The Book of Cold Cases

De: Simone St. James

Narrado por: Brittany Pressley, Kirsten Potter, Robert Petkoff

A Most Anticipated Novel by PopSugar * CrimeReads * Goodreads

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 best-selling 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 23-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?

©2022 Simone St. James (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Lovers of true crime will get a kick out of this thriller that oozes atmosphere.”
—Silvia Moreno-Garcia, New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night

“Simone St. James knows how to haunt you. The Book of Cold Cases is St. James at the top of her game,expertly weaving the past and the present to reveal a chilling tapestry of real world mystery and supernatural suspense that will have you turning pages well past your bedtime and jumping at every little sound.” —Jennifer McMahon, New York Times bestselling author of The Drowning Kind

“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.” —Laura McHugh, award-winning author of What's Done in Darkness

Suspenseful!

The Book of Cold Cases has everything a book needs a good plot, suspense, mystery, and a little bit of thriller. The book had me on the edge of my seat as I tried to figure out where Simone was leading me. I highly recommend this book. I finished it in a couple of days!

true crime + ghost story

I’ve read The Broken Girls, The Sundown Motel and now The Book of Cold Cases and I can confidently say that The Book of Cold Cases has been my favorite Simone St. James book yet.

Part 1 blew me away. I was loving the atmosphere and the creepy vibes. It’s a mixture of haunted house and a true crime mystery. Shea Collins, a receptionist by day and blogger by night, runs a website called The Book of Cold Cases, where she digs into old crimes. Then one day Beth Greer stumbles into the doctor’s office where she works. Shea can’t believe her luck and starts trailing Beth once she leaves the office, but Beth spots her and confronts Shea, asking her what she wants. Apparently, Shea makes a decent impression because Beth agrees to be interviewed. Beth, also known as the Lady Killer from the 70s allegedly shot and killed 2 men leaving them on the side of the road with a cryptic note that taunted the police. Later she was acquitted, but people in a small town never forget.

Once Shea meets up with Beth at her house that’s when things get creepy. I loved every second of it. I also appreciated how I felt like bits of Beth’s story were being revealed to me as if I was the person interviewing her and piecing together the clues. Beth never comes out and says it, she makes Beth work for it. Luckily Shea is well versed in true crime and she obsessed over this case so she has a good head on her shoulders and her mind is in the game. There was no fluff, no pretense, the story just layer by layer started revealing all the clues and secrets it held and I was along for the ride.

Then Part 2 happened and the supernatural elements started playing a bigger role and it sort of lost me a bit. I didn’t think it leaned into the supernatural enough to be believable. It felt unbalanced against the murder investigation and overall, the story would have been better had there been a better balance or just kept the supernatural out of it altogether, but Simone St. James seems to like writing about it because it’s been in all 3 books I’ve read now.

I am finding it difficult to rate this story because there were parts that I really did like a lot, but the definitive yet unsuccessful lean towards the supernatural is just making me roll my eyes. Yet it was immersive and kept me guessing until the end. I was hooked enough that I finished it within a day, so for now 4-stars but might bump down to 3 stars depending how I feel about it in a few months.

Descriptive & Fun

Loved the narrators and really enjoyed this overall. Hooked me immediately and i loved how the story progressed. The writing is so descriptive - I enjoyed it for the most part. I was able to form vivid mental pictures. I saw several reviews that said a lot of it wasn't necessary and can see how it might feel that way but I liked it. The supernatural element was a bit odd to me but I am not that bothered by it. Fun listen.

Well done. Held my attention.

Haunting tale of twisted lives and murder most fowl. What begins as a simple inquiry, leads to unexpected evidence buried for over a decade.

a suspense and ghost story

I expected this to be a mystery/suspense story. I was very surprised when I realized that it was also a ghost story! My full review is on Goodreads.

Could have done without the paranormal

I thought this was a true crime, but there is some paranormal storyline too. I was really hoping it would all be explained in reality but it wasnt.

Obsessed with this Author

Simone St James has a way of captivating her readers from the start. The way she takes crime and ghosts and intertwines them makes the story all that more riveting.

Did not hold my interest

I have enjoyed other books by this author, however this particular story- while the premise had potential- ultimately the story failed to hold my interest. I have it the benefit of the doubt and stuck with it but by the final few chapters, I skipped to the end to listen to the wrap up because I couldn’t get through the last hour.

great as expected

Simone never disappoints. The narrators were excellent. I did get a few chills, especially since I like to listen to audiobooks while in bed. ;-)

LOVED!!! I was so entranced!!

I LOVED this book, every minute. I recommend listening to it on audio, and I enjoyed it something fierce! I saw reviews about this book that were either one side or the other, and I was worried I wouldn't like it. But I loved it! The romantic in me wanted more of Michael and Shey, and she deserved all the happy endings.
This book had me entranced, and stressed, and feeling crazy listening to it at work!
I read a lot of the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, and I think some of the negative reviews were really harsh. Like it's okay if they didn't like it, but this book was well written, and really captured my attention. I know not everything is everyones' cup of tea, but don't let the negative comments form your opinion on this book, and I did listen to it, instead of reading it, but I 27/10 recommend the audiobook!