‘The Book of Cold Cases’ – Simone St James

The Book of Cold Cases blends thriller and paranormal elements to draw us in as we follow Shea Collins in her investigation.

Shea is a doctor’s receptionist, recently divorced, and blogger. Her obsession is with examining cold cases, unsolved crimes, and nothing taunts her more than the case involving the infamous female serial killer of Claire Lake. When Shea recognises Beth Greer in her doctor’s surgery, she is shocked when Beth agrees to an interview.

Initially, we focus on learning about Shea and picking over the known details of the case. Beth Greer was a wealthy socialite in the 1970s, attractive and yet distant. When arrested for the brutal killings of two men, everyone thinks they know Beth. She was, eventually, acquitted and has lived in the town since with many convinced she got away with murder.

Splitting our focus between Shea’s focus in the present and Beth’s past, there’s lots of hints about the case. We slowly pick out what’s relevant and, from the outset, it was apparent that each character involved had their secrets.

The truth about the crime was identifiable from quite early on, which made me think I would be rather underwhelmed by my suspicions being confirmed. That was far from the case though.

As the story develops we learn a lot more about Shea – a character with more in common with Beth than she might like to admit – and the exploration of society’s attitudes to women/crime was interesting. The paranormal elements created an unsettling atmosphere, but the rational part of me found it hard to reconcile these with details of the crimes.