1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, The Lady Killer Murders: Two men were murdered. 23 year old Beth Greer was the suspect known at The Lady Killer but she was acquitted.
Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist but she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases. She was almost abducted as a child. She meets Beth Greer and Shea asks her for an interview. They meet at Beth's mansion and items move when she's not looking, and she could swear she's seen a girl outside the window. 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? This book is full of creepy paranormal activity. It has great character development and is very hard to put down. It is suspenseful with interesting plot twists that keep the pages turning until the very end. The story is told with Shea and Beth's POV in different timelines. I always look forward to the next Simone St. James release as I know it will be a creepy ghost story with mystery and this one did not disappoint.

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I really liked The Sundown Motel, so had high hopes for The Book of Cold Cases -- enough that I chose it as my BOTM. I love ghost stories, and this one included a haunted house which was icing on the cake! While this one wasn't as amazing as TSM, it was still pretty good. I liked Shea and her determination to solve a cold case. The way the author unpeeled one clue at a time kept my interest. The plot lost steam toward the end, which was a bit disappointing. I definitely plan to read more of this author's books, though.

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Another good thriller from St. James. This is the fourth book I have read by her and I have enjoyed all of them. The protagonist in this one is Shea Collins, a receptionist at a doctor's office by day and an unsolved murder blogger by night. Her blog, "The Book of Cold Cases", delved into unsolved murders both near and far. She lives in Claire Lake, Oregon, and one of the infamous unsolved murders occurred here back in 1977. Dubbed the "Lady Killer" murdersâtwo random men were murdered with the same gun. A witness to the second murder identified a local young woman named Beth Greer leaving the scene. But Beth was acquitted of the crimes. Then Shea happens to run into Beth at the doctor's office and Beth agrees to be interviewed. Turns out she is still living in the house where her father was also murdered back in the 70s. Her mother had been killed in a car crash soon after and so Beth had been living all alone in the house since her acquittal. So did Beth commit the crimes? If not, who did? The police are adamant that the killer was a woman based on some notes left at the crime scene. But the handwriting does not match Beth's. As Shea interviews Beth at the house, she feels other presences there and is convinced the house contains some kind of supernatural entities. If so, why does Beth stay there?

This was actually a pretty straight forward supernatural mystery with not too many surprises. But it did keep my interest throughout. I enjoyed this one but didn't feel it was as good as THE BROKEN GIRLS or THE SUNDOWN MOTEL. However, I will be looking forward to reading St. James next novel.

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Not as enjoyable as her earlier books, but still readable. I thought there was a bit too much of describing what various characters were wearing. When we are finally confronted by the third major character -- in the earlier time line -- I became a bit bored with the plot. Some tightening up might have helped.

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