Lone Women by Victor Lavalle is a historical-horror. It is a very unusual story…though you might have guessed that from the genre.

Adelaide Henry is a 31 year old Black woman living in 1915 southern California. In the first chapter, she douses her house in gasoline and sets fire to her dead parents wrapped in their bed. She then begins a journey to Montana, the only state where lone women homesteaders (regardless of colour) don’t need a man to cosign for a tract of land. Adelaide carries with her a big trunk she keeps padlocked shut. Around page 82, the padlock is opened for the first time, and the horror part of the book kicks in.

There are many things to like about this book: I love a historical novel that teaches me about historical facts of which I was unaware (yes, apparently lone women homesteaders in Montana was a thing). I love a book with short snappy chapters that prompt me to read “just one more chapter.” I love stories with LGBTQ+ inclusion, particularly when these stories come with no agenda: LGBTQ+ people existed in history too! And, I love a bad-ass bitch, of which there are several in this novel.

But what I don’t like about the book is the amount of inferencing required. Lone Women is a short book that could easily have been longer with a bit more character development and details. Lavalle left a lot of the details to my own imagination, and while this is sometimes engaging, it sometimes feels like he’s left the heavy-lifting to the reader.

I enjoyed reading Lone Women, but don’t know who I would recommend it to. Three-and-a-half stars, rounded up for Goodreads.

Lone Women will be published on March 28. Thanks to Random House, the author, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review. As it happens, I ended up buying the book through BOTM, so I had two copies to draw from.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked reading about the group of strong women, the Lone Women. It was interesting to read about this time period and LaValle included a lot of themes relevant to the time. I don’t know much about homesteading in the West during the beginning of the 1900s and I didn’t think much about single women, including Black women, being a part of this population, so I enjoyed learning a bit more about that. This is categorized as horror, but while the story had some unsettling moments that gave me a spooky feeling, I think this is more of a historical fiction with just a touch of horror. There were a lot of unexpected turns that this book took after the initial twist was revealed, so I often felt like I had no idea what was happening while reading. There were also multiple storylines happening at once but they came together in the end. It felt like I was constantly waiting for a big reveal to happen and I’m not sure one ever truly did. But, I appreciate how the story ended and I enjoyed the journey of reading this.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle is a standalone novel mainly set in and near Big Sandy, Montana. The author has managed to combine horror, mystery, suspense, historical fiction, and the supernatural in a western set in 1914-1915. Featuring thirty-one-year-old Adelaide Henry, the novel also sheds light on the little-known historical fact that single, widowed, divorced, or deserted women who where at least 21 could become homesteaders and through “proving” their claim, own their own land.

Adelaide flees her home town of Redondo, California with only one bag and a very heavy and locked steamer trunk. Arriving in Montana, she starts making improvements on her land and keeping her terrible secret. Distant neighbors call, but Adelaide isn’t alone. What is her hidden secret?
Adelaide is full of grief, worry, and uncertainty, but she also experiences anticipation and excitement. Will she truly be free for the first time in her life? I still don’t understand why she left her home with as little as she did. How did she think she would survive? Perhaps it was the shock of the events in California.

What a shocking first paragraph! It immediately pulled me into the story. The writing is vivid and atmospheric. Readers slowly learn Adelaide’s secret and experience the west with its good and bad. Neighbors tended to help neighbors in time of need. However, there is also racism and vigilantism. Diverse characters, secrets, death, loneliness, difficult socioeconomic conditions, theft, curiosity, vengeance, rage, freedom, the supernatural, and retribution are also weaved into the storyline. My main quibble is the uneven pacing.

I always expect to learn something new from a historical fiction novel, and this one delivered. Information about the lone women homesteaders wasn’t something that was taught in any of my classes, making this novel a good fit to read during women’s history month.

Overall, this was a compelling, shocking, unique, and dark story that also had some uplifting moments. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Random House Publishing Group - Random House, One World and Victor LaValle provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for March 28, 2023.

We meet 31 year old Adelaide Henry as she flees California after burning her family’s farm down, where her parents lay dead. She leaves only with a heavy steamer trunk that must remain locked at all times. Her plan is to go to Montana, where a single Black woman is allowed to homestead - a chance for a new life. It would be a lot easier if it weren’t for the burden she carries, and the knowledge of what happens when her trunk is opened.
This book keeps your guessing from page one - and I would highly recommend going into it blind. There’s not a lot to say about the plot that doesn’t spoil it. The setting is dark, atmospheric, and increasingly blood-soaked.
This is a story about marginalized women. We have a full cast of characters; they vary in race, sexuality, economic status, and motives, but are seemingly drawn together. LaValle was able to bring out each of them so completely, they felt like they could leap from the page.
You know, when I started this review, I had put down four stars, but as I write this I think I’ll be upgrading it to a five. There is just so much to think about here! I think it’ll be on my mind for a while. Don’t miss this one.

I wanted to love this but I only liked it. There wasn't anything WRONG with it I just never managed to feel deeply interested in the writing. The main character was great, I loved her, I wanted to keep reading about her, but the writing just kept me at arms length.

<i>“On Tuesday, Adelaide Henry had been a farmer. On Wednesday, she became a fugitive.”

"A woman is a mule."</i>

Gosh, there are so many quotes from this book that hit on multiple levels. This book is set in 1914 Montana and after falling into the Yellowstone universe (and watching 1923), this book feels like a deliciously subversive piece of historical fiction - yet it is horror too. It's a story of female empowerment, of all the forms of abuse in the old frontier, of what it means to start over, of reclaiming your own autonomy and identity, of racism, and more. And yet somehow, each of these pieces work beautifully well together. Others have said it too - the short chapters make Lone Women even more devourable, the pace of this book is PERFECT. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

3.5 ⭐️ Not my usual genre of book but it was interesting and carried some good themes about accepting others even tho they’re different and the importance of friendship.

