Tag Archives: Captivity & Confinement

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of captivity‎ and confinement (which is separated from Imprisonment and incarceration but may overlap).

See also Kidnapping, Organised crime, and Hostage situations.

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson

Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.

In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.

When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Paedophilia
  • Rape
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Murder
  • Fire
  • Kidnapping & captivity
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Wildcard by Marie Lu

Wildcard by Marie Lu

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo’s new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she’s always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo’s grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone’s put a bounty on Emika’s head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn’t all that he seems–and his protection comes at a price.

Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Cheating
  • Substance addiction
  • Suicide & mass suicide
  • Substance addiction & recovery
  • Nonconsensual drugging
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injuries
  • Dead bodies
  • Emesis
  • Terminal illness
  • Hospital
  • Nonconsensual medical treatment & experimentation
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a brother
  • Death of a father
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Explosions
  • Hanging mentioned
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Blackmail
  • Poverty themes
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The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

Born to a prominent Chicago judge and his stifled socialite wife, Mia Dennett moves against the grain as a young inner-city art teacher. One night, Mia enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. When he doesn’t show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. With his smooth moves and modest wit, at first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia’s life.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism
  • Attempted forced abortion
  • Stockholm Syndrome
  • Kidnapping & captivity
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Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: Tessa Gray. So when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misogyny
  • Forced marriage
  • Drug dependency
  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Pregnancy
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injuries
  • Emesis
  • Terminal illness
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a father
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping & captivity
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Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Racism & racial slur
  • Slut shaming
  • Misogyny
  • Blood & physical injury depiction
  • Drug dependency
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Death of an aunt recounted
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Fire
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The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses—until things become much more serious. Most of the island’s inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten.

When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Sexual assault
  • Abusive relationship
  • Cheating
  • Police brutality
  • Kidnapping & captivity
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is preparing to leave the Dursleys and Privet Drive for the last time. But the future that awaits him is full of danger, not only for him, but for anyone close to him – and Harry has already lost so much. Only by destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes can Harry free himself and overcome the Dark Lord’s forces of evil.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Fatmisia & body shaming
  • Racism
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Blood depiction
  • Physical injuries
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a brother
  • Death of a friend
  • Knife violence & stabbing
  • Torture
  • Motorcycle accident
  • Near-drowning incident
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Fire
  • Battle scenes
  • Animal death & death of a pet
  • Animal attack

If you choose to support this novel or author, please reconsider. You can read about the harmful cultural appropriation here, about how she is endangering trans people here, and donate to the queer Indigenous charity Black Rainbow here.

Boy X by Dan Smith

Boy X by Dan Smith

Kidnapped and drugged, Ash wakes up on a remote tropical island. His mum – a genetic scientist – has been imprisoned and infected with a deadly virus. Where is he, and what’s he doing there? He sets out to cross the jungle to find out and rescue his mother. Soon he realises he’s quicker and sharper than before. But there’s something else …why are the animals watching him, and how can he use the jungle to his advantage?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Nonconsensual drugging
  • Kidnapping & captivity
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Magic Study by Maria V Snyder

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Yelena is a survivor. Kidnapped as a child, held prisoner as a teen, then released to act as a poison taster, she is now a student of magic. But these magic skills place her in imminent danger, and with an execution order on her head, she has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth.

But nothing in Sitia is familiar. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her powers, a rogue magician emerges – and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled in a situation not of her making. And once again her magical abilities will either save her life… or be her downfall.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape recounted
  • Sexual assault
  • Attempted suicide mentioned
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Torture
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Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Misgendering
  • Rape & attempted rape recounted
  • Sexual assault
  • Sexual harassment
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Torture
  • Poisoning (theme)
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