Animal Cruelty, Abuse & Torture – Page 14

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania. What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves. Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Suicide
Body horror
Fire
Animal death
Animal cruelty
Animal injury & illness

Root Magic by Eden Royce

Root Magic by Eden Royce

It’s 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won’t stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven—and their uncle, Doc, tells them he’s going train them in footwork. Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of her family for generations—especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery
Racism
Hate crime
Death of a parent
Death of a grandparent
Police brutality
Animal death
Animal cruelty

The Highland Falcon Thief by MG Leonard and Sam Sedgman

The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman and illustrated by Elisa Paganelli

Harrison Beck is reluctantly joining his travel-writer Uncle Nat for the last journey of the royal train, The Highland Falcon. But as the train makes its way to Scotland, a priceless brooch goes missing, and things suddenly get a lot more interesting. As suspicions and accusations run high among the passengers, Harrison begins to investigate and uncovers a few surprises along the way. Can he solve the mystery of the jewel thief and catch the culprit before they reach the end of the line?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Fatmisia
Animal cruelty (dog)

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

n a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology, translating the poetry of William Blake, and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her reputation as a crank and a recluse is amplified by her not-so-secret preference for the company of animals over humans. Then a neighbor, Big Foot, turns up dead. Soon other bodies are discovered, in increasingly strange circumstances. As suspicions mount, Janina inserts herself into the investigation, certain that she knows whodunit. If only anyone would pay her mind . . .

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Murder
Animal death & abuse

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

The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz

The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz

They called themselves “the lucky ones.” They were seven children either orphaned or abandoned by their parents and chosen by legendary philanthropist and brain surgeon Dr Vincent Capello to live in The Dragon, his almost magical beach house on the Oregon Coast. Allison was the youngest of the lucky ones living an idyllic life with her newfound family…until the night she almost died, and was then whisked away from the house and her adopted family forever. Now, thirteen years later, Allison receives a letter from Roland, Dr Capello’s oldest son, warning her that their father is ill and in his final days. Allison determines she must go… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Attempted rape
Foster care system experiences
Domestic violence
Cheating
Retrograde amnesia
Suicide
Drug use
Miscarriage mentioned
Seizure
Brain tumours mentioned
Medical procedures & treatment
Death of a child
Death of a mother from a car accident
Murder-suicide & attempted murder
Poisoning (lead)
Animal death & abuse

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

This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

Twenty-five years ago, the body of sixteen-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa—discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her boyfriend, Nick, but without sufficient evidence, the case ultimately went cold. For decades Maggie was haunted by Eve’s death and that horrible night. Now a detective in Grotto, and seven months pregnant, she is thrust back into the past when a new piece of evidence surfaces and the case is reopened. As Maggie investigates and reexamines the clues and secrets about what really… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Victim-blaming
Sexual assault
Statutory rape
Abusive relationship
Suicidal ideation
Infertility & pregnancy loss
Murder of a friend recounted
Death of a parent
Animal death & cruelty

The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

The only person who might have the answers to a baffling murder case is the victim’s seven-year-old daughter, found hiding in the room where her mother died. And she’s not talking. Newly-promoted, out of his depth, detective Huldar turns to Freyja for her expertise with traumatized young people. Freyja, who distrusts the police in general and Huldar in particular, isn’t best pleased. But she’s determined to keep little Margret safe. It may prove tricky. The killer is leaving them strange clues, but can they crack the code? And if they do, will they be next?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Cheating mentioned
Incestuous rape
Pregnancy from rape
Miscarriage mentioned
Abortion mentioned
Murder
Animal abuse

Dragon Captives by Lisa McMann

Dragon Captives by Lisa McMann

Identical twins Fifer and Thisbe Stowe have amazing yet uncontrollable magical abilities. They’re naturally more gifted than even their brother, Alex, the head mage of Artimé, could hope to be. But when they accidentally use their magic in the jungle of Artimé to strike down a beloved creature, Alex is furious, and threatens to lock them away until they can learn to control their power. The threat is soon forgotten, though, when Hux, the ice blue dragon, comes to Artimé bearing the horrible news that his siblings have been enslaved by the notoriously evil Revinir, ruler of the dragon land…. Read more,

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child trafficking
Death of a parent mentioned
Immolation
Near-drowning incident
Kidnapping & captivity
Animal abuse, including whipping
Animal death