An absurd tale of a 31 year old black farm woman who emigrates to Montana for a free land parcel toting a monster in a steamer trunk! The publisher should have laughed and not bothered to waste the paper. As to be expected, murder and mayhem ensued. I put the book down and deleted it from my library. I am adding this last sentence only to meet the 100 word minimum.

I put Lone Women on my immediate TBR as soon as I heard what it’s about. I really like the idea of westerns, specifically the setting, but it’s hard to find anything that’d hit the spot. Reading books based on the concept alone can be pretty hit or miss, but this time, it worked out perfectly. I could not put it down.

With both her parents dead and not much to her name except a mysterious steamer trunk, Adelaide Henry moves to the middle of nowhere in Montana in search of a fresh start. She establishes her homestead, even starts making friends, but her deadly secret can’t stay hidden for long. And the small town, of course, has a few secrets of its own.

I really liked the atmospheric, somewhat slice of life nature of most of the book. Sure Adelaide has a little problem she’s hiding, and there’s a strange family terrorising the local populace, but mostly it’s about trying to survive in a harsh landscape, which can’t be done without the help of your neighbours. This communal (later even found family) aspect of the book, was also great. And I liked that it centers non-white and often queer characters.

Overall, even with all the horror and gore, plus the usual racism and sexism of the era, Lone Women is a strangely compassionate book, especially towards the end. There are strong themes of guilt and shame, redemption, who are the real monsters, what is the meaning of family. Adelaide’s burden is as metaphorical as it is literal. It might be predictable in places, the ending maybe a bit too positive to be tonally consistent, but the mystery of the trunk was compelling and damn if I wasn’t a complete sucker for every little bit of the plot.

Most highly recommended, even if you don’t normally like horror. I want to read other books LaValle has written now.

Adelaide Henry is heading to Montana, a state where a woman can be a 'lone' woman and own her own parcel of land. She leaves California behind by burning more than bridges and she'll carry her family curse with her ... both of these, literally.
She leaves California by saying goodbye to her parents - by dousing their corpses and the entire house in gasoline and then lighting a match as the wagon she's hired, now carrying her entire life (and a family curse) in a large, locked trunk, rolls away.

But can you really escape any horror when you're a lone, Black woman in the middle of nowhere just after the turn of the 20th century?

On paper, by description, this is exactly the kind of book that might appeal to me ... western and horror. But in practice, this had not enough to do with either.

Despite the dark promise at the beginning of the novel with the burning of the homestead, the horror here is teased throughout. I'm not a fan of the in-your-face horror, and subtlety is generally more appreciated, but I've often noted that subtle horror is difficult to maintain for a novel and this, to me, is a case in point. It's a teasing of the same thing, over and over, starting from page one: what's in the trunk?

I generally appreciated the sociological aspects of the book much more - the lone woman making her way in a dangerous territory during a dangerous time (when isn't it a dangerous time for a woman alone?) and the need for the other lone women looking to band together, to look out for one another in this territory. And just when I'd settle in to this being the focus of the book, we'd be teased with the horror again and I'd get frustrated, wondering what this is supposed to be - and I know it could be more than one thing, but rather than seamlessly integrating stories, this felt like one idea would unceremoniously dropped to bring about something else.

Adelaide was an interesting character and we got to know her quite well. The others in the book are generally two dimensional, Her parents, dead before we begin the story, are more interesting than just about anyone else we meet.

I did like the western and sociological aspects of this book but the overall concept did not work for me.

Looking for a good book? Lone Women by Victor LaValle is a western/horror novel with a strong central character and interesting concept that gets lost trying to bring out a dark story.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t typically read horror fiction, but this book was truly a revelation. It begins with our Black main character, Adelaide Henry, who is setting her family’s California homestead on fire, and arranging her murdered parents in their bed. Adelaide has read advertisements designed to lure people to homestead in Montana which make the state sound like Disneyland or Oz. So she heads north alone, along with her few possessions and a menacing steamer trunk containing a danger we don’t initially see or understand. Adelaide makes it to Montana, which unsurprisingly turns out to be far more unforgiving and desolate than the place described in her newspaper stories. But carry on she does, meeting good people and bad, with her heavy steamer trunk in tow. I don’t want to post any spoilers, other than to state the obvious. Yes, we find out what is in the trunk and death and destruction follow. But what makes this novel so much more than a scary story is the underlying theme of acceptance of the Other (whether based on such things as race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation), and what happens when the Other is rejected. This is a powerful lesson for those of us living in present time, and not just in the desolate nineteenth century West. 4.8 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary advanced readers’ copy of this book.

QUICK TAKE; read more like a novella to me, but ultimately i loved it. Very cool concept with a well-executed mystery (what's in the box?), set against the backdrop of a historical period and world that I didn't know much about. If I had any complaints, I wish there was MORE to the book as it was a lean and mean read that I flew through in a couple hours.

Courtesy of Random House and Netgalley, I received the ARC of Lone Women by Victor LaValle. I was drawn to this story of strong women homesteaders in the wide open spaces of Montana, and curious about the secrets! No spoilers! Suspenseful, well written, with interesting and compelling characters, this novel completely captured my attention as the story unfolded.

