Crime blogger Shea Collins begins digging into a forty year old serial killer case known as the Lady Killer.
Sometimes I hold off on reading a popular author because I enjoy the anticipation. For some reason, I thought for sure I would love Simone St. James. Yet after having finished The Book of Cold Cases, I am sad to say that is not the case (at least not for this book). This feeling reminds me a lot of how I felt with Riley Sagers' Final Girls (yawn fest) and Home Before Dark (anticlimactic). Perhaps my expectations were just too high for this book to satisfy, which would be my own fault.
Despite Shea having an interesting backstory, I found her to be rather boring and dull for a main character. Beth is by far the more interesting character of the two female leads. The twists and turns of Beth's story were captivating as she recounts her upbringing and the circumstance leading to her arrest and trial. But while I loved Beth's story the most, I disliked the narrator of Beth's portions the most. The narrator had a way of pausing that pulled me out of the story too much to make it a smooth experience. I would also say the super natural twist in this story was unexpected, and not in a good way. I wanted this story to be more realistic, but it veered firmly into the supernatural by the ending. Overall it was too disjointed a read for me to really enjoy, but I do think fans of St. James' other works might enjoy it.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Read if you like: 🔪 Serial killers | 🔍 Mystery | 👤 Unreliable narrators
Find it: Amazon | Goodreads
Add your comment