Tag Archives: Alcoholism

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect–a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion. Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases–a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child sexual abuse
  • Alcoholism
  • Miscarriage mentioned
  • Murder
  • Gun violence

Tell Me When You Feel Something by Vicki Grant

Tell Me When You Feel Something by Vicki Grant

It seemed like a cool part-time program — being a simulated patient for med school students to practice on. But now vivacious, charismatic Viv lies in a very real coma. Cellphone footage just leads to more questions. What really happened? Other kids suspect it was not an intentional overdose — but each has a reason why they can’t tell the truth. Through intertwining and conflicting narratives, a twisted story unfolds of trust betrayed as we sift through the seemingly innocent events leading up to the tragic night. Perhaps simulated patients aren’t the only people pretending to be something they’re not.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Date rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Suicide
  • Bulimia mentioned
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Alcoholism
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Drug abuse
  • Drugging
  • Emesis
  • Animal death

Gemini Keeps Capricorn by Anyta Sunday

Gemini Keeps Capricorn by Anyta Sunday

Wesley loves annoying his RA, Lloyd Reynolds. He just can’t help it. Lloyd is focused, decisive, grounded. He has this amusing ability to follow rules. Of course, Wesley wants Lloyd to break one… or three hundred.… It doesn’t stop Wesley teasing again. And again. And again… But damn. Lloyd doesn’t crack easily. He’s full of principles. He’s unshakable. He’s the perfect friend to have when Wesley needs help. Like with his truant brother and his old high school principal. What can he say? It seemed like a good idea at the time…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Cheating
  • Alcoholism
  • Heart failure mentioned
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Stalking

The Boy with the Spider Face by A.J. Franks

The Boy with the Spider Face by A.J. Franks

Jeff Pritchet isn’t much different from other teenage boys, with one exception. His monstrous, spider-like appearance and loner persona make him a target for bullying when all he wants is a friend who sees beyond the surface. Enter transfer student, Aarav Jain. Thoughtful, accepting, and insightful, he sparks an untapped hope in Jeff, transforming his life. But as the boys grow closer, their deepening relationship becomes hijacked by a darkness Aarav can’t escape and a life-altering secret Jeff can barely contain. The unconventional pair find themselves… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Queermisia
  • Child abuse
  • Alcoholism
  • Drug abuse
  • Emesis
  • Body horror
  • Murder
  • Death of a parent
  • Animal death
  • Bullying

Down London Road by Samantha Young

Down London Road by Samantha Young

It has always been up to Johanna to care for her family, particularly her younger brother, Cole. With an absent father and a useless mother, she’s been making decisions based on what’s best for Cole for as long as she can remember. She even determines what men to date by how much they can provide for her brother and her, not on whatever sparks may—or may not—fly. But with Cameron MacCabe, the attraction is undeniable. The sexy new bartender at work gives her butterflies every time she looks at him. And for once, Jo is tempted to put her needs first. Cam is just as… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Parent with alcoholism

Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr

Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr

After talking her way into a job with Dan Mansfield, the leading investigative reporter in Chicago, rising young journalist Jules Roth is given an unusual–and very secret–assignment. Dan needs her to locate a painting stolen by the Nazis more than 75 years earlier: legendary Expressionist artist Ernst Engel’s most famous work, Woman on Fire. World-renowned shoe designer Ellis Baum wants this portrait of a beautiful, mysterious woman for deeply personal reasons, and has enlisted Dan’s help to find it. But Jules doesn’t have much time; the famous designer is dying… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Antisemitism
  • Statutory rape recounted
  • Alcoholism
  • Suicide recounted
  • Drug overdose recounted
  • Terminal cancer
  • Murder
  • Hostage situation
  • World War Two & the Holocaust

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released. Duchess is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them, but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper into self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child neglect
  • Substance addiction
  • Alcoholism
  • Suicide
  • Murder

The Sullivan Sisters by Kathryn Ormsbee

The Sullivan Sisters by Kathryn Ormsbee

That painful fact of life couldn’t be truer for the Sullivan sisters. Once, they used to be close, sharing secrets inside homemade blanket castles. Now, life in the Sullivan house means closed doors and secrets left untold. Fourteen-year-old Murphy, an aspiring magician, is shocked by the death of Siegfried, her pet turtle. Seventeen-year-old Claire is bound for better things than her Oregonian hometown—until she receives a crushing rejection from her dream college. And eighteen-year-old Eileen is nursing a growing addiction in the wake of life-altering news… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse recounted
  • Alcoholism
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Terminal cancer (leukemia)
  • Emesis
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Animal death & neglect

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

Tayo, a young Native American, has been a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, and the horrors of captivity have almost eroded his will to survive. His return to the Laguna Pueblo reservation only increases his feeling of estrangement and alienation. While other returning soldiers find easy refuge in alcohol and senseless violence, Tayo searches for another kind of comfort and resolution. Tayo’s quest leads him back to the Indian past and its traditions, to beliefs about witchcraft and evil, and to the ancient stories of his people. The search itself becomes a… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Sexual assault
  • Child abandonment
  • PTSD & trauma
  • Alcoholism
  • Torture
  • War & colonisation themes

Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson

Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson

Senior year at Ellingham Academy for Stevie Bell isn’t going well. Her boyfriend, David, is studying in London. Her friends are obsessed with college applications. With the cold case of the century solved, Stevie is adrift. There is nothing to distract her from the questions pinging around her brain—questions about college, love, and life in general. Relief comes when David invites Stevie and her friends to join him for study abroad, and his new friend Izzy introduces her to a double-murder cold case. In 1995, nine friends from Cambridge University went to a country house and… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Panic Disorder
  • Alcoholism mentioned
  • Drug abuse mentioned
  • Death of a child
  • Murder