The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James is about a cold case blogger who stumbles into the biggest break of her town’s biggest cold case.
The Book of Cold Cases
Shea writes a blog about cold cases, but I don’t think she ever expected to fall into one herself. When notorious Lady Killer, Beth Greer, walks into her office one day, Shea jumps at the chance to ask for an interview.
She never expects Greer to agree to it.
The Lady Killer
Once again St. James gives us the perfect cozy mystery setting…in a ghost story. This is one of my favorite things that she does. She lulls us into thinking this is a picturesque town in Oregon, but really there is a string of random murders in its history, and the one suspect was found not guilty.
Beth Greer lives in the mansion on the edge of the cliff in the posh part of town. She’s the daughter of a millionaire. She’s never had to work a day in her life. Sounds like the perfect life?
It might have been if she weren’t haunted by the house she is forced to live in.
Beth was an extraordinary character. As St. James often does, the story is told from two different points of view. Beth’s point of view gives the reader insight into what’s really happening at the mansion on the cliff.
Spoiler alert: it’s some pretty creepy things.
But what’s great about Beth is she, like many of St. James’s characters, is morally ambiguous. However, I would say in this story I was much more on board with Beth’s actions. I don’t do real spoilers here, so I’ll just say I think her actions in response to what happened to her are completely valid and truly heroic.
St. James dials up the creep factor in this thriller, and I am completely on board.
Character Development
I’ve read most of St. James’s backlist at this point, and I’m truly struck by St. James’s progress in character development. With every novel, her characters getting deeper, more complex, and horribly more relatable. I’ve loved watching her talent grow through her many novels.
Final Thoughts
I’d really like to know if any one has read The Book of Cold Cases because I’d super duper like to discuss the ending with someone. So if you’ve read it, drop me a line. I want to see what you think about what happens to Beth at the end. If you haven’t read it, go do it now, so we can chat. 🙂
