Simone St. James

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Simone St. James

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March 2009

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Simone St. James is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases, The Sun Down Motel, The Broken Girls and The Haunting of Maddy Clare, which won two RITA awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada. She wrote her first ghost story, about a haunted library, when she was in high school, and spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives outside Toronto, Canada with her husband and a spoiled cat.

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Popular Answered Questions

Simone St. James Yes! I have another book written and when I have release info, I'll share it. I'm glad you liked the book!…moreYes! I have another book written and when I have release info, I'll share it. I'm glad you liked the book!(less)
Simone St. James Thank you! I've finished writing my next book, and when I have details I will share them!…moreThank you! I've finished writing my next book, and when I have details I will share them!(less)
Average rating: 3.9 · 581,646 ratings · 70,530 reviews · 13 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Sun Down Motel

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 184,178 ratings — published 2020 — 39 editions
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The Broken Girls

4.06 avg rating — 125,302 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions
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The Book of Cold Cases

3.78 avg rating — 128,065 ratings — published 2022
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Murder Road

3.68 avg rating — 53,303 ratings — published 2024 — 17 editions
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The Haunting of Maddy Clare

3.84 avg rating — 34,058 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions
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Silence for the Dead

3.81 avg rating — 16,372 ratings — published 2014 — 16 editions
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An Inquiry Into Love and Death

3.87 avg rating — 10,855 ratings — published 2013 — 6 editions
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Lost Among the Living

3.83 avg rating — 10,344 ratings — published 2016 — 11 editions
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The Other Side of Midnight

3.83 avg rating — 9,799 ratings — published 2015 — 15 editions
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Ghost 19

3.49 avg rating — 9,139 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions
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More books by Simone St. James…

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Simone’s Recent Updates

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Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
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It shouldn't be possible to be as good at this craft as Robin Hobb is, but apparently it is, so here we are. ...more
Simone James rated a book it was amazing
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
If We Were Villains
by M.L. Rio (Goodreads Author)
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Since The Secret History is one of my favorite books of all time, it's no shock that I ate this up. With pleasure. DELICIOUS. The angst, the drama, the pretentiousness, the twists. I loved all of it. ...more
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Isola by Allegra Goodman
Isola
by Allegra Goodman (Goodreads Author)
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I loved this so, so much. I feel like I lived a whole other life, which is the best of what a novel can do for a reader. The audiobook is incredible. Highly recommend it!
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The Black Count by Tom Reiss
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Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
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I read an early copy of this and I loved it.
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Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
Between Two Fires
by Christopher Buehlman (Goodreads Author)
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This is terrifying. Gory, fantastical, immersive. I loved it.
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In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
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Dracula by Bram Stoker
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For this reread (one of many) I listened to the Audible full cast version, which is delicious. A more perfect narrator casting than Tim Curry as Van Helsing does not exist. Highly recommend.
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The Wave by Susan Casey
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Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe
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A fun fall romance treat with X-Files vibes. Right up my alley :)
More of Simone's books…
Quotes by Simone St. James  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The person who could be truly alone, in the company of no one but oneself and one’s own thoughts—that person was stronger than anyone else. More ready. More prepared.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

“That was what the books did—they turned off your thinking for you, put their thoughts in your head so you wouldn't have your own.”
Simone St. James, The Broken Girls

“For the odd girls, the nerdy girls, and the murderinos. This one is yours.”
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel

Polls

What should our "moderator recommends" book be for October 2025?

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
The Sun Down Motel
Simone St. James

The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn't right at the Sun Down, and before long she's determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…
 
  22 votes 73.3%

The Queen by Nick Cutter
The Queen
Nick Cutter

“It’s impossible to know another person, isn’t it? To step past that locked door of their secretive inner self. . . . But honestly, do you even want to know?”

One sunny morning in June, Margaret Carpenter wakes up to find a new iPhone on her doorstep. She switches it on and is greeted by a text from her best friend, Charity Atwater. The problem is, Charity’s been missing for over a month. Most people in town – even the police – think she’s dead.

Margaret and Charity have been lifelong friends. They share everything, know the most intimate details about each other . . . except for the destructive secret hidden from them both. A secret that will trigger a chain of events ending in tragedy, bloodshed, and death. And now Charity wants Margaret to know her story – the real story.

In a narrative that takes place over one feverish day, Margaret follows a series of increasingly disquieting breadcrumbs as she forges deeper into the mystery of her best friend – a person she never truly knew at all. . . .
 
  4 votes 13.3%

Summer of Night (Seasons of Horror, #1) by Dan Simmons
Summer of Night
Dan Simmons

It's the summer of 1960 in Elm Haven, Illinois, and five 12-year old boys are forming the bonds that a lifetime of changes will never erase. But then a dark cloud threatens the bright promise of summer vacation: on the last day of school, their classmate Tubby Cooke vanishes. Soon, the group discovers stories of other children who once disappeared from Elm Haven. And there are other strange things happening in town: unexplained holes in the ground, a stranger dressed as a World War I soldier, and a rendering-plant truck that seems to be following the five boys. The friends realize that there is a terrible evil lurking in Elm Haven...and they must be the ones to stop it.
 
  4 votes 13.3%

30 total votes
More...
“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
Stephen King

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.”
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

“Speaking personally, you can have my gun, but you'll take my book when you pry my cold, dead fingers off of the binding.”
Stephen King

“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.”
Marilyn Monroe

“You must write every single day of your life... You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads... may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”
Ray Bradbury




Comments (showing 1-9)    post a comment »
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Apoorva ♡ Hi thank you so much for accepting my friend request!!
eagerly waiting for The Book of Cold Cases


message 8: by C. (Comment, never msg). (last edited Oct 13, 2019 02:14PM)

C.  (Comment, never msg). HAPPY THANKSGIVING, dear appreciated Simone! May we all be blessed, happy, and at peace. May we all be in long-lived good health and may the prayers we have, be answered!

I am proud of the spotlight that free e-book campaigns of "The Broken Girls" has clearly shone on your work. However, I want you to know: my spouse happily invested in the full-priced hardcover as a gift for me! Our favourite authors are worth buying new and you know your non-horror paranormal mysteries thrill me. Your friend, Carolyn.


Simone James Wow, thank you very much! Stephen King is a favorite of mine :)


Caroline Cairn There are two authors who inspire me, because I love their writing style, the vivid depiction of their characters, and most of all, the originality of their plots (the most difficult thing to find nowadays). These authors are Simone St James and Stephen King.
So there you go, as a newbie writer myself, consider me jealous of your talent!! ;)


Simone James :D


message 4: by Cathy

Cathy Thanks for being book mates with me Simone :D


Cristaux Hi Simone, thanks for accepting my friend request!
I really enjoyed The Haunting Of Maddy Clare and
I am looking forward to reading your other novels.


Harlequin Historical Hi, I'm very happy to meet you and look forward to discussing books with you. If you ever have any questions about any of the titles on my shelves, please ask away. I'll be happy to answer them.


message 1: by Maya

Maya Hey, Babe! Welcome Aboard! Now you can figure out all the cool corners in this universe and tell me where they are!


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