The Book of Cold Cases

In 1977, during the time Beth Greer’s trial was going on for the Lady Killer murders, police investigation or understanding of the serial killer mentality was not nearly as advanced as it is currently. Yet, as Shea points out in the novel, “As every true-crime lover knows, the seventies were a banquet of particularly brutal serial killers” (81). St James references many of the most infamous serial killers of this time as a way of placing Lily Knowles, the Lady Killer, in a historical context, lending true crime authenticity to Lily’s story.

In the fictional Lady Killer case in the novel, one of the most significant quotes comes from Ransom Wells, Beth’s lawyer, who says “I know pure evil when I see it” (46). As the book continues, the reader finds out that this statement refers not to Beth, but to Lily, the actual Lady Killer. This quote is a striking parallel to a quote from one of Ted Bundy’s lawyers, who called Bundy “the very definition of heartless evil.” Ted Bundy is an infamous serial killer, who confessed to the murders of 30 women between 1974 and 1978 and is suspected of many more.