Bag of Bones by Stephen King

Bag of Bones by Stephen King

Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem’s Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book. But when two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work—in fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness far beyond his imagination. And only he, with a small group of allies, can hope to contain the evil that is growing within the borders of this small New England town.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Rape recounted
  • Delusions
  • Nightmares
  • Suicide & attempted suicide
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a pregnant wife from a brain aneurysm
  • Murder by gun violence in a drive-by shooting
  • Murder & attempted murder by drowning
  • Infanticide
  • Kidnapping of a child
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The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman

The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman

Kate and her younger brother Tom lead desperately uninteresting lives. If only life was like it is in books, where you have adventures! Even Kate’s 11th birthday is shaping up to be mundane — that is, until her mysterious Uncle Herbert surprises her with the most exhilarating birthday present of all time: a real-life steam locomotive called The Silver Arrow.

Kate and Tom’s parents quite sensibly tell him to take it back, but Kate and Tom have other ideas and very soon they’re off on a mysterious journey along magical rails. On their way, they pick up a pack of talking animals and with only curiosity and the thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure of a lifetime — and they just might save the world after all. 

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Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Near-drowning incident
  • Animal death mentioned
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Layla by Colleen Hoover

Layla by Colleen Hoover

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Emotional cheating
  • Gun violence
  • Near drowning incident
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For Lucy by Jewel E. Ann

For Lucy by Jewel E. Ann

For Lucy by Jewel E. Ann

I’m the wrong guy in the right place the night I steal Tatum Bradshaw from another man. When she mistakes me for her blind date, I decide she deserves a man who shows up on time … like me. Emmett Riley, Mr. Punctual.

Once I confess my true identity and convince her I’m not a creep—just a thief—it’s only a matter of time before my sexy smile and quick wit claim her heart, her hand in marriage, and the perfect life. Unfortunately, perfection is an illusion, like the promises of our wedding vows. No one can prepare for the unimaginable—the heartbreaking exception to all the rules in life. When thirty seconds destroys everything, I have to find a new existence and keep my promise to always love our daughter, Lucy, the most.

For Lucy, I will keep a secret, and I will watch my wife drift into the arms of another man.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Death of a child
  • Graphic grief & loss depiction
  • Drowning
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Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis-Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees not only an opportunity for her own financial independence but also perhaps a chance to admit a shocking secret: her forbidden love for another woman. As they face the impending destruction of their community, each woman fighting to balance the burdens she shoulders with the freedom she craves must confront long-hidden scars. From a much-heralded new writer, Here Comes the Sun offers a dramatic glimpse into a vibrant, passionate world most outsiders see simply as paradise.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Body shaming & fatmisia
  • Classism
  • Colourism
  • Lesbomisia
  • Homomisia
  • Sexism & misogyny
  • Racism & racial slurs, including misogynoir
  • Sex worker shaming & slurs
  • Slut-shaming
  • Transmisia
  • Victim blaming
  • Rape, including by coercion, statutory & gang rape
  • Sexual abuse & assault, including child sexual assault
  • Sexual harassment, including in the workplace
  • Incest
  • Paedophilia & grooming
  • Child abuse
  • Domestic abuse & violence
  • Emotional abuse
  • Verbal abuse
  • Parental abuse, neglect & abandonement
  • Estrangement & disownment
  • Disordered weight & body thoughts
  • Disfigurmisia
  • Anxiety disorder & anxiety attacks
  • Depression
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Memory disorder, specifically dementia
  • Self harm, including self-immolation
  • Drug use
  • Hospitals & hospitalisation
  • Physical assault
  • Sex work & trafficking
  • Drowning
  • Outing
  • Gentrification
  • Displacement
  • Animal death
  • Blackmail
  • Gaslighting
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Malcolm at Midnight by WH Beck

Malcolm at Midnight by W.H. Beck

When Malcolm the rat arrives as the pet at McKenna School, he revels in the attention. He also meets the Midnight Academy, a secret society of classroom pets that keeps the nutters (kids) safe. There’s just one problem…rats have a terrible reputation! So when the Academy’s iguana leader is kidnapped, Malcolm must prove his innocence—and that even rats can be good guys.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Kidnapping
  • Drowning
  • Animal attack
  • Animal injury
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The Good Girls by Claire Eliza Bartlett

The Good Girls by Claire Eliza Bartlett

The troublemaker. The overachiever. The cheer captain. The dead girl. Like every high school in America, Jefferson-Lorne High contains all of the above.

After the shocking murder of senior Emma Baines, three of her classmates are at the top of the suspect list: Claude, the notorious partier; Avery, the head cheerleader; and Gwen, the would-be valedictorian.

Everyone has a label, whether they like it or not–and Emma was always known as a good girl. But appearances are never what they seem. And the truth behind what really happened to Emma may just be lying in plain sight. As long-buried secrets come to light, the clock is ticking to find Emma’s killer–before another good girl goes down.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Attempted coerced marriage
  • Staged suicide
  • Emesis
  • Murder mentioned
  • Poisoning
  • Drowning
  • War themes
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The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

When Ekata’s brother is finally named heir, there will be nothing to keep her at home in Kylma Above with her murderous family. Not her books or science experiments, not her family’s icy castle atop a frozen lake, not even the tantalizingly close Kylma Below, a mesmerizing underwater kingdom that provides her family with magic. But just as escape is within reach, her parents and twelve siblings fall under a strange sleeping sickness.

In the space of a single night, Ekata inherits the title of duke, her brother’s warrior bride, and ever-encroaching challengers from without—and within—her own ministry. Nothing has prepared Ekata for diplomacy, for war, for love…or for a crown she has never wanted.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Attempted coerced marriage
  • Staged suicide
  • Emesis
  • Murder mentioned
  • Poisoning
  • Drowning
  • War themes
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Devil’s Lair by Sarah Barrie

Devil’s Lair by Sarah Barrie

After the violent death of her husband, Callie Jones retreats to a cottage in the grounds of an old mansion in Tasmania. The relative remoteness of the place and the wild beauty of the Tasmanian landscape are a balm to her shattered nerves and the locals seem friendly, particularly horseman Connor Atherton and his siblings at the nearby property, Calico Lodge.

But all is not well: the old mansion has a sinister past, one associated with witchcraft and murder. As Callie is threatened by odd events in the night and strange dreams overtake her sleep, she begins to doubt her own sanity. What’s really going on beneath the surface of this apparently peaceful town? Are her friends and neighbours really who they seem? As events escalate, Callie starts to realise that the mansion may hold the key to unlocking the mystery, but the truth might have as much power to destroy as it does to save.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a spouse
  • Death of a child recounted
  • Murder
  • Stabbing
  • Drowning mentioned
  • Stalking
  • Graphic animal death
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A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay

A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay

College professor Paul Davis is a normal guy with a normal life. Until, driving along a deserted road late one night, he surprises a murderer disposing of a couple of bodies. That’s when Paul’s “normal” existence is turned upside down. After nearly losing his own life in that encounter, he finds himself battling PTSD, depression, and severe problems at work. His wife, Charlotte, desperate to cheer him up, brings home a vintage typewriter—complete with ink ribbons and heavy round keys—to encourage him to get started on that novel he’s always intended to write.

However, the typewriter itself is a problem. Paul swears it’s possessed and types by itself at night. But only Paul can hear the noise coming from downstairs; Charlotte doesn’t hear a thing. And she worries he’s going off the rails… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

  • Cheating
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Blood depiction
  • Murder
  • Drowning
  • Animal death
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