Synopsis

A true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for while interviewing the woman acquitted of two cold case slayings in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel.

In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect–a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion.

Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases–a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To Shea’s surprise, Beth says yes.

They meet regularly at Beth’s mansion, though Shea is never comfortable there. Items move when she’s not looking, and she could swear she’s seen a girl outside the window. The allure of learning the truth about the case from the smart, charming Beth is too much to resist, but even as they grow closer, 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?

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Review

I am not a true crime junkie like some of my friends, but this story pulled me in from the start. A true crime blogger believes there is more to this cold case than meets the eye and starts digging around and even contacts the lone survivor from the family that was impacted. She is shocked that she is able to get an interview with Beth, but at the same time, I think Beth’s motivation to talk about this case stems from deeper issues and carrying around these details for all those years.

This book has so many twists and turns and just when I thought I had a handle on what was happening, something new would happen or new information would be shared. I figured out a small part of the story but was surprised when it went even deeper than I could have imagined. There is a paranormal twist with a ghost haunting the mansion and this is where it really gets interesting as we slowly learn the details behind the family, the murders/deaths, and so much more. And even though we find out the “who” about 1/2 of the way in, we still don’t know the why until much later as the details are slowly shared with us.

Shea really digs into the mystery surrounding Greer House and even has a private investigator helping her out with some of the details. Shea has her own issues, including not driving or even getting into a car, which stems from an incident she was involved with as a child. While it appears that this is a small town, it does have a really good bus system since it gets her where she needs to go including Greer House which seems to be off the beaten path.

This book is also about family – Shea’s family, Beth’s family, and those of the town. Both Shea and Beth have to come to terms with their own issues and their past and move forward into a new life. Just as I thought I had a handle on the dynamics of the family, another layer was peeled back that provided more depth and information.

The story flips back and forth in time and is told from Shea and Beth’s POV. There is so much insight and I wanted to tell the other character, “hey, this happened to her and it impacts what you are doing.” But alas, I could not.

This book has so much going for it and if you are a fan of true crime you will probably enjoy this new release. We give it 5 paws up.

About the Author

Simone St. James is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, The Broken Girls, and The Haunting of Maddy Clare, which won two RITA awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada. She wrote her first ghost story, about a haunted library, when she was in high school and spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives outside Toronto, Canada with her husband and a spoiled cat.

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