I'm so thankful to have received digital access to Lone Women by Victor LaValle leading up to its publication date of March 28, 2023. I thought this piece of horror and literary fiction was so well done, highlighting the appropriate minority groups, and I can't wait to run to my feed to see what my fellow readers think of this work of art. I am so thankful to NetGalley and Random House additionally for the bookish love.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy of Lone Women by Victor LaValle. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I picked up this book, but boy was I glad I did. My mind is blown! History, horror, edge-of-your-seat type of book. It is hard to describe. I would HIGHLY recommend!

Special thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Oh wow for me this book lived up to the hype! I don't think this book can be tied to a genre it has so many.

This book was fantastic. Highly recommended. 4 stars! Maybe 4.5

I think I liked this…. but to be honest I'm mostly still trying to process what the hell I've just read.
This started off strong but I just kind of lost interest after the trunk was opened. There are quite a few side characters that the narration focuses on and I didn't feel they were fully developed.
For a fast read, it's worth picking up even if it's not the kind of thing you'd normally care for. It wasn’t my absolute favorite, but I was definitely entertained.
Highly recommended for those who like reading books that cannot be tied down to any single genre.

*Many thanks to NetGalley for providing my review copy.

Victor LaValle has crafted an unforgettable tale of survival, sisterhood, and secrets. It's hard to review Lone Women without spoiling any of the many twists and reveals so I'll leave this at an emphatic read this book. The story unfolds at a pace that leaves readers constantly question what they know and what will come next. I enjoyed the occasional shifts in narrative to give the readers a glimpse of what's going on in the minds of other characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was SO. GOOD. I'm not usually one to gravitate towards historical fiction, but the short chapters, complex cast of characters, and relentless horror elements drew me in quickly (from the first paragraph, in fact!) and kept me hooked throughout. I don't want to say too much, since I went into this blind and enjoyed it that way, but I love that this book tackled concepts of identity and relationships while also teaching me something about American history. It was fascinating to follow Adelaide to Montana and observe the relationships that other characters formed with her and each other, both positive and negative. Many of the people in this story demonstrate deep flaws and complexities that lend themselves to interesting twists in the plot. Highly, highly recommend, and I definitely plan to pick up another Victor LaValle read soon!

A bizarrely hopeful book about finding your power! I was intrigued from the start and uncertain what would come. As secret after secret was exposed, I continued to get sucked back in. What I thought would be a modern take on a Western turned into a band of misfits taking on their demons - both past and present. I would have loved more about Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Wong as they were very interesting characters! I also felt the end was a tad rushed but left me satisfied. Overall, a great read for many different genres!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House, and author Victor LaValle for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fast paced story with unforgettable characters. While Adelaide doesn't exactly arrive alone to her homestead plot in Montana, the barren, frigid landscape makes life difficult for a Lone Woman. Thankfully she soon makes friends with her neighbor Grace, her son Sam, Bertie the local moonshiner and her partner Fiona. Together these women struggle to survive in the Montana badlands. I don't want to give away too much so I'll leave the plot description there.

In the early 1900s 1914 to be precise, Adelaide Henry left California to homestead in Montana. A simple statement, yes, but it hides so, so much of the great storytelling here. Adelaide brought something with her to Montana, something other than pots or towels. A secret in a large trunk that she won’t, can’t talk about. Instead she begins her new life in the wide open lands, slowly meeting some people in this desolate area. Until things begin to go wrong.

The author blends historical fiction, western tropes and horror to make a very readable, interesting and compelling story that pulls you along, wanting to know what happens next. There are heroes and villains, and, for realism’s sake, many who combine some of both. Why have I never heard of Victor LaValle before? My oversight for sure! I will be looking at his back list now.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the paranormal, some horror without excessive graphic descriptions. The writing simply flows smoothly and the descriptions of Montana’s empty spaces are beautifully eerie.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book was excellent. It draws you in right away and just when you think you know what is going on it changes. Each part was it's own story but also part of a cohesive read. I really enjoyed it all the way to the end. The story is well written and keeps you both right there with the characters and wondering where it will go next. I can't say how much I enjoyed this book. I am going to look up the author's other work.

I'm always interested in historical fiction that highlight how life was for people of color during different time periods, particularly those that follow Black folk. This interest was served in Lone Women which infuses the horror in the main character's heavy family secret along with her lonesome journey as a homesteader in Plains region of the United States.
Overall, I found the novel did a great job in maintaining a desolate experience and atmosphere while also showing how important the few community connections she makes are for her ultimate safety.

Obviously Victor LaValle can write. That's not in question. But I do question whether or not he should be writing from the perspective of a female character. As a woman, I was so scared for Adelaide at every turn. Every time she was alone with a man (especially a white man), I held my breath, but she seemed unfazed by it. Was this the horror I was supposed to focus on in this book? I don't know. But a female character written by a woman would definitely have been more aware of the threat of physical or sexual violence.

This may be my favorite horror book this year - a delightful weird western, it tells a lot of stories very economically and with passion and verve. Elizabeth is a favorite.

I read this entire book, which is uncharacteristic for me because I usually abandon books that I dislike this much. I kept hoping that there would be a point to it. There isn’t. It is not horror. It is not historical fiction. The story of these women could have been told in a realistic manner (without the spooky thing in the trunk) and made a good story. But I just hated the way this was written. The author has gotten great praise. I don’t get it. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.