rachel @ typed truths

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but Ellie’s reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers. It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work. Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of… Read more,

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Misogyny, racism & classism
Alcohol consumption & alcoholism
Murder & torture
Kidnapping, rape & abuse of multiple women discussed
Cults

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda

When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake’s longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she’s warily drawn back to the town—and people—she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel’s not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge…including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Stalking & home invasion

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible. Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Blood depiction & emesis
Murder
Smoking
Animal & human medical experimentation

Husbands and Lovers by Beatriz Williams

New England, 2022. Three years ago, single mother Mallory Dunne received the telephone call every parent dreads—her ten-year-old son, Sam, had been airlifted from summer camp with acute poisoning from a toxic death cap mushroom, leaving him fighting for his life. Now, searching for the donor kidney that will give her son a chance for a normal life, Mallory’s forced to confront two harrowing secrets from her past: her mother’s adoption from an infamous Irish orphanage in 1952, and her own all-consuming summer romance fourteen years earlier with her childhood best friend, Monk Adams— one of the world’s most… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Rape
Forced adoption recounted & discussed
Hospitalisation of a child from accidental death cap mushroom poisoning

Love Unwritten by Lauren Asher

Ellie Sinclair is a hopeless romantic who writes love songs. I’m a struggling workaholic who could inspire a hundred breakup albums. On paper, we have nothing in common except for my son. For eight months, I avoid her until our summer trip. Fourteen days. Two islands. And one nanny I shouldn’t be attracted to. Spending time with Ellie is expected, but enjoying her company?
That isn’t part of our travel plans. After my divorce, I swore to protect my heart at all costs. Even if it means breaking hers in the process. What’s worse than working for a grumpy single dad? Admitting that I… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Parental abandonment & neglect recounted
Alcohol consumption
Divorce recounted
Self-harm recounted
Compulsive eating due to childhood food insecurity (protagonist)

The Dixon Rule by Elle Kennedy

Diana Dixon has a lot going on this summer. She’s rehearsing for a ballroom dance competition, juggling two jobs, and dealing with an ex-boyfriend who can’t take the hint it’s over. Yet despite all that, she still has plenty of time and energy to tell Shane Lindley to screw off. Shane just moved into her apartment building and seems dedicated to sleeping his way through her entire cheerleading squad. Sure, he’s a tall, gorgeous hockey player, but he’s messing with her turf. This calls for some ground rules: no parties in her apartment, leave her teammates alone, and—most importantly—leave her alone. What Diana doesn’t realise is that… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Domestic violence (on-page)
Panic attacks
Death of a parent from a cancer (on-page)

Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver

A rugged mountain town seemed like the perfect escape from a life in shambles. But on day one I ran full tilt into the world’s hottest single dad and now all my plans are ruined. As a chart-topping country singer with a recent streak of bad press it’s hard to find any peace. But I find it in Rose Hill. With a little boy and a little girl who steal my heart just as thoroughly as their dad. Weston Belmont. The man is a shameless flirt. He oozes confidence and masculinity in a way that’s downright distracting. And in bed? He’s addictive. Everything with him is wild and impulsive and I’m desperate to regain some control. But no one has supported… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Emotional & financial parental abuse
Dieting mentioned
Anxiety & panic attacks (on-page)
Alcohol consumption
Death by overdose mentioned (off-page)

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

There aren’t enough labelled glass containers to contain the mess that is Ali Morris’s life. Her mom died two years ago, then her husband left, and she hasn’t worn pants with a zipper in longer than she cares to remember. She’s a professional organizer whose pantry is a disgrace. No one is more surprised than Ali when the first time she takes off her wedding ring and puts on pants with hardware—overalls count, right?—she meets someone. Or rather, her dog claims a man for her in the same way he claimed his favourite of her three children: by peeing on him. Ethan smiles at Ali like… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Divorce (theme)
Grief & loss depiction
Miscarriage discussed (protagonist’s mother)
Death of a mother recounted (off-page)

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going to her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what. But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel. Because it is. This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Infidelity (ex-partner)
Alcohol consumption
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a spouse in a car accident

Where’s Molly by H.D. Carlton

In my dreams, I never escaped the Oregon woods. Life after death isn’t easy to accept, especially when I still feel like a ghost. Now, I live deep in the mountains of Montana—the paradigm of beauty. But they are also the home of horrors. Horrors that I only unleash at night. When my pigs are allowed to feast.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

Child abuse & neglect including child sexual assault and rape recounted (off-page)
Human trafficking
Suicidal ideation
Drug use & alcohol consumption
Murder