The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James - Restarting August 5th 2022

[Dr. Andy]

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?

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.

[Dr. Andy]

Starting early! 25% (view spoiler)[ I think everyone is lying already. But I am fascinated. Tho the narrator for Shae sounds like 15 rather than 29 (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

50% (view spoiler)[ So was the mom somehow the murderer? I feel like that's where things are pointing right now. It was interesting seeing Shae and Michael (?) meet in person for the first time. Also I am getting so many aro vibes from Shae (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

77% (view spoiler)[ Ew why is the narrator randomly changing now? Just have one of the others read the transcript. Ugh that bothered me SO MUCH. Also first reaction to Lily was who tf is Lily!? (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ This was good. I enjoyed it. Kept me engaging and I liked the ending though I was expecting more of a supernatural element. I'm glad Beth didn't have cancer, I've been reading too many books with cancer lately. (hide spoiler)]

[Maisha]

Starting...

[Maisha]

Chapter 1-4

I am enjoying the setting. Mysterious small town mysteries with a touch of horror has already been my favourite kind of books to read. I wonder what might have happened with Shea when she was young..Itxs thrilling. However I don't the writing style. I'm having hard time getting into it.

[Karen]

Maisha wrote: "Chapter 1-4

I am enjoying the setting. Mysterious small town mysteries with a touch of horror has already been my favourite kind of books to read. I wonder what might have happened with Shea when..."

Opening four chapters. There is a definite sense of small-town mentality and I am curious to see what happened to our narrator when she was younger.

[Maisha]

Chapter 20

(view spoiler)[Omg! She's meeting Michael finally. I assumed he would remain as the mystery guy until the very end and maybe the major twist will be something surrounding him...But now I wonder if he's going be a love interest for Shea or not. She clearly likes him. But what would happen once they meet? Excited to see.. (hide spoiler)]

[Maisha]

Chapter 33

(view spoiler)[ So Beth had a step sisters named Lily who's the real Zodiac Lady Killer and Beth was just covering for her? Can't say I saw that coming. Is Lily really dead? If yes, how did she died? Is the Greer Mansion actually haunted and it's all an act?

Shea isn't telling us the full story. There is something more to the story of girl A. Everyone is hiding something. There are so many pages still left. I can't fathom what may happen. Things have got exhilarating. (hide spoiler)]

[Maisha]

finished

(view spoiler)[there was no twist in the 2nd half of the book. no big secret was revealed at the end. I am kinda mad about it. The book was longer than necessary considering there was almost no 'mystery' to speak of. (hide spoiler)]

[Maisha]

overall an enjoyable read. but I am really underwhelming. it could be so much better. a great scope wasted on nothing...

[Karen]

Andy wrote: "50% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ The repeated references to the mother and haunting make me suspect it's heading strongly in that direction. I thought the detective's comment (mentioned after he'd picked her up at the bar) about covering for someone else was interesting. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Maisha wrote: "Chapter 20

[spoilers removed]"

Michael - I'm hoping - is going to be more relevant to this cold case than he realises. Interesting that both his relatives worked on the force at the time.

[Karen]

About 50%. I'm enjoying the split focus between Beth in the past and the current focus on her case. I can't help but feel Shea is hiding something more - the story she told about running out of the car feels as if there's something missing.

[Karen]

Third quarter - the truth is sometimes weirder than anything you could come up with! Feel so sorry for those involved in this - so much that could, if handled differently, have been impacted.

[Karen]

Andy wrote: "77% [spoilers removed]

Finished [spoilers removed]"

Finished. I wasn't wholly convinced by the paranormal elements of this. They felt like an unnecessary distraction.

[Karen]

Finished. Review on home page. Shea was an interesting character, and I found myself quite frustrated by the issues shown up about the case in the past.

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Ch 15. (view spoiler)[What is going on here? Is Beth being haunted? I did not think this story was going there so I'm thinking maybe someone is living in that house also, an unknown obviously dangerous someone, maybe a family member of hers? (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Ch 35 (view spoiler)[So the only twist I can think of is if present day Beth is actually Lilly and she’s been living her sisters life, secretly going on with her serial killer ways and money….. 🤔🤔 but that can’t be because they didn’t look that alike and a million other reasons. This is very interesting but I hope this is actually building up to something! (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Finished (view spoiler)[One thing this story had going for it IMO was the mystery buildup. However once you piece it together (which isn't hard) everything you thought was going on is proven right and it's just not exciting when it ended. Felt so anticlimactic after all the buildup to nothing :( I think if there was a twist or something like that thrown in, the end would have been much more satisfactory for me which is sad because I really did enjoy most of it. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Maisha wrote: "finished

[spoilers removed]"

I couldn't agree more. (view spoiler)[Having far too easily piecing the story together the second half was pretty lame. (hide spoiler)]

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Karen wrote: "Andy wrote: "77% [spoilers removed]

Finished [spoilers removed]"

Finished. I wasn't wholly convinced by the paranormal elements of this. They felt like an unnecessary distraction."

I'm just confused why this was even necessary, sure it was a cool aspect of the story but it didn't feel like it belonged.

[❀ Crystal ✿ -]

Forgot to add one of my comment smh
Ch. 24 (view spoiler)[So it's this mysterious Lilly causing this and she's obviously smart, manipulative and cunning. Not sure still why she would do this..... I'm guessing Lilly may be her estranged angry sister maybe who was given up and resents Beth????? (hide spoiler)]

[Megan]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Ch 15. [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I'm curious about what's going on too. Is she being haunted, drugged, tormented by someone, or does she have a mental disorder (something like multiple personalities)? With the mention of Beth being terrified of ending up like her mother makes me really think it could be a heredity thing. (hide spoiler)]

[Jammin Jenny]

I'm 47% in - just finished Part 1.

