I liked The Sun Down Motel a lot, so The Book of Cold Cases sold itself to me pretty easily, being as it is another dual-timeline, true-crime-inspired tale of murder and ghosts from Simone St. James. For some reason, I didn't tear through this one like I did with The Sun Down Motel, which might just be down to life circumstances and distractions because there is a lot to enjoy here, not the least of which is the tension between the two very different main characters, both of whom have had their lives put on hold by their proximity to murder. I think that Shea will be relatable to a lot of women in their 30s or slightly younger, who are all too aware of how wrong things can go for women and girls, especially, and for whom thrillers and true crime feel like preparation, a mental inoculation against the darkness. I mean, hell, that's me reading this very book.

Oddly appropriate reading alongside Flowers in the Attic, with the glamorous but troubled mother, the family secrets, and the 20th Century Gothic atmosphere. No incest, though.