Tag Archives: Murder & Attempted Murder

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace. As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls—haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Rape of a child
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping, physical assault & captivity of a child

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean

He is the Killer Duke, accused of murdering Mara Lowe on the eve of her wedding. With no memory of that fateful night, Temple has reigned over the darkest of London’s corners for twelve years, wealthy and powerful, but beyond redemption. Until one night, Mara resurfaces, offering the one thing he’s dreamed of… absolution. Mara planned never to return to the world from which she’d run, but when her brother falls deep into debt at Temple’s exclusive casino, she has no choice but to offer Temple a trade that ends in her returning to society and proving to the world what only she knows… that he is no killer. It’s a fine… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Domestic violence recounted
  • Blood depiction
  • Gambling
  • Pregnancy mentioned (secondary character)
  • Murder of mother by a father from stabbing recounted

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean

By day, she is Lady Georgiana, sister to a Duke, ruined before her first season in the worst kind of scandal. But the truth is far more shocking—in London’s darkest corners, she is Chase, the mysterious, unknown founder of the city’s most legendary gaming hell. For years, her double identity has gone undiscovered… until now. Brilliant, handsome-as-sin Duncan West is intrigued by the beautiful, ruined woman who is somehow connected to a world of sin. He knows she is more than she seems and he vows to uncover all of Georgiana’s secrets, laying bare her past, threatening her present, and risking all she holds dear including her heart.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical sexism, sex-work shaming & slut-shaming
  • Rape & attempted sexual assault recounted
  • Domestic violence (secondary character)
  • Unplanned pregnancy of a minor recounted
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Murder by gun violence of an abuser
  • Blackmail

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean

After years of living as London’s brightest scandal, Lady Sesily Talbot has embraced the reputation and the freedom that comes with the title. No one looks twice when she lures a gentleman into the dark gardens beyond a Mayfair ballroom…and no one realizes those trysts are not what they seem. No one, that is, but Caleb Calhoun, who has spent years trying not to notice his best friend’s beautiful, brash, brilliant sister. If you ask him, he’s been a saint about it, considering the way she looks at him and the way she talks to him…and the way she’d felt in his arms during their one ill… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexism
  • Slut shaming
  • Rape, implied
  • Domestic abuse, implied
  • Murder recounted
  • Gun violence

The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey

Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years ago, the name “Reynolds” has become synonymous with “murder” and “mystery.” And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue. This could finally be the thing to crack open the chilling cold case, and Investigator Ryan Hudson… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic abuse
  • Child abuse
  • Incest*
  • Rape of a minor*
  • Sexual assault*
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a friend
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Police brutality
  • Fire

Context: The protagonist was raped by her uncle as a child. Her half-brother sexually assaults (and possibly rapes) her as well.

Wings of Shadow by Nicki Pau Preto

Veronyka is no longer an orphaned stable boy or a nameless Phoenix Rider apprentice: she is the daughter of Pheronia Ashfire, the last queen of the Golden Empire…and the niece of Avalkyra Ashfire, the resurrected rebel queen who tore the empire apart. Now that the secret is out, everyone at the Eyrie treats Veronyka differently, and with Tristan still a hostage of the scheming Lord Rolan—and Sev with him as a spy—Veronyka feels very much alone. Except for her beloved phoenix, Xephyra, of course, and her new friend, Kade, who has his own reasons for wanting to… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Physical injury
  • Murder
  • Knife violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Fire
  • War themes

Heart of Flames by Nicki Pau Preto

The world is balanced on the edge of a knife, and war is almost certain between the empire and the Phoenix Riders. Veronyka finally got her wish to join the Riders, but while she’s supposed to be in training, all she really wants to do is fly out to defend the villages of Pyra from the advancing empire. Tristan has been promoted to Master Rider, but he has very different ideas about the best way to protect their people than his father, the commander. Sev has been sent to spy on the empire, but maintaining his cover may force him to fight on the wrong side of the war. And Veronyka’s… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Human trafficking
  • Physical injuries including burns
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Sword violence
  • Poisoning
  • Kidnapping
  • Loss of autonomy (magical mind control)
  • Animal cruelty & abuse

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto

Ready your blade. Defeat the undead. In the Dominions, the dead linger, violent and unpredictable, unless a bonesmith severs the ghost from its earthly remains. For bonesmith Wren, becoming a valkyr—a ghost-fighting warrior—is a chance to solidify her place in the noble House of Bone and impress her frequently absent father. But when sabotage causes Wren to fail her qualifying trial, she is banished to the Border Wall, the last line of defense against a wasteland called the Breach where the vicious dead roam unchecked. Determined to reclaim her family’s… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Pregnancy complications & death during childbirth
  • Blood & gore depiction including dead bodies
  • Death of parents
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping

The Falling Girls by Hayley Krischer

Shade and Jadis are everything to each other. They share clothes, toothbrushes, and even matching stick-and-poke tattoos. So when Shade unexpectedly joins the cheerleading team, Jadis can hardly recognize who her best friend is becoming. Shade loves the idea of falling into a group of girls; she loves the discipline it takes to push her body to the limits alongside these athletes. Most of all, Shade finds herself drawn to The Three Chloes–the insufferable trio that rules the squad–including the enigmatic cheer captain whose dark side is as compelling as it is alarming… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Toxic friendships
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Drug use & abuse including an overdose
  • Physical injury (head injury)
  • Cancer mentioned
  • Death of a friend
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder

Dexter is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay

Everything’s changing for our friendly neighbourhood serial killer. As if getting married wasn’t enough to complete his nice-guy persona, Dexter is now the proud father of a baby girl. And disconcertingly, he actually seems to care. But even if fatherhood is distracting Dexter from his midnight excursions to rid Miami of a few more lowlifes, there’s no let-up at work. Two young girls are missing – and it’s not long before one of the bodies turns up, partially eaten. But as Dexter and Miami PD’s finest investigate, Dexter can’t shake the feeling that somebody’s watching him…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism (r slur)
  • Antiziganism (g slur)
  • Fatmphobic language
  • Rape mentioned
  • Drugging
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Cannibalism
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping