Animal Cruelty, Abuse & Torture – Page 16

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

The Devil’s Ride by KA Merikan

The Devil’s Ride by K.A. Merikan

Tooth. Vice President of the Coffin Nails Motorcycle Club. On a neverending quest for vengeance. The last thing he needs is becoming a permanent babysitter for a male hooker. Lucifer. Fallen. Lost. Alone After a childhood filled with neglect and abuse, followed by his mother’s suicide, Lucifer set out into the world alone. There was nothing for him out there other than taking it one day at a time. As the bastard son of the Coffin Nails club president, Lucifer never got much fatherly love. So when the Nails show up at the strip joint Lucifer works in, the last thing he expects is to be put in… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisia
Transmisia
Coming out
Sex work
Sexual assault of a child by a teacher
Child abuse & neglect recounted
Organ harvesting
Death of a mother from suicide recounted
Murder of a partner recounted
Torture
Organised crime (motorcycle gang)
Blackmail
Attempted murder of a kitten mentioned

Unforgotten by Garrett Leigh

Unforgotten by Garrett Leigh

Billy Daley hasn’t been home in years, and he likes it that way. He’s just fine on his own—he has a cash-in-hand job at a scrapyard, a half-feral cat to keep him company, and many miles between him, his hometown and all the baggage that comes with it. Until the job goes sideways. Suddenly he’s back in Rushmere, working for none other than his brother’s best friend—a man whose kiss Billy can’t seem to forget. Gus Amour’s memories of Billy Daley are all spiky edges, lips crushed against lips and a reckless streak that always ended in trouble. But when Billy needs a place to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Drug use mentioned
Chronic illness
Death of a parent from illness mentioned
Animal abuse & neglect

Object of Desire by Dal Maclean

Object of Desire by Dal Maclean

Tom Gray is one of the world’s top models–an effortless object of desire. Self-contained, elusive and always in control, he’s accustomed to living life entirely on his own terms. But when Tom comes under suspicion in the gory death of his employer, his world spirals into chaos. But when Tom comes under suspicion in the gory death of his employer, his world spirals into chaos. And as old secrets come to light, Tom finds his adversary always one step ahead.. And as old secrets come to light, Tom finds his adversary always one step ahead… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Animal mutilation (cat)

The Same End by Gregory Ashe

The Same End by Gregory Ashe

Teancum Leon is pretty sure that if he plays his cards right, he can have it all: his childhood friend and former lover, Ammon Young; his best friend (although Tean is loath to admit it), Jem Berger; and his family. A boyfriend might even be in his future, although he’s having a heck of a time getting a second date with the guys he meets on Prowler. hen the key suspect in a murder investigation asks to speak with Jem, overturning the precarious balance Tean has worked to maintain. A girl Jem knew in childhood is dead, and the man believed to have killed her was one of Jem’s tormentors at Decker Lake Juvenile… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Homomisia
Graphic rape
Sexual harassment
Depression
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Police corruption
Animal cruelty mentioned

Take Me Home by Lorelie Brown

Take Me Home by Lorelie Brown

I didn’t know what I was looking for until I saw her Craigslist ad. I love my family. I’m lucky to have them — well, most of them. But my aunt? I’m so tired of her giving my mom crap because I happen to be a lesbian. So one pink-haired tattoo artist pretending to be my girlfriend will annoy my Christian fundamentalist aunt right back and make my Thanksgiving perfect. Only Brooke turns out to be cuter and more complicated than I expected. And before you can say “yorkiepoo,” we kiss . . . and abduct a dog together. I want to keep them both — but Brooke isn’t the kind to be kept.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism
Lesbomisia
Misogyny
Fatmisia & body shaming
Rape mentioned
Recreational drug use
Overdose mentioned
Animal abuse
Animal injury
Poverty mentioned

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there. Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures. Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania. Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisic slurs
Domestic abuse
Child abuse
Murder
Bullying
Graphic animal death
Animal abuse