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.

The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

All Magnus Bane wanted was a vacation—a lavish trip across Europe with Alec Lightwood, the Shadowhunter who against all odds is finally his boyfriend. But as soon as the pair settles in Paris, an old friend arrives with news about a demon-worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand that is bent on causing chaos around the world. A cult that was apparently founded by Magnus himself. Years ago. As a joke. Now Magnus and Alec must race across Europe to track down the Crimson Hand and its elusive new leader before the cult can cause any more damage. As if it wasn’t… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia
  • Physical child abuse recounted
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Death of a friend mentioned
  • Murder & attempted murder of a child
  • Torture
  • Explosion
  • Poisoning
  • Imprisonment
  • Near-drowning incident
  • Cults
  • War themes

Kingdom of Ice and Bone by Jill Criswell

Kingdom of Ice and Bone by Jill Criswell

Lira and Reyker have lost everything. Including each other. Lira of Stone watched her home burn and her clan fall beneath the sword of the warlord known as the Dragon. She believes the man she loves, a warrior who defected from the Dragon s army, is dead. Alongside her exiled brother and his band of refugees, she will fight the forces that conquered her island. But the greatest danger may come from Lira herself with the blood of banished gods running through her veins, she s become a weapon, and no one is safe from the power of her wrath. Reyker Lagorsson thought he was done being a Dragonman. That was before he saw Lira… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Murder
  • War themes

Filthy Gods by Michelle Hercules

Filthy Gods by Michelle Hercules

Finn Novak is one of the filthy gods who rule this town and wreaks havoc wherever he goes. He’s above everything, even the law. I never thought I’d be thrust into his world of depraved privilege until tragedy strikes, and I’m forced to attend Maverick Prep, his domain. I vow to keep hating him but quickly become trapped by his web of twisted mind games. I yearn for his barbed words as much as I hunger for his touch. Getting close to Finn means unveiling secrets that should stay hidden. But like bodies buried in shallow graves, skeletons never remain in the closet… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape mentioned
  • Suicide
  • Self-harm
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder

Dr Grant by Catharina Maura

Dr Grant by Catharina Maura

Dr. Noah Grant’s dream job came with three rules: Don’t sleep with the students, don’t sleep with a patient, and stay away from Harold Astor’s granddaughter. Seems easy, right? It was. Right until Amara Astor walks into his office with one of her own inventions – an adult toy – stuck inside her. She’s a patient, a PhD student, and she’s Harold Astor’s granddaughter. She’s entirely off-limits. Getting involved with her puts his promising future at risk, yet he can’t turn her away. Not when doing so means she’ll find someone else to test her crazy inventions with.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Doctor-patient relationship
  • Murder of both parents recounted

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan

Vaelin Al Sorna is the Sixth Order’s newest recruit. Under their brutal training regime, he learns how to forge a blade, survive the wilds and kill a man quickly and quietly – all in the name of protecting the Realm and the Faith. Now his skills will be put to the test. War is coming. Vaelin must draw upon the very essence of his strength and cunning if he is to survive the coming conflict. Yet as the world teeters on the edge of chaos, Vaelin will learn that the truth can cut deeper than any sword.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Child abuse & abandonment
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Death of a child
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • War themes

Deep Dark Secrets by Keri Beevis

Deep Dark Secrets by Keri Beevis

Lizzie Kent wasn’t supposed to babysit the night she was murdered. She was covering for her best friend, Nell. Nell has lived with the guilt ever since. Eighteen years later Nell returns to the area, desperate to escape a bad relationship after inheriting her aunt’s rundown guesthouse. But her return isn’t welcomed by everyone – in particular Sam Kent, who blames Nell for his sister’s death. And after a few unsettling incidents, it becomes apparent that someone is trying to scare her. Is Sam responsible or has Nell’s abusive ex-boyfriend managed to track her down? Or is someone else, with a more sinister agenda, responsible?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Abusive relationship recounted
  • Murder of a friend in a home invasion recounted

The Family at No. 12 by Anita Waller

The Family at No. 12 by Anita Waller

When Janette answers the door to a potential customer looking to board his dog, she never imagines he has nefarious plans. But minutes later he’s dead and in her cellar. Weeks later she realises she’s pregnant. And so she becomes Mother and the baby Child, and a hidden life begins. But all secrets come out eventually . .

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Rape & pregnancy from rape
  • Murder

My Little Brother by Diane Saxon

My Little Brother by Diane Saxon

Two siblings, both missing for 20 years turn up within one day of each other. One dead. One alive. It was an ordinary school day, the day I lost my little brother.
One moment he was on the roundabout and then was gone. Gone. Missing. They all blamed me. I was in charge. Even though I was only ten years old. They sent me away. The hurt, the shame, the questions. The not knowing. I tried to move on. It’s been nineteen years in exile and now somebody wants me back. Someone with a dark secret. They hold the keys, they know the truth. So, I need to return to my childhood village to find out who, because I have a secret, too… I did something bad.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Familial estrangement
  • Parental infidelity recounted
  • Filicide of an autistic son
  • Murder of a partner
  • Death of a brother
  • Disappearance of a sibling recounted

One Little Lie by Sam Carrington

One Little Lie by Sam Carrington

Deborah’s son was killed four years ago. Alice’s son is in prison for committing that crime. Deborah would give anything to have her boy back, and Alice would do anything to right her son’s wrongs. Driven by guilt and the need for redemption, Alice has started a support group for parents with troubled children. But as the network begins to grow, she soon finds out just how easy it is for one little lie to spiral out of control. They call it mother’s intuition, but can you ever really know your own child?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a son by murder recounted
  • Filicide by suffocation
  • Imprisonment

The Serial Killer’s Girl by LH Stacey

The Serial Killer’s Girl by L.H. Stacey

Lexi Jakes thought she could run from her past. But when her biological mother is found dead, strangled with a red silk scarf and holding a chess piece, Lexi knows that her worst nightmare has come true. Because the murder has all the hallmarks of her own serial killer father, renown strangler Peter Graves. Now with her own precious daughter’s life in danger, Lexi will do anything to keep her child safe…she is her father’s daughter after all.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Murder of a mother by strangulation
  • Imprisonment of a parent for serial murders
  • Animal abuse