The Book of Cold Cases

Known for her chilling tales with a predilection towards the paranormal, Canadian author Simone St James is back with her latest book, The Book of Cold Cases. This suspenseful story is centered around Shea, a cold case blogger and Beth Greer, a woman who was tried and acquitted in serial killings decades prior. When Shea is granted a rare one-on-one interview with reclusive Beth, it is an offer she can't pass up - despite her initial misgivings.  

The story is told in alternating POVs of Shea and Beth. Shea's perspective focuses on the events in 2017 while Beth's sections are mainly flashbacks to her childhood in the 1970's and the beginning of the murder spree. St James excels at creating an atmospheric, tense setting and the inclusion of paranormal activities gives the book a wonderfully frightening feel that will make readers second guess the breeze across their face, whether they left that drawer open or if they really need to go into their dark basement alone.

Both women are unreliable narrators who aren't overly likeable, but readers may be surprised to find themselves rooting for each of them. I found myself a bit more drawn to the story in the first half of the book when the paranormal incidents were more prevalent, and the pacing was a bit higher. Readers will have their initial suspicions of what's going on but be prepared for the author to turn those hunches on their heads in this story about manipulation, family and pasts we cannot outrun.

My Rating: 4 STARS

Author: Simone St James

Genre: Suspense, Canadian

Type and Source: Hardcover, personal copy

Publisher: Berkley

First Published: March 15, 2022

Opening Line: The Greer mansion sat high on a hill, 

overlooking the town and the ocean.

Book Description from GoodReads: 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.