Tag Archives: Paedophilia, Grooming & CSA

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver

Contract killer Lachlan Kane wants a quiet life working in his leather studio and forgetting all about his traumatic past. But when he botches a job for his boss’s biggest client, Lachlan knows he’ll never claw his way out of the underworld. At least, not until songbird Lark Montague offers him a deal: use his skills to hunt down a killer and she’ll find a way to secure his freedom. The catch? He has to marry her first.  And they can’t stand each other. Indie singer-songwriter Lark is the sunshine and glitter that burns through every cloud and clings to every crevice that Lachlan Kane tries to… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child sexual abuse recounted
  • Physical child abuse & parental neglect recounted
  • Infidelty recounted
  • Panic attack, insomnia & claustrophobia
  • Blood, injury & gore depiction including concussion, gunshot wounds, the use of needles to sew mouths shut, and the removal of fingers and eyes from dead bodies
  • Death of a mother & father mentioned
  • Murder of a father in a home invasion
  • Murder of a terminally ill great-aunt from injection
  • Murder (theme) including the use of a car accident to kill someone
  • Torture
  • Home invasion, stalking & kidnapping discussed
  • Animal attack & injury

*Context : The female protagonist’s ex-partner cheated on her and messaged underage girls. A secondary character is also cheating on his partner with his children’s nanny. The female protagonist is a serial killer her targets rapists and paedophilias; the male protagonist is a contract killer. A dog bites the antagonist and recovers from an injury sustained when the antagonist kicks it in retaliation.

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden

I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve. Even though I’m wary of our new neighbour Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chill. the Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Paedophilia
  • Physical child abuse & domestic violence
  • Death of a child
  • Murder

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering

On a brisk fall night in a New York apartment, 35-year-old Billie West hears terrified screams. It’s her lifelong best friend Cassie Barnwell, one floor above, and she’s just realized her infant daughter has gone missing. Billie is shaken as she looks down into her own arms to see the baby, remembering—with a jolt of fear—that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has instantly shattered Cassie’s world. So begins the story of Billie and Cassie’s friendship–both in recent weeks, and since they met twenty-three years ago, in their small Hudson Valley hometown the summer before seventh grade. Once fiercely bonded by their…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Classism
  • Paedophilia & sexual assault, on-page
  • Child abuse recounted
  • Toxic friendship
  • Alzheimer’s Disease

Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash

Lacey Bond is a thirteen-year-old girl in New Hampshire growing up in the tranquility of her hippie parents’ rural daycare center. Then the Satanic Panic hits. It’s the summer of 1990 when Lacey’s parents are handcuffed, flung into the county jail, and faced with a torrent of jaw-dropping accusations as part of a mass hysteria sweeping the nation. When a horrific murder brings Lacey to the breaking point, she makes a ruthless choice that will haunt her for decades.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & slurs
  • Sexual assault & paedophilia discussed

Homicidal Instinct by K.A. Merikan

All Seth wants is to live free with the man he loves. But escaping death at the hands of the mafia is just the beginning of an uphill struggle. When Domenico wakes up from his impromptu surgery and doesn’t even remember Seth’s name, Seth’s world falls apart. Suddenly it’s him who has to plan an escape from New York City and navigate their way to Mexico. All that without even knowing if the man of his life will ever love him again. Domenico doesn’t know who to trust and what to believe. The man who introduces himself as his brother seems to hide dark secrets behind… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia & misogyny
  • Rape mentioned
  • Child sexual abuse & grooming mentioned
  • Torture
  • Animal death (pig, chicken)

He Is Mine by K.A. Merikan

A wedding should be a joyful affair, but it is far from that for Seth Villani. Thrust into an arranged marriage, back under the same roof with serpents and wolves who are his family, Seth has to watch his back if he is to survive until the despised event. Though with his love affair with Domenico Acerbi slipping out of his grasp, and his father forcing blood on his hands, sometimes Seth wishes the dark waves of the sea nearby could swallow him whole. Coming back home to Italy is full of bitterness and regret for Domenico. He knows he will have to see Seth, the first man who’s… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Homophobia
  • Rape & sexual assault of a teenager
  • Torture mentioned

He Is Poison by K.A. Merikan

Domenico Acerbi. The Villani Family’s best assassin. Ruthless. Vicious. With no patience for weakness. Seth Villani. The Don’s son. Clueless. Stubborn. In dire need of someone to keep him in line. Domenico Acerbi grew up ready to give his life for the Family. Ready to follow orders and exceed expectations. A proud man of honor. The last thing he wants to deal with is training the Don’s son for his future role within the organization. Lazy, annoying, spoiled, and as hot as a Sicilian summer, Seth Villani is no mafia material. But a man who could never become a threat might just be what Domenico needs. Seth Villani wants… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Transphobia & misogyny

Skies Over Caledonia by Samantha Young

It’s been five years since Jared McCulloch’s grandfather Collum passed away and he inherited his farm in the Scottish Highlands. After his grandad saved him from his past life, Jared is determined to honour Collum’s legacy. But not only has a series of bad luck put him in danger of losing the farm, his estranged father is disputing the will. In a desperate situation, Jared realizes he’ll do just about anything to save the land. Even marrying Allegra Howard, a woman he’s avoided at all costs. A woman who tempts him… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Infidelity
  • Child sexual abuse mentuioned
  • Suicide mentioned
  • Hospitalisation
  • Alcohol consumption & drug use mentioned
  • Car accident
  • Stalking

Among the Heather by Samantha Young

North Hunter has worked hard to step out of the shadows of his orphaned upbringing into the limelight of Hollywood. He never imagined a dark moment from his childhood returning to destroy everything he’d built. Devastated, he finds comfort in the isolation of an exclusive members-only club in the Scottish Highlands, even if the club comes with a prickly estate manager who sets his blood on fire. As the eldest daughter of a Hollywood legend, Aria Howard has learned the hard way that people will use her to get to her father. When her last relationship ended badly, Aria fled… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Fatphobia & body-shaming
  • Physical & sexual child abuse mentioned
  • Infidelity mentioned
  • Death of parents mentioned
  • Gun violence
  • Kidnapping
  • Blackmail

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill

When Theodosia Benton abandons her career path as an attorney and shows up on her brother’s doorstep with two suitcases and an unfinished novel, she expects to face a few challenges. Will her brother support her ambition or send her back to finish her degree? What will her parents say when they learn of her decision? Does she even have what it takes to be a successful writer? What Theo never expects is to be drawn into a hidden literary world in which identity is something that can be lost and remade for the sake of an audience. When her mentor, a highly successful… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Attempted paedophilia & child sexual assault recounted
  • Attempted sexual assault by a teacher recounted
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Murder & attempted murder by gun & knife violence
  • Police violence (shooting)

Context : The protagonist was nearly assaulted by a paedophile when she was 10 years old, but her brother stabbed her attacker and saved her.