Murder & Attempted Murder – Trigger Warning Database

Single Malt by Layla Reyne

FBI agent Aidan “Irish” Talley had it all until a harrowing car crash left him with a heap of survivor’s guilt and a hole in his heart where his happily ever after used to be. Aiming to fill the void, he returns to work—and to a new partner. Charming, smart, and athletic, Jamie is the last thing Aidan’s bruised heart needs. Cyber agent Jameson “Whiskey” Walker joined the Bureau three years ago and has pined for Aidan ever since. Working with the Irish expat is a fantasy and a challenge, one Jamie intends to win by earning the surly older agent’s trust and respect. Except there’s no time… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Ableism
Child physical & sexual abuse and stalking by a foster parent mentioned (secondary character)
Infidelity mentioned (secondary character)
Child trafficking mentioned
Early On-Set Alzheimer’s Disease mentioned (secondary character)
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Spouse with terminal cancer mentioned (secondary character)
Death of a brother in an Irish Republican Army (IRA) car bombing recounted
Death of a father in a factory fire recounted
Graphic hit-and-run car accident as attempted murder, resulting in hospitalisation for coma & head injuries and death of the protagonist’s husband & working partner
Bioterrorism discussed

Us Dark Few by Alexis Patton

Khalani is a Prisoner. Takeshi is a Guard. Both are slaves to the Underground. Khalani Kanes has never stood on the surface of the earth. In the underground city of Apollo, faith and dreams are as absent as the sun. She longed to visit Genesis, the infamous Domed City and the final place where humanity lives aboveground. But when Khalani is given a life sentence and thrown into prison for a theft she didn’t commit, those wishes shatter into oblivion. In Braderhelm Prison, murderers are neighbors, ruthless and cold-blooded guards live to punish, and every second is a battle… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Sexual assault & attempted rape, thwarted by the perpetrator being beaten to death & having his eyes plucked out
Physical child abuse & domestic violence recounted, resulting in the love interest murdering his step-father in revenge for murdering his mother
Suicidal ideation (protagonist, on-page)
Alcohol consumption & mentions of smoking
Decapitation mentioned
Murder of a mother & father recounted (protagonist)
Physical assault & death in ‘fight pits’
Mass shooting mentioned
Imprisonment (theme), including inhumane treatment of prisoners through electrocution, starvation, and being worked to death
Nuclear fallout & terrorism recounted (post-apocalyptic world, set 300 years after the events)

Us Deadly Few by Alexis Patton

Khalani Kanes never imagined surviving Braderhelm Prison, let alone escaping to the desolate surface they had been told was uninhabitable. Haunted by the Governor of Apollo’s dark secrets, Khalani and her crew of criminals embark on a new perilous journey. Now, the true test begins as Khalani ventures through the treacherous “Death-Zone” toward the nearest underground city, Hermes. Abandoned relics of a once-great nation are not the only threats on the barren road. Violent storms sweep across the Death-Zone, the deadly Takeshi Steele has resumed…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Sexual assault & attempted rape, thwarted by the perpetrator being beaten to death & having his eyes plucked out
Alcohol consumption & mentions of smoking
Drugging
Physical injury, including mention of secondary character going into septic shot from an arrow wound
Graphic fantasy violence including explosions, bombings, weapon violence (bow & arrow), physical assault/fight scenes & murder by gun violence
Torture, including electrocution, knife violence & lobotomy-like medical experimentation
Nuclear fallout & terrorism recounted (post-apocalyptic world, set 300 years after the events)
Kidnapping

Storm Caller by Nisha J Tuli

Poet Graves has only ever wanted to be free. But no matter where she turns, she’s held captive—by a power she doesn’t understand, a truth she no longer believes in, and a love she can’t deny. As Poet is drawn further into Rook’s world, his secrets force her to question who she can trust. But when friends turn into enemies, enemies prove to be allies, and the place that was once a safe harbor is revealed as the eye of the storm, Poet’s only choice is to fight for what she believes in. When New Manhattan’s darkest secrets refuse to stay hidden, the cause Poet and Rook fight for will be…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Classism & related fictional slurs
Alcohol consumption
Murder, explosion, electrocution & fantasy violence related to magical storms
Kidnapping & false imprisonment while drugged

Touch of Red by Laura Griffin

When crime scene investigator Brooke Porter arrives at the home of a murdered woman, the only thing more shocking than the carnage is the evidence that someone escaped the scene. But where is this witness now? A thorough search of the area yields more questions than answers, and before Brooke even packs up her evidence kit, she’s made it her goal to find the witness and get them out of harm’s way. Homicide detective Sean Byrne has seen his share of bloody crime scenes, but this one is particularly disturbing, especially because Brooke Porter is smack in the middle of it. Sean has had his eye on… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Paedophilia & child sexual abuse (off-page)
Emotionally abusive relationship & stalking by ex-partner (off-page)
Murder (off-page)
Kidnapping (on-page)

One for Sorrow by Helen Sarah Fields

Edinburgh is gripped by the greatest terror it has ever known: a lone bomber is targeting victims across the city, and no one is safe. In their jobs, DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach deal with death every day. But when it becomes clear that every bomb is a trap designed to kill them too, the possibility of facing it themselves starts to feel all too real. Five for silver, six for gold
With the body count rising daily and the bomber’s methods becoming ever more horrifying, Ava and Luc must race to find out who is behind the attacks – or pay the ultimate price…

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Rape mentioned
Abusive relationship
Suicide
Murder
Explosion (bomb)
Stalking

Last One Out by Jane Harper

Carralon Ridge, a once vibrant village in rural New South Wales, has become a shell of itself, its houses and buildings bought up and left to rot by the mining company operating at its borders. A decade into its slow death, surrounded by industrial noise and swathed in thick layers of dust, the skeletal town is all but abandoned, with just a handful of residents clinging onto what remains. After years of scorning those who left the Ridge behind as it fell into ruin, Ro never imagined she’d become one of them. But everything changed when she lost her son. Five… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Alcoholism
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a child
Murder
Disappearance/missing person (theme)
Kidnapping

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. The bloody messes don’t bother her, not when she’s already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister being pushed in front of a train. Before fleeing the scene, the murderer whispered two words: bat eater. Months pass, the killer is never caught, and Cora can barely keep herself together. She pushes away all feelings, disregards the bite marks that appear on her coffee table, and won’t take her aunt’s advice to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Graphic racist & anti-Asian hate crimes
Parental abandonment & nglect
Health anxiety & intrusive thoughts
Alcohol consumption
Blood & gore dpeiction and body horror
COVID-19 pandemic
Murder
Police brutality mentioned
Gun violence
Car accient
Fire
Animal cruelty & dead bodies

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge—his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn’t always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls. October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Human trafficking mentioned
Self-harm
Drug use
Murder
Torture
Bullying mentioned

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch

Dawn is a young mother, still adjusting to life with her husband, when Hazel lights up her world like a torch in the dark. Theirs is the kind of connection that’s impossible to resist, and suddenly life is more complicated, and more joyful, than Dawn ever expected. But she has responsibilities and commitments. She has a daughter. Heron has just received news from his doctor that turns everything upside down. He’s an older man, stuck in the habits of a quiet existence. Telling Maggie, his only child—the person around whom his life has revolved—seems impossible. Heron… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Period-typical homophobia, resulting in loss of custody
Parental abandonment discussed
Cancer discussed