Category Archives: Horror

Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey

Celia is so tired of being alone. All she wants is to have a family―to belong to someone. That’s why she’s going to Kindred Cove for the annual Salt Festival held by the secluded community that lives there. They promise that healing is possible. They promise that transformation is inevitable. There is no grief at Kindred Cove, because there is no suffering. Nothing is ever lost. Celia knows that, at that mysterious island surrounded by that impossible, ever-growing reef — she will find herself. She’s ready to be healed. She’s ready to be transformed. She’s ready to believe.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infertility & miscarriage (protagonist)
  • Cults

The Crustacean by Jang Jinyeong

Chichirim is a plain 13-year-old girl. An ordinary, misunderstood, lonely seventh-grader. A girl with a terrible secret. Her dad is worse than useless. And her mum spends all her days tattooing thick ugly eyebrows on old women. Her parents forget her birthday and her sister hates them so much she wishes they were dead. Chichirim does bad things at school. And still, no one cares. Until, one day, an older man picks her up on the side of the road. He tells her she is pretty. Her tells her what to do. Underneath her hard outer shell, her softness is being exploited and destroyed by the people she trusts and loves the most.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child neglect
  • Child sexual assault & grooming (on-page)

Roar of the Lambs by Jamison Shea

Sixteen-year-old Winnie Bray is a liar. As the resident psychic at an oddities shop, Winnie truly can see the future. But her customers only want reassurance, and Winnie only wants their money. Favorable fortunes are a fast track to funding her way out of Buffalo, New York for good, after all. But all of that changes when a vision sends her stalking in the remains her family home that burned down in a fire 10 years ago. Among the ash and rubble, Winnie finds a box made of bone, untouched by flames and…whispering. At the touch of her finger, the box shows her a vision of death, chaos… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny, classism & racism
  • Misgendering
  • Suicide
  • Police brutality
  • Knife violence
  • Transphobic bullying mentioned

Death Note, Vol. 8: Target by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Light–working as Kira, the newest member of the NPA intelligence bureau, and L–has nearly succeeded in creating his ideal world. But the years of uncontested victory have made him complacent, and he is unprepared for a new attack close to home. With his younger sister Sayu kidnapped and the NPA’s Death Note demanded as ransom, Light must travel across the world and confront two new adversaries, each with a very different agenda. Will Light’s quick wits be a match for this new challenge, or will he be forced to choose between Kira’s ambitions and his own family’s lives?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Heart attack
  • Murder (on- & off-page)
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Illegal & unethical surveillance and invasions of privacy by law enforcement

Death Note, Vol. 4: Love by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

With two Kiras on the loose, L asks Light to join the task force and pose as the real Kira in order to catch the copycat. L still suspects Light and figures that this is the perfect excuse to get closer to his quarry. Light agrees to the plan in order to have free access to the task force resources. But when Light manages to contact the new Kira, he discovers that his rival is anything but as expected. Will Light escape from love unscathed?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Heart attack
  • Murder & torture, including non-consensual sensory deprivation
  • Illegal & unethical surveillance and invasions of privacy by law enforcement

Death Note, Vol. 3: Hard Run by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Light is chafing under L’s extreme surveillance, but even 64 microphones and cameras hidden in his room aren’t enough to stop Light. He steps up the game, but before the battle of wits can really begin, a family emergency distracts him. But even though Light isn’t using the Death Note right now, someone else is! Who’s the new “Kira” in town?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Heart attack
  • Hospitalisation
  • Murder & mass murder
  • Hostage situation
  • Blackmail
  • Illegal & unethical surveillance and invasions of privacy by law enforcement

Death Note, Vol. 2: Confluence by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Light thinks he’s put an end to his troubles with the FBI—by using the Death Note to kill off the FBI agents working the case in Japan! But one of the agents has a fiancée who used to work in the Bureau, and now she’s uncovered information that could lead to Light’s capture. To make matters worse, L has emerged from the shadows to work directly with the task force headed by Light’s father. With people pursuing him from every direction, will Light get caught in the conflux?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape mentioned
  • Heart attack
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a fiance recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder (on- & off-page)
  • Gun violence recounted
  • Bus-jacking recounted
  • Illegal & unethical surveillance and invasions of privacy by law enforcement

Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects – and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami, a death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal… or his life?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Heart attack
  • Murder (on- & off-page)
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident (on-page)
  • Hostage situation (on-page)
  • Imprisonment mentioned
  • Bullying

Death Note, Vol. 7: Zero by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

After a high-speed chase, Light and the task force apprehend the newest Kira. Light regains his Death Note and his memories, and the depths of his cunning are revealed as the plans he carefully put in place before going into confinement are slowly unveiled. His masterful manipulation of both humans and Shinigami lead him to the strongest position he’s yet enjoyed. But the glow of his victory is marred when a new threat appears. Can Light withstand a surprise attack on two fronts?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Heart attack
  • Murder (on- & off-page)
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident (on-page)
  • Hostage situation (on-page)
  • Imprisonment mentioned
  • Bullying

The Fallen by Charlie Higson

First the sickness rotted the adults’ minds. Then their bodies. Now they stalk the streets, hunting human flesh. The Holloway crew are survivors. They’ve fought their way across London and made it to the Natural History Museum alive – just. But the fight will never end while the Enemy lives, unless there’s another way…The kids at the museum are looking for a cure. All they need are medical supplies. To get them means a journey down unknown roads. Roads where not only crazed, hungry sickos hide in the shadows. Suddenly it’s not so clear who – or what – they’re fighting.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Blood & gore depiction including body horror and cannibalism
  • Death of a child
  • Animal death