Tag Archives: Murder & Attempted Murder

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of murder and attempted murder.

See also Genocide and mass murder, and War themes & military violence.

White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter

White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter

The sudden and tragic death of her mother throws Hannah Hawkins into a position she doesn’t feel at all prepared for. With the duty of leading her family’s decades-long moonshining business weighing heavy on her shoulders, the last thing she needs is something making her transition even harder. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what she gets. A band of vicious new players has arrived in small-town Harlan, Kentucky, and while what they really want remains a mystery, it quickly becomes clear they’re willing to stoop to dark lengths to get it. To fight off a beast, Hannah realizes she needs to join forces with a rival. Javier Meza may be… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a mother
  • Death of an aunt from pancreatic cancer
  • Attempted murder
  • Arson
  • Kidnapping

All Things Burn by Jodie Slaughter

All Things Burn by Jodie Slaughter

A woman forced to take dark, desperate measures for the sake of her safety seeks out a man who deals exclusively in doling out death sentences. What sparks between them is just as unavoidable as it is life-changing. Halle Temple is a good person; she doesn’t know anything as surely as she knows that. A successful black woman who uses her expensive law degree to work full-time at a women’s legal aid centre, she has no doubt that her entire existence is being spent in the service of others. That perfectly normal life takes a deadly turn, however, when she crosses paths with a man who is willing to go to extreme… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Domestic violence mentioned
  • Graphic murder
  • Stalking

The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski

The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski

At the end of The Midnight Lie, Nirrim offered up her heart to the God of Thieves in order to restore her people’s memories of their city’s history. The Half Kith who once lived imprisoned behind the city’s wall now realize that many among them are powerful. Meanwhile, the person Nirrim once loved most, Sid, has returned to her home country of Herran, where she must navigate the politics of being a rogue princess who has finally agreed to do her duty. In the Herrani court, rumours begin to grow of a new threat rising across the sea, of magic unleashed on the world, and of a cruel, black-haired queen who can push false… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Coerced drug abuse recounted
  • Blood depiction
  • Dead bodies
  • Amputation recounted
  • Decapitation, on-page
  • Murder & attempted murder
  • Gun violence
  • Poisoning

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society’s pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colours. You either follow the rules or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences. Nirrim keeps her head down and a dangerous secret close to her chest. But then she encounters Sid, a rakish traveler from far away who whispers rumours that the High Caste possesses magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Queermisia
  • Physical & emotional child abuse
  • Blood-letting
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Imprisonment

The Mistress by Tiffany Reisz

The Mistress by Tiffany Reisz

Nora Sutherlin, Dominatrix-turned-literary-star, is held prisoner by two dangerous men. Under different circumstances, she would enjoy this immensely. These men aren’t lovers, however, but tools of vengeance from an old adversary. Possessor of the hearts of two men, she plays her hardest hand. But her captor isn’t interested in play. Or pity. In Nora’s world, however, no one is ever truly powerless. Her friends and lovers will do anything to save her – even if the only certainty seems to be sacrifice and heartbreak. The stakes are high in a dangerous game of love and lust.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse recounted
  • Incest mentioned
  • Attempted suicide mentioned
  • Miscarriage mentioned
  • Abortion recounted
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping

The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz

The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz

They called themselves “the lucky ones.” They were seven children either orphaned or abandoned by their parents and chosen by legendary philanthropist and brain surgeon Dr Vincent Capello to live in The Dragon, his almost magical beach house on the Oregon Coast. Allison was the youngest of the lucky ones living an idyllic life with her newfound family…until the night she almost died, and was then whisked away from the house and her adopted family forever. Now, thirteen years later, Allison receives a letter from Roland, Dr Capello’s oldest son, warning her that their father is ill and in his final days. Allison determines she must go… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Attempted rape
  • Foster care system experiences
  • Domestic violence
  • Cheating
  • Retrograde amnesia
  • Suicide
  • Drug use
  • Miscarriage mentioned
  • Seizure
  • Brain tumours mentioned
  • Medical procedures & treatment
  • Death of a child
  • Death of a mother from a car accident
  • Murder-suicide & attempted murder
  • Poisoning (lead)
  • Animal death & abuse

Dark Shores by Danielle Jensen

Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen

In a world divided by meddlesome gods and treacherous oceans, only the Maarin possess the knowledge to cross the Endless Seas. But they have one mandate: East must never meet West. Teriana is the second mate of the Quincense and heir to the Maarin Triumvirate. Her people are born of the seas and the keepers of its secrets, but when her closest friend is forced into an unwanted betrothal, Teriana breaks her people’s mandate so her friend might escape—a choice with devastating consequences. Marcus is… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Dismemberment
  • Murder
  • Hanging
  • Torture
  • Shipwreck
  • War themes

Forever a Soldier by Genevieve Turner

Forever a Soldier by Genevieve Turner

Newly returned home from combat, Hank is battered, but not quite broken. Now it’s his job to keep a hundred-year-old house from falling down around his ears. He’s all alone-just like he wants… until one irrepressible woman invades his sanctuary, hunting the secrets hidden within. Graduate student Lale is investigating a century-old mystery. Unravelling it is her ticket to tenure and life as a star history professor. But one surly former soldier is standing between her and the information she needs. Lale launches a charm attack Hank can’t resist, and Lale isn’t immune to the core of honour shining through Hank’s surly… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse
  • Depression
  • Nightmares
  • Insomnia
  • Anxiety & panic attacks
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Scars
  • Death of a father mentioned
  • Murder
  • Hanging
  • Gun violence recounted
  • Military service recounted
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Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye

Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye

Timothy and Valentine Wilde must once again delve into the darkest underbelly of old New York. When the beautiful and terrified Mrs Lucy Adams stumbles into the Tombs, headquarters of New York’s newly formed police force, it’s the beginning of a dense, thorny maze of crime for copper star Timothy Wilde. He’s hardened to the injustices of life in the unforgiving city he’s grown up in, but that doesn’t mean he accepts them. With immigrants flooding into the docks every day, each community is both adapting and fighting for its place in the new world, and there are many who… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Slavery
  • Suicide & self-harm
  • Burn scars mentioned
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Fire mentioned

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