The Book of Cold Cases

3/5 stars

40 years ago two men were murdered at random. Beth Greer was arrested for the murders but was aquitted and has since kept to herself in her family’s mansion. In the present day, Shea Collins is a true crime blogger who scores the interview of a lifetime with Beth. Shea begins visiting Beth’s home for the interviews but soon discovers that more sinister things may be at play. 

I have mixed feelings about The Book of Cold Cases. I do enjoy a good paranormal thriller and St. James’s previous book really worked for me. This while entertaining, wasn’t as thrilling as I had anticipated. I wasn’t enthusiastic about the protagonist, Shea. I appreciate that St. James tried to write a character that fans of true crime could relate to, but it felt unnatural and forced. Shea’s backstory was intriguing and I would’ve preferred more of that. 

The pacing of the story was okay because the timeline would shift from present to past. This kept me interested because I wanted to keep figuring out more clues as to what happened. The overall pacing was slower and again, not as thrilling as I would have hoped. 

I did enjoy reading this paranormal thriller, but it didn’t make a big impression on me. It was an entertaining read, but too slow for me to really get into.