Book of Cold Cases, The

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Simone St. James knows how to haunt you. The Book of Cold Cases is St. James at the top of her game' JENNIFER McMAHON

The alternate perspectives, Shea’s in first person and Beth’s in third, are not evenly divided. We get more Shea than Beth (26 chapters to 18, if you must know), with a few Others tossed in. They do not alternate in a steady format, but streak at times for one or the other. This book had the same effect on me: a lot of screaming, trembling, addictively burying my head into my e-reader, screaming more later, I finished this riveting mystery- psychological thriller in one painful sit. ( because it took eight hours to finish it without breaks and my entire body was too numb to put one foot in front of the other, so I lied on the floor and my husband probably walked on me when he was leaving for work.) The narrative alternates between Shea and Beth, with Shea’s chapters taking place in 2017, whereas the majority of Beth’s chapters take place in the 1970s. Shea is a solid, likable narrator. I was intrigued by Beth, but she is cold and distant, with good reason, unlike Shea, who is warm and relatable. St. James’ 2020 novel The Sun Down Motel was a master class in the dread, as is the terrific The Book of Cold Cases.”

Simone St.James presents her story in two contrasting time frames. The first is set in 1977 in Claire Lake, Oregon and the tension is set high after the Lady Killer Murders in this small lakeside community. Two men had been intentionally killed by a woman identified by a witness. Long haired and wearing a trench coat, she stepped forward and fired point blank on two separate occasions. The second half of the novel lost intensity causing my connection to fizzle. The story remained enjoyable but not as gripping or edgy as the beginning half. By the last 20%, the atmosphere and tension lost its grip on me and the conclusion felt rushed and unbelievable. Is guilt a good or bad emotion? It depends on the individual's character on how we respond to guilt. We can positively consider guilt by saying that it can motivate us to improve ourselves for a better chance and future. Guilt can also break you down. When Beth shows up at the doctor's office for an appointment, Shea can hardly believe her eyes. The infamous Beth Greer, in the flesh.

Sylvia Bledsoe was somehow involved. In something. What happened to her three husbands, anyway? I thought she might be the serial killer, rather than dead Lily. Shea was a victim of an attempted abduction as a child and it has both haunted her and fueled her passion for true crime. It's the reason for her blog, 'The Book of Cold Cases' and why she boldly approaches Beth to request an interview. Beth finally agrees, with the stipulation the interview is conducted in her home.MY THOUGHTS: I love books where the house is a character in its own right. The Greer mansion certainly is that. It is a cold house, caught in a time warp, where Beth Greer, once charged with the Lady Killer murders, lives - alone. But when they meet up at Beth’s stately mansion, something doesn’t sit well with Shea. Whose footsteps does she hear? Who turned on the sink faucets right in front of her? Did she really see a young girl standing just outside the front door? Beth is searching for Lily and comes across one of her murder victims. That’s why a witness saw her at the scene. Shea POV 2017 No one writes a ghost story like Simone St. James, whose uniquely spooky thrillers are as chilling as they are captivating, and The Book of Cold Cases is St. James at her best.Steeped in atmosphere and spine-tingling chills, this gripping mystery will haunt you from the very beginning.”

I've always been curious about the ‘supernatural’ aspects Simone St. James adds to her stories and this one had my full attention from the start. It's both creepy and chilling!

About the Book

One day, Beth Greer walks into the doctor’s office where Shea works and seizes the opportunity to interview the infamous “Lady Killer.” Beth and Lily go shopping shortly after Julian’s death. Lily shows up and Beth wants to tell Mariana that Lily killed Julian, but she can’t. Beth POV 1977 She didn't know what a life without fear would look like. Beth knew the contours of fear intimately, its shifting shapes, its taste and its smell."

For me, the highlight was the relationship between Beth and Shea. In a way, it was like through their, I won't call it friendship, but acquaintance, Beth was able to free Shea. Shea meets Beth and to her surprise, Beth agrees to an interview. Is Beth a cold killer who got away with it or is the true killer still at large? The story alternates between the past and the present as the story unfolds.

More Featured Review Features

An infamous woman living an isolated life to avoid facing her family’s truth. An old money, eerie mansion harbouring ghosts of the family’s past. A true-crime reporter who can’t ignore the spark of solving a cold case story. Fast forward to Claire Lake in 2017 and we have Shea Collins working as a medical receptionist by day and a true crime blogger at night. Shea convinces Beth to sit for an interview. Beth has never granted that to anyone before. And we will sit alongside Shea as she experiences some outright creepy events in Beth's mansion. Interviewing Beth is like walking through an entry level to the unspeakable unknown. When Shea approaches Beth, the latter agrees to share her side of the story—a surprising development given her longstanding silence over the years since the crimes took place. That sends The Book of Cold Cases’ lead down a rabbit hole, where every answer is met with even more questions. In 1977, the people of Claire Lake, Oregon, feared for their safety when 2 family men were murdered by the same gun and notes were left on them steering towards a lady killer. The wealthy Beth, 23 years old at the time, was tried and acquitted and remains at her mansion isolating herself from the community.