The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: St. James, Simone. The Book of Cold Cases. Berkley, March 15, 2022. Kindle.

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James is a modern gothic novel in which true crime blogger Shea Collins believed she had gotten the opportunity of a lifetime when acquitted murder suspect Elizabeth “Beth” Greer agreed to an interview. Beth had been accused of the 1977 Lady Killer murders in which two random men were killed. An eyewitness testified to having seen Beth at the scene of the second murder. In spite of this testimony, no other evidence was found that connected Beth to the crimes. After refusing interviews for nearly 40 years, Shea wonders why Beth has chosen that time to talk and why she decided to talk to Shea.

Beth had been 19 years old when her father, Julian, was murdered in the kitchen of the Greer mansion. Four years later, the same gun was used to kill the two random men. Notes, suggesting that a woman was responsible for the murders, were left near the bodies. Beth was arrested for the murders and went to trial, but she was acquitted of the crimes.

Forty years later, Shea put new energy into researching Beth’s background when she was granted the interview. She learned that Beth had an unknown half-sister, Lily. Beth’s mother, Mariana, became pregnant out of wedlock and was sent to a home for unwed mothers to have her baby. The baby was raised in foster care.

Shea’s discovery prompted Beth to tell Shea the strange story of how Lily came to stay with the family each Christmas. Beth’s mother claimed Lily was a distant relative, but Beth soon realized that Lily looked too much like her mother not to be related to her. As young girls, Beth and Lily were friends. However, as they aged, their relationship grew into a love/hate relationship in which Beth was jealous of Lily because their mother appeared to love her more than she loved Beth.

Beth also began to grow aware of Lily’s violent tendencies. When a groundskeeper disappeared one Christmas, Beth believed Lily was responsible for his death. After Julian was murdered, Beth believed Lily had killed him because he has stopped sending her money. Beth was angry with Lily. At the same time, she felt responsible for what was happening because she had suspected Lily was capable of murder, but she had not tried to do anything to stop her.

After the trial in which Beth was acquitted of the crimes that Lily actually committed, Beth confronted Lily and killed her. Beth believed she was doing what was her responsibility to do to make Lily stop killing. Ever since Beth murdered Lily, Lily’s ghost has haunted the Greer mansion. For instance, Beth could not change anything in the house. Anytime Beth tried to throw out her mother and father’s things or redecorate, Lily’s ghost put things back the way they were prior. Beth also had been warned by Lily’s ghost that Beth was not to talk about what happened.

Beth had not talked to Shea about the hauntings, but she had allowed Shea to experience what was happening in the house. Because Shea saw the ghost in the form of a young blond girl, Shea knew the house was haunted by Lily. For this reason, when Shea learned the remains of a woman were found near Claire Lake, she suspected Beth killed her sister. Shea went to the mansion alone one night to find out for sure.

Shea confronted Lily’s ghost near a cliff in the backyard of the mansion. Lily grabbed Shea and pulled her toward and over the cliff. As Shea fell, Lily showed her what happened between her and Beth on the day Beth was acquitted. Shea was badly injured in the fall. When she began to recover, she insisted that the police search Beth’s home for proof that a murder took place there. Beth died of an aneurysm before a concrete connection could be made between her and Lily.