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.

Death Note, Vol. 4: Love by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

With two Kiras on the loose, L asks Light to join the task force and pose as the real Kira in order to catch the copycat. L still suspects Light and figures that this is the perfect excuse to get closer to his quarry. Light agrees to the plan in order to have free access to the task force resources. But when Light manages to contact the new Kira, he discovers that his rival is anything but as expected. Will Light escape from love unscathed?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Heart attack
  • Murder & torture, including non-consensual sensory deprivation
  • Illegal & unethical surveillance and invasions of privacy by law enforcement

Death Note, Vol. 3: Hard Run by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Light is chafing under L’s extreme surveillance, but even 64 microphones and cameras hidden in his room aren’t enough to stop Light. He steps up the game, but before the battle of wits can really begin, a family emergency distracts him. But even though Light isn’t using the Death Note right now, someone else is! Who’s the new “Kira” in town?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Heart attack
  • Hospitalisation
  • Murder & mass murder
  • Hostage situation
  • Blackmail
  • Illegal & unethical surveillance and invasions of privacy by law enforcement

Death Note, Vol. 2: Confluence by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Light thinks he’s put an end to his troubles with the FBI—by using the Death Note to kill off the FBI agents working the case in Japan! But one of the agents has a fiancée who used to work in the Bureau, and now she’s uncovered information that could lead to Light’s capture. To make matters worse, L has emerged from the shadows to work directly with the task force headed by Light’s father. With people pursuing him from every direction, will Light get caught in the conflux?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape mentioned
  • Heart attack
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a fiance recounted
  • Murder & attempted murder (on- & off-page)
  • Gun violence recounted
  • Bus-jacking recounted
  • Illegal & unethical surveillance and invasions of privacy by law enforcement

Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects – and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami, a death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal… or his life?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Heart attack
  • Murder (on- & off-page)
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident (on-page)
  • Hostage situation (on-page)
  • Imprisonment mentioned
  • Bullying

Death Note, Vol. 7: Zero by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

After a high-speed chase, Light and the task force apprehend the newest Kira. Light regains his Death Note and his memories, and the depths of his cunning are revealed as the plans he carefully put in place before going into confinement are slowly unveiled. His masterful manipulation of both humans and Shinigami lead him to the strongest position he’s yet enjoyed. But the glow of his victory is marred when a new threat appears. Can Light withstand a surprise attack on two fronts?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual harassment
  • Heart attack
  • Murder (on- & off-page)
  • Gun violence
  • Car accident (on-page)
  • Hostage situation (on-page)
  • Imprisonment mentioned
  • Bullying

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren’t for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn’t have much time left—he’s had three heart attacks already. But when PJ reads an obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse
  • Grief-related alcoholism (protagonist)
  • Death of a daughter recounted
  • Death of parents mentioned
  • Murder-suicide

Redemption Point by Candice Fox

When former police detective Ted Conkaffey was wrongly accused of abducting Claire Bingley, he hoped the Queensland rainforest town of Crimson Lake would be a good place to disappear. But nowhere is safe from Claire’s devastated father. Dale Bingley has a brutal revenge plan all worked out – and if Ted doesn’t help find the real abductor, he’ll be its first casualty. Meanwhile, in a dark roadside hovel called the Barking Frog Inn, the bodies of two young bartenders lie on the beer-sodden floor. It’s Detective Inspector Pip Sweeney’s first homicide investigation – c… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Paedophilia, grooming & child sexual abuse recounted
  • Rape recounted
  • Cheating
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Police corruption mentioned
  • Wrongful incarceration
  • Animal cruelty

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent

Meet Kitty Collins. FRIEND. LOVER. KILLER. He was following me. That guy from the nightclub who wouldn’t leave me alone. I hadn’t intended to kill him of course. But I wasn’t displeased when I did and, despite the mess I made, I appeared to get away with it. That’s where my addiction started… I’ve got a taste for revenge and quite frankly, I’m killing it.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Date rape, gang rape, paedophilia, incest, sexual assault & rape culture discussed
  • Alcohol & drug abuse
  • Miscarriage mentioned
  • Dismemberment
  • Graphic murder & torture
  • Animal cruelty

Lena and the Burning of Greenwood by Nikki Shannon Smith

In the early 1920s, the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the wealthiest Black community in the United States. But Tulsa is still a segregated city. “Black Wall Street” and white Tulsa are very much divided. Twelve-year-old Lena knows this, but she feels safe and sheltered from the racism in her successful, flourishing neighbourhood. That all changes when Dick Rowland, a young Black man from Greenwood, is accused of assaulting a white woman. Racial tensions boil over. Mobs of white citizens attack Greenwood… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical racism & hate crimes, including the Tulsa Race Massacre (theme)

Queso, Just in Time by Ernesto Cisneros

Quetzalcóatl Castillo—Queso for short—has had an ache in his heart that won’t go away ever since his father’s death. More than anything, he wishes he could spend time with his dad again. After whispering that wish one night under the light of the moon, Queso wakes up the next morning in 1985. With 12-year-old Pancho—the kid who will grow up to be his dad. Even though he has no idea what to do, Queso is just happy to be by his dad’s side again. But while Pancho is confident when scoring on the foosball table or standing up to bullies, he doesn’t think he’s smart enough to reach for his dreams. If only Pancho believed in himself the… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Homophobia & transphobia
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Murder of a father (shot during a home invasion)
  • Bullying