The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

Three years ago, Madison Culver disappeared when her family was choosing a Christmas tree in Oregon’s Skookum National Forest. She would be eight years old now—if she has survived. Desperate to find their beloved daughter, certain someone took her, the Culvers turn to Naomi, a private investigator with an uncanny talent for locating the lost and missing. Known to the police and a select group of parents as “the Child Finder,” Naomi is their last hope. Naomi’s methodical search takes her deep into the icy, mysterious forest in the Pacific Northwest, and into her own fragmented past. She understands children like… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Antiziganism (g slur)
  • Incest (foster siblings)
  • Paedophilia, child sexual assault and rape (theme)
  • Child abuse and neglect
  • Foster care system experiences recounted
  • Amnesia and memory loss
  • Dissociation
  • Blood and gore depiction
  • Physical injuries mentioned, including the loss of an arm in an explosion while deployed
  • Death of a foster mother, off-page and discussed
  • Death of a wife from cancer mentioned
  • Death of a wife from suicide mentioned
  • Accidental infanticide
  • Murder by stabbing, on-page
  • Physical assault
  • Kidnapping and captivity of a child
  • Incarceration
  • Graphic animal death and hunting
  • Animal dead bodies and butchery, on-page

Context : The story follows a private investigator trying to find a missing child. The book is told from her POV, the missing child, and the predator who kidnapped and held the child captive. While there are no on-page scenes of sexual violence, it is clear that the captor sexually abuses and rapes the child. It is vaguely mentioned through metaphors and lyrical writing from the child’s perspective; as well as mentions of pain and blood on her legs. The predator was also raped by his captor as a child. Again, there are no on-page scenes of this.

A secondary character leaves her baby in their stroller on a bus that is parked in storage. It is unclear how the baby dies but the protagonist finds his body (off-page, no descriptions).

Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon—like all the girls in her class—she’ll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor. Which is the last thing she wants. Jo secretly dreams of becoming a writer—a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly. Wild aspirations aside, Jo’s life seems perfect until tragedy strikes: her father is found dead. Charles Montfort accidentally shot himself while cleaning his revolver. One of New York City’s wealthiest men, he owned a newspaper and was partner in a massive shipping firm, and Jo knows he was far… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Period-typical sexism & ableism
  • Slavery
  • Forced sex work
  • Suicide
  • Involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation
  • Murder of a father
  • Physical assault & kidnapping

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted. Frightened and alone, Enne has only one lead: the name Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unravelling investment scam, so he doesn’t have time to investigate… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Paedophilia
  • Gambling & mentions of past substance addiction
  • Blood & injury depiction including burns
  • Death of a mother
  • Death of a friend in a fire
  • Murder & regicide (on-page)
  • Torture
  • Physical assault
  • Poisoning
  • Bullying

Finn and the Subatomic Slip-And-Slide by Michael Buckley

Finn and the Subatomic Slip-And-Slide by Michael Buckley

After his adventures through time, Finn returns home to a world he doesn’t recognize. Changing the past has created an all-new present, one in which he and his friends never vanquished the Plague. Now the giant bugs rule Earth from their spaceship! What’s an intergalactic traveler to do? The answer is obvious. Finn, Lincoln and Julep must defeat the Plague. Again. But how? Julep and Lincoln don’t remember Finn or their friendships. In fact, they’ve changed just as much as the world itself has, and they want nothing to do with his dangerous plan to save humankind … Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Physical assault
  • Explosion
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig

White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig

Rufus Holt is having the worst night of his life. It begins with the reappearance of his ex-boyfriend, Sebastian—the guy who stomped his heart out like a spent cigarette. Just as Rufus is getting ready to move on, Sebastian turns up out of the blue, saying they need to “talk.” Things couldn’t get much worse, right? But then Rufus gets a call from his sister April, begging for help. And then he and Sebastian find her, drenched in blood and holding a knife, beside the dead body of her boyfriend, Fox Whitney… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Homomisia & slurs
  • Racism
  • Rape
  • Drug use
  • Blood depiction
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Physical assault
  • Arson
  • Bullying
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

A Clash of Steel by CB Lee

A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee

1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Head of the Dragon, is now only a story, like the ones Xiang has grown up with all her life. She desperately wants to prove her worth, especially to her mother, a shrewd businesswoman who never seems to have enough time for Xiang. Her father is also only a story, dead at sea before Xiang was born. Her single memento of him is a pendant she always wears, a simple but plain piece of gold jewellery… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Death of a parent
  • Murder
  • Gun & sword violence
  • Physical assault
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

When You Look Like Us by Pamela Harris

When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris

When you look like us—brown skin, brown eyes, black braids or fades—people think you’re trouble. No one looks twice at a missing black girl from the projects because she must’ve brought whatever happened to her upon herself. I, Jay Murphy, can admit that, for a minute, I thought my sister, Nicole, got too caught up with her boyfriend—a drug dealer—and his friends. But she’s been gone too long now. If I hadn’t hung up on her that night, she’d be spending time with our grandma. If I was a better brother, she’d be finishing senior year instead of being another name on a… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Substance addiction
  • Parent with alcoholism
  • Death of a husband recounted
  • Murder
  • Physical assault
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Baby and the Late Night Howlers by Kathryn Moon

Baby & the Late Night Howlers by Kathryn Moon

After years of assuming she was a beta, discovering her omega designation in a biker bar surrounded by alphas isn’t exactly fulfilling any fantasies for Baby. She only wanted to get laid, not get knotted, bitten, and bonded. Now Baby’s entire life is about to turn upside down. With the sexual frenzy of her heat on its way, she needs to find a pack, a nest, and alphas she can trust. The Late Night Howlers have given up hope. After years of waiting for an omega to choose them, this motorcycle club of alphas is ready to move on with their lives. Until one sweet woman takes a chance on… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Dubious consent scenario
  • Abusive relationship mentioned
  • Military-related PTSD
  • Nightmare
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Recreational drug use
  • Emesis
  • Terminal cancer mentioned
  • Murder
  • Physical assault
  • Kidnapping & confinement
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

The Company of Fiends by Kathryn Moon

The Company of Fiends by Kathryn Moon

After eight years on the stage with The Company of Fiends, the glow of the spotlight is starting to wear thin for Hazel Nix. The theatre is perfect for a girl like her—one with a secret she keeps even from her more monstrous peers—but playing pretend is only exciting for so long. After so many lovers, on stage and otherwise, Hazel has yet to make a lasting connection with anyone and considers taking her last bow at the company. Just as Hazel encounters a new and intriguing patron, disaster strikes the theatre. Girls are going missing… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Slavery
  • Human trafficking mentioned
  • Parental abandonment recounted
  • Child abuse recounted
  • Attempted sexual assault
  • Involuntary body modifications recounted
  • Cannibalism mentioned
  • Death of a father recounted
  • Murder
  • Torture, off-page
  • Strangulation
  • Home invasion
  • Physical assault (mugging)
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com

Look Past by Eric Devine

Look Past by Eric Devine

Someone brutally murdered Mary Mathison, daughter of a prominent and very conservative local pastor, and Avery, a transgender boy who loved Mary, is bent on finding her killer. He goes to the crime scene to do some investigating but is quickly put in harm’s way. Reluctantly, Avery must move to the sidelines to wait for the police to do their job. However, following Mary’s funeral, Avery receives the first in a series of disturbing text messages that can only come from the killer, revealing that Avery is now a target. The killer claims that Mary’s murder was revenge… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Transmisia
  • Domestic violence
  • Suicide
  • Murder
  • Police brutality
  • Physical assault
  • Bullying
Support Us at Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com