Category Archives: Mystery & Thriller

The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz

The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz

When Cooper McQueen wakes up from a night with a beautiful stranger, it’s to discover he’s been robbed. The only item stolen—a million-dollar bottle of bourbon. The thief, a mysterious woman named Paris, claims the bottle is rightfully hers. After all, the label itself says it’s property of the Maddox family who owned and operated Red Thread Bourbon distillery since the last days of the Civil War until the company went out of business for reasons no one knows… No one except Paris. In the small hours of a Louisville morning, Paris unspools the lurid tale of Tamara Maddox, heiress to the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Rape & attempted rape
  • Incest
  • Slavery

Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye

Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye

Timothy and Valentine Wilde must once again delve into the darkest underbelly of old New York. When the beautiful and terrified Mrs Lucy Adams stumbles into the Tombs, headquarters of New York’s newly formed police force, it’s the beginning of a dense, thorny maze of crime for copper star Timothy Wilde. He’s hardened to the injustices of life in the unforgiving city he’s grown up in, but that doesn’t mean he accepts them. With immigrants flooding into the docks every day, each community is both adapting and fighting for its place in the new world, and there are many who… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Slavery
  • Suicide & self-harm
  • Burn scars mentioned
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Fire mentioned

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The year is 1921, and “Nobody” Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life following an illicit drug and liquor deal gone horribly wrong. Desperate to get as far away as possible from New York City and those who want her dead, she has her sights set on Oregon: a distant frontier that seems the end of the line. She befriends Max, a black Pullman porter who reminds her achingly of Harlem, who leads Alice to the Paragon Hotel upon arrival in Portland. Her unlikely sanctuary turns out to be the only all-black hotel in the city, and its lodgers seem unduly terrified of a white woman on the… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism, racial slurs & white supremacy
  • Misgendering
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Murder & gun violence
  • Lynching
  • Organised crime
  • Animal death & cruelty

The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

Meet Ben Dane: brilliant, devastating, devoted, honest to a fault (truly, a fault). His Broadway theatre baron father is dead—but by purpose or accident? The question rips him apart. Unable to face alone his mother’s ghastly remarriage to his uncle, Ben turns to his dearest friend, Horatio Patel, whom he hasn’t seen since their relationship changed forever from platonic to something…other. Loyal to a fault (truly, a fault), Horatio is on the first flight to NYC when he finds himself next to a sly tailor who portends inevitable disaster. And who seems ominously like an architect of mayhem himself. Meanwhile, Ben’s… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Alcoholism
  • Attempted suicide & suicidal ideation
  • Drug use & abuse
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Arson

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

Like the heroine of the novel she adores, Jane Steele suffers cruelly at the hands of her aunt and schoolmaster. And like Jane Eyre, they call her wicked – but in her case, she fears the accusation is true. When she flees, she leaves behind the corpses of her tormentors. A fugitive navigating London’s underbelly, Jane rights wrongs on behalf of the have-nots whilst avoiding the noose. Until an advertisement catches her eye. Her aunt has died and the new master at Highgate House, Mr Thornfield, seeks a governess. Anxious to know if she is Highgate’s true heir, Jane… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic violence & child abuse
  • Drug & alcohol abuse
  • Miscarriage
  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • War themes

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

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The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye

The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye

No one in 1840s New York likes fires, copper star Timothy Wilde least of all. After a blaze killed his parents and another left him with a terrible scar, he has avoided flames of all kinds. So when a seamstress turned arsonist threatens Robert Symmes, a corrupt tycoon high in the Tammany Hall ranks, Timothy isn’t thrilled that Symmes consults him. His dismay escalates when his audacious and charismatic older brother, Valentine, himself deeply politically entrenched, decides to run against the incumbent, who they suspect is guilty of assault and far darker crimes. Immediately after his brother’s courageous declaration… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Burn scars mentioned
  • Murder & torture
  • Fire

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

August 1845 in New York; enter the dark, unforgiving city underworld of the legendary Five Points. After a fire decimates a swathe of lower Manhattan, and following years of passionate political dispute, New York City at long last forms an official Police Department. That same summer, the great potato famine hits Ireland. These events will change the city of New York for ever. Timothy Wilde hadn’t wanted to be a copper star. On the night of August 21st, on his way home from the Tombs defeated and disgusted, he is plotting his resignation, when a young girl who has escaped from a nearby brothel, crashes into him; she… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Religious discrimination (anti-Catholic rhetoric in relation to anti-Irish sentiment)
  • Underage sex work (implied)
  • Burn scars mentioned

The Ghostwriter byAR Torre

The Ghostwriter by A.R. Torre

Four years ago, I lied. I stood in front of the police, my friends and family, and made up a story, my best one yet. And all of them believed me. I wasn’t surprised. Telling stories is what made me famous. Fifteen bestsellers. Millions of fans. Fame and fortune. Now, I have one last story to write. It’ll be my best one yet, with a jaw-dropping twist that will leave them stunned and gasping for breath. They say that sticks and stones will break your bones, but this story? It will be the one that kills me.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Paedophilia
  • Rape of a child
  • Alcoholism
  • Suicide
  • Cancer
  • Death of a child
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Every Last Secret by AR Torre

Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre

Cat Winthorpe has worked hard to get what she has: a gorgeous home; social standing; and William, her successful, handsome husband. Then a friendly new couple moves into the estate next door. While cautious, a good neighbour like Cat greets them with open arms and warm hospitality. Neena Ryder isn’t a fellow lady of leisure. A life coach with off-the-rack dresses, personal issues, and a husband who hasn’t delivered, she’s anxious to move up in the world. This beautiful new town is a step in the right direction. It’s also making Neena aware of what she doesn’t have. Namely, William. When Neena’s infatuation escalates into… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Cheating
  • Abortion
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A Treacherous Curse byDeanna Raybourn

A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

London, 1888. As colourful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumours abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Racism
  • Antiziganism
  • Misogyny
  • Slut-shaming
  • Cheating recounted
  • Suicide, on-page
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Mild blood depiction & serious physical injuries
  • Death of a husband & father
  • Murder by poison
  • Attempted murder by fire
  • Gun violence
  • Disappearance
  • Hostage situation
  • Bullying
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