Shea (view spoiler)[So I think she was abducted as a child, but when the kidnapper was driving her away, she was able to jump out of the car and hide so she saved herself. But now she is obsessed with murders and cold cases. (hide spoiler)]

Beth (view spoiler)[ Is there a ghost in the Greer mansion? How did the door open when she went to go back inside after Shea ran from the house after being basically "attacked" when she was in Beth's father's study looking at those three words "I'm still here"...who is still here? Beth's twin sister that died? Her dad? Her mom? She's protecting someone - I agree with Detective Black (hide spoiler)]

[Jammin Jenny]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Ch 15. [spoilers removed]"

I am wondering the same thing!!!

[Jammin Jenny]

That was a great book! I'm going to give it five stars.

(view spoiler)[I loved that Beth killed Lily to save others from her madness...that Lily was a psychopath who probably would have killed Beth if she had the chance...and that Shea came out of her shell. I really think that was one of Beth's goals from the start - and why she said she was going to sue...as well as setting up possible outs for a jury trial (hide spoiler)]

[Saar The Book owl]

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Date changed. Restarting August 5th 2022. Happy Reading ☺

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[Laura]

I can't wait to start this! The Sun Down Motel by Simone st James is one of the best books I have read this year, so I have high expectations for this one.

[Aneta]

I can't wait as well! I read only The Broken Girls and really enjoyed that book.
I'm going to start reading this tomorrow because I managed to finish my audiobook earlier than expected.

[Aneta]

Chapter 8
(view spoiler)[Okay, I already like this setting. I hope this is really paranormal because that house sound terrifying! I just hope it's not all in her head because I read several books like that already and I'm not big fan.
I wonder what happen to Shea when she was young. (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Chapter 14
(view spoiler)[Who leaves they cat with a stranger!? (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Chapter 22
(view spoiler)[Is Beth really covering for someone or maybe it was her? At first I thought she was possed because there are times she doesn't remeber stuff but I'm not sure about that.
And I'm not sure why but I don't trust Michael just yet. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Chapter 5 (view spoiler)[ I am already really enjoying this book so far. Shea is a really interesting character and I am very curious about Beth. I don't reckon she was the killer. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Aneta wrote: "I can't wait as well! I read only The Broken Girls and really enjoyed that book.
I'm going to start reading this tomorrow because I managed to finish my audiobook earlier than expected."

I haven't read The Broken Girls yet but I definitely plan to.

[Laura]

Aneta wrote: "Chapter 8

(view spoiler)[ I cannot stand when they end like that either! It's a bit of a letdown in most cases. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Chapter 10 (view spoiler)[ This already has great atmosphere. Poor Shea. What a terrible thing to have happen. She's a very interesting character and I am really liking her so far. I did not expect Beth to have a pov, so I found that very interesting. I am looking forward to seeing how the story progresses! (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Laura wrote: "Chapter 5 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[That would way too easy if Beth was a killer. (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Laura wrote: "Chapter 10 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I actually think that Shea is still hiding something about what happened when she was a kid. (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Chapter 31
(view spoiler)[Okay, so Lily is a killer and it wasn't first time she killed someone but it looks like she killed Beth's father as well. Maybe she has something to do with her mother's death too. I'm still not sure what's happening with this house because we were told several times Beth has to stay there. I would be long gone if stuff like this would be happening in my home.

I'm not sure if I like where this story is going (because it looks like paranormal part is just there and so far not really important to the story) but I definitely curious. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Aneta wrote: "Laura wrote: "Chapter 5 [spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Exactly my thoughts! (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Aneta wrote: "Laura wrote: "Chapter 10 [spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ She definitely is. I wonder how it will be revealed and who she will tell? (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Chapter 34
(view spoiler)[I don’t get Beth. Why she didn‘t say something!? I know she wants her mother to love her but she already know it’s not happening. Her mother loves Lily and Beth is just a afterthought. And if Lily wants money she just need to get rid of Beth. It’s terrible idea to let her live with them! (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Finished
(view spoiler)[So paranormal aspect of this book really wasn't important to this story. Which is shame because I would love to see more of it but not like this. This ghost of Lily didn't show as anything new, only the way she was killed. And she literally took Shea to her memories to show her stuff. Not a big fan of this (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Chapter 15 (view spoiler)[ By giving Shea the contested cat, the neighbor is likely going to cause trouble for her, which isn't very fair. Plus poor abandoned kitty! (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Aneta wrote: "Chapter 14
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I guess if you are desperate and Shea showed her kindness so the neighbour probably thought it safe to leave the cat with her. Still, I definitely agree, poor cat! (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Aneta wrote: "Chapter 34
[spoilers removed]"
(view spoiler)[ I think she may have been a bit afraid of Lily. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Aneta wrote: "Finished
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ The ghost stuff was a bit lazy in my opinion. The book got really predictable as soon as Lily's existance was revealed. I would have liked (and honestly had been expecting this to happen) if Shea or Beth had burned the house down.

I did think it was interesting that in a way Beth was just as evil as her sister. She killed countless people by not doing anything. I also liked that she saved Shea's life in a backward kind of way.

The whole relationship with Michael felt exceptionally forced and the paranormal stuff felt a lot like it was just an add-on for extra effect. (hide spoiler)]