Tag Archives: Kidnapping

The Thorn Girl by Laura Elliot

The Thorn Girl by Laura Elliot

A swallow flutters its wings into a dimly lit attic as Adele Foyle stumbles across the secret diary of the mother she has never met, and a shocking account of a crime committed over twenty-five years ago. With her mother’s words etched in her mind and in the pages tucked into her jacket pocket, Adele delays joining her fiancé for a new life abroad and returns to Reedstown, the last place her mother, Marianne, was seen alive. She has one purpose: to find those who carried out the devastating attack on her mother. Born into a Mother and Baby home run by Gloria Thornton, Adele needs to first unlock the disturbing chain of events… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Child abandonment
  • Rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Teen pregnancy
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping of a child

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

Jessamyn Teoh is closeted, broke and moving back to Malaysia, a country she left when she was a toddler. So when Jess starts hearing voices, she chalks it up to stress. But there’s only one voice in her head, and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. In life Ah Ma was a spirit medium, the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god–and she’s decided Jess is going to help her do it. Drawn into a world... Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Homomisia
  • Misogyny
  • Racism
  • Coming out themes
  • Graphic attempted rape, on-page
  • Sexual assault recounted
  • Domestic abuse
  • Physical child abuse
  • Cheating recounted
  • Cancer & remission discussed
  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a grandmother, off-page
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gang violence
  • Gun & knife violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Loss of autonomy (possession, theme)
  • Poverty themes

Not Your Sidekick by CB Lee

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Welcome to Andover, where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who... Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Bimisia
  • Transmisia
  • Coming out recounted
  • Drugging
  • Forced breeding program, implied
  • Physical injury & scars
  • Nonconsensual medical experimentation
  • Physical assault
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Disappearance of parents
  • Bullying

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup

If you find one, he’s already found you. A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen. His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene. Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago. A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted? To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the... Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Anti-immigration rhetoric
  • Paedophilia & rape of a child
  • Child pornography
  • Child abuse & neglect
  • Mutilation
  • Torture
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping & disappearance of a child
  • Stalking
  • Fire

The Goddess of Nothing At All by Cat Rector

The Goddess of Nothing At All by Cat Rector

Perhaps you know the myths. Furious, benevolent Gods. A tree that binds nine realms. A hammer stronger than any weapon. And someday, the end of everything. Furious, benevolent Gods. A tree that binds nine realms. A hammer stronger than any weapon. And someday, the end of everything. Looking back, it’s easy to know what choices I might have made differently. At least it feels that way. I might have given up on my title. Told my father he was useless, king of Gods or no, and left Asgard. Made a life somewhere else. Maybe I would never have let Loki cross my path. Never… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Coming out scene
  • Psychological, emotional, and verbal abuse
  • Rape mentioned
  • Pregnancy & childbirth
  • Abortion mentioned
  • Death of an infant & teenager mentioned
  • Kidnapping
  • Torture
  • Battle scenes
  • Animal death

Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer

Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer

To save their kingdom, they must embark on a dangerous journey… The kingdom of Kandala narrowly avoided catastrophe, but the embers of revolution still simmer. While King Harristan seeks a new way to lead, Tessa and Prince Corrick attempt to foster unity between rebels and royals. But the consuls who control the Moonflower will not back down, and Corrick realizes he must find a new source for the lifesaving Elixir. When an emissary from the neighbouring kingdom of Ostriary arrives with an intriguing offer, Tessa and Corrick set out on an uncertain journey as they attempt to mend their own fractured relationship. This… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Blood depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Torture mentioned
  • Poisoning
  • Kidnapping

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species–formerly extinct–roam free. Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful “princesses” engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time… love. But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of the century. Through courtroom testimony, interviews… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape, implied
  • Sexual harassment
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Gang violence mentioned
  • Imprisonment
  • Stalking
  • Animal death

The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May

The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May

Deep in a forest, Aileana Kameron claws her way out of the earth. Back from the dead with no memory of who she is or what has happened to her, the Falconer now possesses even greater otherworldly powers and a ruthless instinct to kill—and the one piece of knowledge that can change everything. Two fae monarchs, Aithinne and Kadamach, stand on the brink of war, and according to an ancient curse, one must die at the hand of the other or all the worlds will perish. Once, Kadamach was known as Kiaran, and he… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • PTSD & trauma including flashbacks and memory loss
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Emesis
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a mother recounted
  • Death of a friend, on-page
  • Murder, attempted murder & mass murder, on-page
  • Graphic torture
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Sword & knife violence
  • Fire, off-page
  • Loss of autonomy (nonconsensual mind invasion & memory manipulation)

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species–formerly extinct–roam free. Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful “princesses” engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time… love. But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape, implied
  • Sexual harassment
  • Self-harm mentioned
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Gang violence mentioned
  • Imprisonment
  • Stalking
  • Animal death

Midsummer Moon by Laura Kinsale

Midsummer Moon by Laura Kinsale

Ransom Falconer, Duke of Damerell, is sent to see if Merlin Lambourne, the famous inventor, has created a truly magnificent innovation that can be used in the war against Napoleon. What Ransom doesn’t realize is that Merlin is a woman, and not everyone wants to see her invention become a reality. Merlin Lambourne is a brilliant yet slightly eccentric scientist whose dream is to build a flying machine. Nothing can distract her from her goals, and Ransom offers her refuge at his estate-a safe haven to work on her invention undisturbed. But when Merlin’s dream puts them both at risk, Ransom must overcome his own fears and realize… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Antiziganism
  • Amnesia
  • Gambling addiction
  • Drugging
  • Concussion
  • Stillbirth recounted
  • Death of a wife recounted
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Arson