The Book of Cold Cases Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes

This quiz covers the full arc of Simone St. James's The Book of Cold Cases, from the 1977 Lady Killer murders to Shea Collins's 2017 investigation and the haunting aftermath. Use it to test your recall of key events, character motivations, and symbolic patterns. For deeper discussion, see the main book page, the questions and answers, or the ending explained.

Plot & Sequence (Questions 1–8)

1. (Multiple Choice) In what year does the main narrative of Shea Collins's investigation take place?

A) 1977
B) 2007
C) 2017
D) 2019

2. (Short Answer) What is the name of Shea's true-crime website?

3. (Multiple Choice) Who is the first victim of the Lady Killer?

A) Paul Veerhoever
B) Thomas Armstrong
C) Julian Greer
D) Lawrence Gage

4. (Short Answer) What forensic evidence links the gun used in the Lady Killer murders to the death of Julian Greer?

5. (Multiple Choice) What does Shea discover about the building at 120 Linwood Street?

A) It was a psychiatric hospital
B) It was a home for unwed mothers
C) It was a boarding school
D) It was a police station

6. (Short Answer) Based on the evidence in Ransom Wells's file, who is Lily's probable biological father?

7. (Multiple Choice) How does Beth Greer kill her half-sister Lily in 1978?

A) She shoots her with a .22-caliber gun
B) She poisons her wine
C) She strikes her with an ashtray and drowns her in a bathtub
D) She pushes her off a cliff

8. (Short Answer) What is the cause of Beth Greer's death at the end of the novel?

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

9. (Short Answer) Why does Beth Greer agree to give Shea an interview?

10. (Short Answer) What motivates Shea to create the Book of Cold Cases website?

11. (Short Answer) Why does Beth cover for Lily and take the blame for the Lady Killer murders?

12. (Short Answer) Why does retired Detective Joshua Black agree to help Shea with her investigation?

13. (Multiple Choice) What best explains Lily's motive for killing random men?

A) She was avenging her mother's death
B) She was a psychopath who enjoyed killing and taunting
C) She was paid by a mysterious employer
D) She was trying to frame Beth

Themes & Symbols (Questions 14–17)

14. (Short Answer) What does the red shawl that Beth wears at her acquittal symbolize?

15. (Short Answer) In the novel, what does the Greer mansion primarily represent?

16. (Short Answer) What is the significance of the repeated phrase “I'm still here”?

17. (Multiple Choice) What does the cat Winston Purrchill symbolize in Shea's life?

A) Her fear of commitment
B) Her capacity for connection and healing
C) Her obsession with cold cases
D) Her guilt about her past

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

18. (Short Answer) How does the novel critique the true-crime genre and media sensationalism?

19. (Short Answer) Compare Beth and Lily as responses to the same childhood trauma.

20. (Short Answer) What does the final scene with the new family in the Greer mansion suggest about the novel's themes?

Answer Key

1. C) 2017 — The main narrative is set in September 2017, as established in Chapter Two and throughout.

2. The Book of Cold Cases — Shea runs a website with that name, featuring unsolved crimes and a private message board.

3. B) Thomas Armstrong — He is found shot dead in October 1977, the first of the two Lady Killer victims.

4. Ballistics — The gun used to kill Armstrong and Veerhoever matched the weapon used in Julian Greer's 1973 shooting.

5. B) It was a home for unwed mothers — Shea discovers that 120 Linwood was the Elizabeth Trevor House for Women, not a psychiatric hospital.

6. Lawrence Gage — Michael notes that Gage was 43 when Lily was born, suggesting he may have been her father.

7. C) She strikes her with an ashtray and drowns her in a bathtub — Beth kills Lily in the mansion's bathroom in March 1978.

8. A brain aneurysm — Beth dies suddenly in her car from a medical emergency, as reported on Christmas Eve 2018.

9. She wants to reveal the truth before she dies — Beth has an inoperable brain aneurysm and agrees to tell Shea everything, including the identity of the real killer.

10. To cope with her own trauma and obsession with unsolved crimes — Shea is a survivor of attempted abduction and channels her fear into researching cold cases.

11. Guilt and misplaced loyalty — Beth feels responsible for not stopping Lily and believes she could have prevented the murders, so she protects her sister.

12. Because Shea is Girl A from the Sherry Haines case — Black recognizes her and feels a sense of duty to help her, given his involvement in that case.

13. B) She was a psychopath who enjoyed killing and taunting — Lily kills for pleasure and leaves notes like “Catch me!” to taunt police.

14. It symbolizes Beth's public performance and defiance — She wears it to face the media after her acquittal, projecting an image of control and indifference.

15. It represents the inescapable past and the characters' psychological entrapment — The house is haunted, decaying, and holds the memories of violence and neglect.

16. It represents the persistence of the past and Lily's haunting presence — The phrase is whispered to Shea and appears on her phone, signaling that Lily's influence endures.

17. B) Her capacity for connection and healing — Shea reluctantly takes in the cat and gradually forms a bond, reflecting her move toward trust and recovery.

18. The novel shows how media sensationalism distorts truth and how obsession can be harmful — The Lady Killer case becomes a spectacle, and Shea's fixation nearly destroys her, yet the story also acknowledges the value of seeking justice.

19. Beth is controlled, guilt-ridden, and ultimately tries to atone, while Lily is violent, unrepentant, and embraces her darkness — Both are shaped by neglect and their mother's abandonment, but they respond in opposite ways.

20. The past cannot be erased, and the haunting continues — The new family experiences supernatural phenomena, and the two lights in the window suggest that Beth and Lily's presence lingers, underscoring the novel's theme that history is inescapable.