Simone St. James is the bestselling and award-winning author of The Sun Down Motel and The Broken Girls. 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. You can find her online at SimoneStJames.com.
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 crime scenes. 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 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?
Shea Collins, working a sort of half-life as a receptionist, follows her passions once she clocks out out of work: by working on a true crime blog of cold cases. Shea has her own personal reasons for being obsessed with these cold cases, but one truly stands out among the rest: the biggest cold case her town has ever seen, nicknamed the Lady Killer murders. When given a surprise chance to learn the truth behind it all, she takes it, and it takes her on the wildest ride of her life. On her search for external truth, Shea also learns so much more about herself and the type of life she wants to live. Part of the reason I liked this book so much is because how, at the instance of the world around her, Shea finally breaks out of her shell and starts to live the life she was meant to lead. One that of course isn't fully free of fear, but one that lives despite it. I really love that message, as it compelled me to follow Shea down her journey for truth about the Lady Killer murders and about the type of life she wants to lead.
I enjoyed how this book was a dual perspective story told from the first person, present day point of view of Shea, while also bouncing back to Beth's point of view, both in the past and present. This type of storytelling allows us deep access into Shea's mind as she tells her story, from her motivations to getting Beth's truth, all the way to how she feels about her own past and present. By having a third person Beth interject, both in the past and present, we get her perspective on her own story, and we can also see what her life has turned into after her youth. This story is the story of three (arguably four) women making their way through the world, and I think by having at least two of the women share their perspectives was a strong narrative selling point.
I wasn't expecting the supernatural elements of this book, but I think they worked rather well in retrospect. Basically, Beth Greer has lived in her childhood home all her life, and the house truly doesn't want her to leave. But is it the house, or something more sinister? The Greer house is definitely spooky, and nowhere I'd like to step foot in, but it plays a rather large role in Beth's life and Shea's search for the truth. I love spooky books where the setting takes on a big role (like Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House), and I wish that the haunted house was played up more. I think the author could have leaned further into these elements, made the ending even more haunting, which would have made the epilogue extremely spooky. Either way, I think the addition of the supernatural elements and the haunted house made this book more entertaining!
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
Comments
Post a Comment