My Rating
I have been in love with St James stories ever since I had picked up Silence for the Dead seeing the gorgeous gothic cover image of the book and from then on, I have gone in search of every published work by the author and each one of them has been 5 star reads for me. Simone St. James writes brilliantly blending all the plot devices that I absolutely devour. Romance, mystery, dual timelines, ghosts, secrets, and family drama are perfectly balanced to bring about a compelling narrative.
The Book of Cold Cases follows Shea Collins, who is a true-crime blogger in her spare time, and a chance meeting with Beth Greer, an accused suspect in the murders that rocked their community in 1977 has Shea committed to unraveling the mystery surrounding the unsolved murders.
The mystery element of the story is fantastic as expected from the author and having the dual POVs of Shea and Beth enhances the suspense and breathes life into the story as the past with Beth and the present with Shea race toward an inevitable collision. Shea is a loveable character but it was the enigmatic Beth who held my interest thoroughly. She had this mysterious allure by which it became hard to love her or hate her completely and that intrigue is maintained until the end. The sense of creepy atmosphere that Simone St James crafts in her thrillers are worth mentioning, the opening chapter itself making me crave for lights all around my house.
This is the 8th book by the author that I have read but it is probably the only one where the Ghost kind of felt like an appendage. Other than providing the reason for Beth never leaving the mansion, I think the story works equally well without the ‘ghost’ in the story.
The Book Of Cold Cases is utterly compelling and engaging and a must-read for fans of this genre. I can’t recommend her books enough and in fact, the historical parts captured in her books like An Inquiry into Love and Death and the Other Side of Midnight are simply outstanding so much that I am hoping that her next work will be part historical.
A true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for while interviewing the woman acquitted of two cold case slayings in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel.
In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect–a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion.
Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases–a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To Shea’s surprise, Beth says yes.
They meet regularly at Beth’s mansion, though Shea is never comfortable there. Items move when she’s not looking, and she could swear she’s seen a girl outside the window. The allure of learning the truth about the case from the smart, charming Beth is too much to resist, but even as they grow closer, Shea senses something isn’t right. Is she making friends with a manipulative murderer, or are there other dangers lurking in the darkness of the Greer house?
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I’d say this series is a winner for you. How did you find it?
The books by Simone St.James are all stand alones, it was just casual browsing in the library and the cover image that hooked me on to the first book and since then I have been a huge fan of her brand of story telling.