In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Nora hasn’t seen Clare for ten years. Not since Nora walked out of school one day and never went back.

Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen do arrives. Is this a chance for Nora to finally put her past behind her?

But something goes wrong. Very wrong.

Some things can’t stay secret for ever.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Overdose
  • Nonconsensual drugging
  • Teen pregnancy recounted
  • Abortion recounted
  • Hospital
  • Blood depiction & physical injuries
  • Serious injury to a loved one
  • Forced hospitalisation
  • Scars
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a fiancé
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident
  • Animal hunting mentioned

*Note: Adult-minor relationship & statutory rape briefly mentioned.

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The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

When she stumbles across the advert, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss: a live-in nanny position, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten by the luxurious ‘smart’ home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare – one that will end with a child dead and her in a cell awaiting trial for murder.

She knows she’s made mistakes. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty – at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexual harassment
  • Dubious consent scenario*
  • Physical, emotional & verbal child abuse
  • Child neglect
  • Cheating
  • Panic attack (on-page)
  • Suicide & self-harm mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood depiction and physical injuries
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a sister
  • Murder
  • Poisoning (on- & off-page)
  • Death from a fall
  • Drowning mentioned
  • Incarceration

*Note: A fade-to-black sex scene where the protagonist is under the influence of alcohol.

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The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware

The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware

On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.

Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the centre of it.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Homomisia
  • Sex work discussed
  • Child abuse recounted
  • Disownment & familial estrangement
  • Cheating
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • PTSD
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Alcohol abuse recounted
  • Dubious consent to medication
  • Teen pregnancy
  • Miscarriage & abortion mentioned
  • Infertility mentioned
  • Emesis
  • Hospital
  • Minor blood & gore depiction and physical injuries
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother & father
  • Death of a grandmother
  • Death of a sister
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Strangulation
  • Car accident
  • Disappearance of a loved one
  • Blackmail
  • Captivity recounted
  • Poverty themes & eviction
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When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole book cover

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other—or themselves—long enough to find out before they too disappear?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism, including aversive racism
  • Gentrification
  • Attempted genocide
  • Racial profiling
  • Cheating
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use, mentioned
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a mother
  • Grief depiction
  • Arrest and incarceration, mentioned
  • Dead body, on page
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The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis

The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis book cover

Tress Montor knows that her family used to mean something—until she didn’t have a family anymore. When her parents disappeared seven years ago while driving her best friend home, Tress lost everything. She might still be a Montor, but the entire town shuns her now that she lives with her drunken, one-eyed grandfather at what locals refer to as the “White Trash Zoo,” – a wild animal attraction featuring a zebra, a chimpanzee, and a panther, among other things. Felicity Turnado has it all – looks, money, and a secret that she’s kept hidden. She knows that one misstep… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape & dubious consent scenes, implied
  • Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
  • Graphic blood & injury depiction, including influenza epidemic, emesis, and seizures
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend & parents
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Death of a pet
  • Animal attack

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley book cover

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and dea… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism, misogyny & fatphobia
  • Racism & racial slurs
  • Sexual harassment
  • Rape of a minor & sexual assault (on-page)
  • Cheating recounted
  • Child abuse & neglect mentioned
  • Substance addiction discussed
  • Nightmares
  • Suicide by gunshot to the head (on-page)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use & abuse (theme) with mentions of overdose
  • Teen pregnancy recounted
  • Grandparent recovering from a stroke
  • Physical injuries, including nerve damage & chronic shoulder injury
  • Hospitalisation for internalised bleeding & liver damage with mentions of surgery
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of an uncle & father
  • Murder of a friend & teenager by gun violence (on-page)
  • Car accident (on- & off-page)
  • Bullying

Cracked Kingdom by Erin Watt

Cracked Kingdom by Erin Watt

Ever since Hartley Wright met Easton Royal, her life hasn’t been the same. There are enemies behind every corner and dangers beyond each door. When tragedy strikes and steals her memories, she can’t trust anyone, not even the blue-eyed boy who promises her that everything will be alright.

Because while Hartley’s memory is full of gaps, her instincts tell her Easton is dangerous. She doesn’t know if he’s the snake in the garden or her chance at salvation. The chaos he brings wherever he goes is too much to handle, the intense feelings he evokes are too confusing to unravel.

Easton wants her to remember. Hartley thinks it’s better to forget. He has to face the facts—in this world, you can’t escape the Royals.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Physical, emotional & verbal parental abuse
  • Incest (half-siblings)
  • Sexual harassment
  • Amnesia
  • Hospital
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Overdose mentioned
  • Bullying
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Fallen Heir by Erin Watt

Fallen Heir by Erin Watt

Easton Royal has it all: looks, money, intelligence. His goal in life is to have as much fun as possible. He never thinks about the consequences because he doesn’t have to.

Until Hartley Wright appears, shaking up his easy life. She’s the one girl who’s said no, despite being attracted to him. Easton can’t figure her out and that makes her all the more irresistible.

Hartley doesn’t want him. She says he needs to grow up.

Rivals. Rules. Regrets. For the first time in Easton’s life, wearing a Royal crown isn’t enough. He’s about to learn that the higher you start, the harder you fall.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Physical abuse
  • Teacher-student relationship
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Death of a parent
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Twisted Palace by Erin Watt

Twisted Palace by Erin Watt

Ella Harper has met every challenge that life has thrown her way. She’s tough, resilient, and willing to do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves, but the challenge of a long-lost father and a boyfriend whose life is on the line might be too much for even Ella to overcome.

Reed Royal has a quick temper and even faster fists. But his tendency to meet every obstacle with violence has finally caught up with him. If he wants to save himself and the girl he loves, he’ll need to rise above his tortured past and tarnished reputation.

With everything and everyone conspiring to keep them apart, Ella and Reed must find a way to beat the law, save their families, and unravel all the secrets in their Twisted Palace.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Slut-shaming
  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual harassment
  • Sexual assault & attempted rape
  • Dubious consent scenarios
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Addiction
  • Death of a parent
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Broken Prince by Erin Watt

Broken Prince by Erin Watt

Reed Royal has it all—looks, status, money. The girls at his elite prep school line up to date him, the guys want to be him, but Reed never gave a damn about anyone but his family until Ella Harper walked into his life.

What started off as burning resentment and the need to make his father’s new ward suffer turned into something else entirely—keep Ella close. Keep Ella safe. But when one foolish mistake drives her out of Reed’s arms and brings chaos to the Royal household, Reed’s entire world begins to fall apart around him.

Ella doesn’t want him anymore. She says they’ll only destroy each other.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Slut-shaming
  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual harassment
  • Sexual assault & attempted rape
  • Dubious consent scenarios
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Addiction
  • Death of a parent
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