Category Archives: Mystery & Thriller

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey has big dreams but little hope of seeing them come true. Desperate for money, she takes a job at the Glenmore, where hotel guest Grace Brown entrusts her with the task of burning a secret bundle of letters. But when Grace’s drowned body is fished from the lake, Mattie discovers that the letters could reveal the grim truth behind a murder. Set in 1906 against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy, Jennifer Donnelly’s debut novel weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving and real.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother
  • Murder by drowning

Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight. My name isn’t really Nick Pearson. I shouldn’t tell you where I’m from or why my family moved to Stepton, Virginia. I shouldn’t tell you who I really am, or my hair, eye, and skin colour. And I definitely shouldn’t tell you about my friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy he was about to uncover when he died—right after I moved to town. About how I had to choose between solving his murder with his hot sister, Reya, and “staying low-key” like the Program has taught me. About how moving to Stepon changed my life forever. But I’m going to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a friend
  • Murder
  • Animal attack

Endangered by Lamar Giles

Endangered by Lamar Giles

The one secret she cares about keeping—her identity—is about to be exposed. Unless Lauren “Panda” Daniels—an anonymous photoblogger who specializes in busting classmates and teachers in compromising positions—plays along with her blackmailer’s little game of Dare or . . . Dare. But when the game turns deadly, Panda doesn’t know what to do. And she may need to step out of the shadows to save herself . . . and everyone else on the Admirer’s hit list.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Ableism
  • Slut shaming
  • Public outing recounted
  • Statutory rape
  • Nonconsensual voyeurism
  • Adult-minor relationship*
  • Cheating
  • Attempted suicide
  • Substance addiction mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Hospitalisation
  • Murder
  • Physical assault
  • Strangulation
  • Fire
  • Stalking
  • Blackmail
  • Car accident
  • Kidnapping mentioned
  • Bullying & cyberbullying (theme)

*Context : Adult-minor relationship between an underage female student and a male teacher.

Overturned by Lamar Giles

Overturned by Lamar Giles

Nikki Tate is infamous, even by Las Vegas standards. Her dad is sitting on death row, convicted of killing his best friend in a gambling dispute turned ugly. And for five years, he’s maintained his innocence. But Nikki wants no part of that. She’s been working on Operation Escape Vegas: playing in illegal card games so she can save up enough money to get out come graduation day. Then her dad’s murder conviction is overturned. The new evidence seems to come out of nowhere and Nikki’s life becomes a mess when he’s released from prison. Because the dad who comes home… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Murder
  • Imprisonment

Dead Time by Anne Cassidy

Dead Time by Anne Cassidy

Rose and Joshua first met when Joshua and his dad came to live with Rose and her mum. Then their world turns upside down when their mother and father go out for dinner one evening and never return. With police inquiries going nowhere, Rose is dispatched to live with her chilly, unfriendly grandmother and Joshua is sent to live with his uncle.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Murder
  • Death of a parent

The Cutaway by Christina Kovac

The Cutaway by Christina Kovac

When brilliant TV news producer Virginia Knightly receives a disturbing “MISSING” notice on her desk related to the disappearance of a beautiful young attorney, she can’t seem to shake the image from her head. Despite scepticism from her colleagues, Knightly suspects this ambitious young lawyer may be at the heart of something far more sinister, especially since she was last seen leaving an upscale restaurant after a domestic dispute. Yet, as the only woman of power at her station, Knightly quickly finds herself investigating on her own. Risking her career, her life, and perhaps even her own sanity, Knightly dives deep… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • PTSD & trauma
  • Murder

The Shattering by Karen Healey

The Shattering by Karen Healey

Keri, Janna and Sione have two things in common: they each have an older brother who committed suicide. And they each have a connection with Summerton. As the three teenagers delve deeper into the mystery they uncover secrets that will shatter everything they thought they knew. Summerton is perfect: gorgeous weather, stunning scenery, cute out-of-towners to hook up with. But sharp-tongued Keri is immune to her hometown’s charms. Her older brother’s sudden death has left her shattered by grief and with too many unanswered questions. When Keri discovers that childhood friend turned rock-chick… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Suicide

Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh

Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh

When socialite Nina Rai disappeared without a trace, everyone wrote it off as another trophy wife tired of her wealthy husband. But now her bones have turned up in the shadowed green of the forest that surrounds her elite neighbourhood, a haven of privilege and secrets that’s housed the same influential families for decades. The rich live here, along with those whose job it is to make their lives easier. And somebody knows what happened to Nina one rainy night ten years ago. Her son Aarav heard a chilling scream that night, and he’s determined to uncover the ugly truth that lives beneath the moneyed elegance but no one is read… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental emotional abuse
  • Intimate partner violence
  • Statutory rape
  • Depression
  • Alcoholism
  • Suicide
  • Overdose
  • Hospitalisation
  • Murder

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

Anahera Rawiri left New Zealand at twenty-one, fleeing small-town poverty and the ghosts of her childhood with no plans to look back. But eight years later, she returns, seeking familiarity as respite from the shattered remains of her new life. And despite the changes brought on by a bump in tourism–the shiny new welcome sign at the town line and a decidedly less shiny new police presence–Golden Cove appears much as it ever was: a small settlement on the savage West Coast of the South Island, populated by all the remembered faces and set against a back… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape recounted
  • Child physical & sexual abuse recounted
  • Domestic violence recounted
  • Cheating recounted
  • Pregnancy mentioned
  • Miscarriage recounted
  • Murder
  • Arson
  • Animal cruelty

Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski

Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski

It’s 1999 and Samantha has danced for years at the Lovely Lady strip club. She’s not used to mixing work and friendship―after all, between her jealous boyfriend and his young daughter, she has enough on her plate. But the newest dancer is so clueless that Samantha feels compelled to help her learn the hustle and drama of the club: how to sweet-talk the boss, fit in with the other women, and make good money. One night, when the new girl needs a ride home, Samantha agrees to drive: a simple decision that turns deadly… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Transmisia
  • Lesbomisia
  • Rape, implied
  • Domestic abuse mentioned