The Book of Cold Cases by Simon St. James was awesome! To be fair I went in with really high expectations because I loved The Haunting of Maddy Clare so much. I was feeling a a lot of pressure to pick a book that would be a good start to spooky season. And to pick follow up books and write reviews. Then October and November stomped me. So I missed spooky season, and Turkey season if you’re in the states, and the Holiday season. It’s been rough, but spooky mysteries are good for any season, right? Honestly I’m in the mood for some mayhem. January is now spooky season pre-game

I like ghost stories, spooky and a bit chilling, but not horror; I don’t even want to toe the line of horror. The Book of Cold Cases fit the bill perfectly, and I really liked that the central characters were all women. It flits between three different timelines, something that doesn’t usually appeal to me. However Simon St. James weaves them together so well, that it wasn’t jarring.

Shea Collins is an amateur blogger who looks into cold cases. By happenstance she meets Beth Greer. A woman who was suspected, tried, and acquitted for the murder of two men in the late 1970’s. When Beth agrees to an interview Shea thinks that it will be a fairly straight forward event. If interviewing a suspected murder can be straight forward. However, something in the old mansion Beth lives in is off.

Is it madness? Is it her hyper vigilance taking the opportunity to send her into a paranoid fit? Or is it something else? Something that shouldn’t exist at all? There is an over arching sense of menace through out the book, that I really enjoyed. You’ll have to read to find out.

Simone St. James also has a talent for creating real characters. While I think a book can be enjoyable, even if the characters aren’t as well constructed, it’s just not the same transcendent experience. Honestly I had to turn the lights on before I would walk from my car to my house.

It is definitely a good start to spooky season pre-game. Or add to your Halloween read list. Does anyone else do that? I could use a few suggestions.

Content Warnings ^{3 & 5}