexual assault

Minor: Rape and Suicide

This book is not for the faint of heart.

haunting/ghost

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

cass_lit's review against another edition

3.5

For a thriller (which is not my preferred genre), I liked this. At times it felt a little convoluted because it was trying to keep all the big reveals until the final end twists, but it was a fast read so you still get the payoff sooner rather than later. It was a teeny bit too pro-cop for me at the beginning but they're ultimately not a huge part of the story. My fav part was easily the paranormal aspects!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Police brutality, and Rape

seasidefaye13's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

 A murder mystery and ghost story wrapped into one, I did not expect the twist that Simone St. James had in store for me. Honestly, this book made me cry and I did not think that would happen. I was truly entranced by the main characters and the dark, traumatic journey they would go on together. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Alcoholism, and Grief

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

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

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).