It was sort of Stranger-Things-ish, with the science fiction/fantasy dipped in a historical landscape. I liked that it was slow roll with the story, almost like a ghost story the way it unfolds and gets you invested rather than high intensity.

I didn’t mind that there were little bits of the other characters interspersed in between the main focus of Adelaide Henry. It was not done so much that it felt like there isn’t a focus or there’s too much going on. It fleshed it out more the way it was brief but relevant and I thought it was well done.

The main negative for me was it felt like it was trying to hit every aspect of all-things-to-all-people. Like one after another discriminated people group was represented here well after the concept was delivered. That made it feel a little overdone and less focused, less believable, and lost some of the poignancy. Instead of making me just focus on the theme of how easily and dangerously people judge what they don’t understand, I felt distracted by the peripheral details of yet another characteristic that was now thrown in the mix without being necessary to the story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

I have just finished reading Lone Women by Author Victor LaValle

This was a most unusual book, and I did enjoy it.

It is a bit difficult to list the Genres. I would say It is a combination of Fiction, Historical Fiction, Strong Women, Horror Fantasy and Western..

The main character is Adelaide Henry. She leaves her home in California in the year 1914, and ends up in Montana, as a homesteader. When she leaves her home, she has with her a large and very heavy trunk.

The winters are cold and bleak, and the storyline begins to take shape.

For me I thoroughly enjoyed the first third or so, then lost some interest, and for the last third of the book very strange things happen.

There is a strong women, Pro female message as well within the words.

Thank You to NetGalley, the Author, and Random House Publishing Group for my advanced copy to read and review.

3.5 Stars

#netgalley

Wow! Victor LaValle has written some kind of book!!! In the beginning, I thought, "Oh, what a good book about a woman moving out West, alone, to live on the land." OKAY!!! But, I never saw what was coming, coming. I mean, just WOW! This story took a turn that surprised the heck out of me! and, all of a sudden it's as frightening as a Chuck Wendig/Stephen King novel!! This is a horror story! that you want to read! One strange turn after the next, and not one did I anticipate! Thank you first of all to Mr. LaValle for an incredibly imaginative story ( I will never think of Montana in a calm way again), and to NetGalley and One World, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, Publishing for the eGalley in exchange for this very honest review.

A unique blend of horror, fantasy, and historical fiction, this tale is a western and a portrayal of a woman's courage and determination, and I loved it all.

This was such a great spooky story that follows a Black woman as she makes her way from California to Montana, trying to get as far away as possible from humanity. When we meet her, she is setting her parent's bodies on fire, and it is clear something bad is happening. In Montana, there might be fewer people, but she finds herself connecting to a single mother and the few non-white women in the area. However, this might mean her secret is at risk.

The pace is slow and beautifully deliberate. The social commentary is a breath of fresh air, and the writing put me right in early 1900s Montana. I could feel the chill in the air and the need for human connection. This was my first book by Victor LaValle, but it will not be my last.

This story really had my heart in knots but I enjoyed every minute of it. This sorry will take you on a journey that’s worth the ride. The characters were simply amazing and I can’t wait to read more from his author.

"History is simple. [...] The past is complicated."

I enjoyed this gothic story about Adelaide, a woman saddled with a heavy familial burden and her attempts to carve out a life for herself in the Montana wilderness. The way these women build a community, help each other through this difficult life, and find their paths forward were so compelling - especially in the context of such a difficult life and Adelaide being one of a very limited number of Black individuals. I I would have loved a deeper view into the lives of the other women beyond Adelaide. I also felt there were some loose ends and some unnecessary plot deviations that didn't add to the story.

Overall, if you enjoy gothics and books about surviving in the wilderness, this is an excellent choice.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle is an absolute masterpiece. The story follows a single woman who is running from her past life in California. She is traveling to Montana to homestead some property and to begin a new life. The problem is that she has to carry some baggage with her, in this case an extremely heavy steamer trunk and some old family secrets. I was intrigued by the historical aspect of this story. I did not realize that Montana allowed single women, in this case a single Black woman, to be homesteaders. I really was fascinated by what life was like for these lone women who were making lives for themselves in extremely harsh conditions. I also liked the horror aspect of the story, which I will not write about at all because I do not want to spoil anything for the readers. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you will enjoy this book. I’m not a fan of historical fiction and I loved it. Of course if you’re a fan of horror, like me, then you will love this book. I highly recommend this book.

Very rarely do I give books 1-2 stars, but for me unfortunately this was one. I had major issues with it. The story was awful, and the writing was confusing. I don’t even know what this was. But it was not for me. It was…. Something.

I enjoyed the few ghost stories and the historical homesteading aspect. But the rest of it was just too much for me.

The beginning started off awesome. Why did she start the fire? What’s going on? But it was a totally different book after the first chapter.

It should have been one genre, not multiple. And BOTM shouldn’t advertise it as a horror. It’s not. 🙄

Victor LaValle knows history. Author of a number of sterling titles, including the Lovecraftian deconstruction The Ballad of Black Tom, LaValle tackles the ugly legacy of America, refusing to shirk from the depictions of racism and sexism that continue to affect the country to this day. Lone Women, his latest novel, brings the reader to 1914 in a blend of historical fiction, gnawing dread, and irresistible prose.

Adelaide Henry is a woman on the run. Carrying a secret trunk wherever she goes, Adelaide holds to the secret it contains. A secret that might have killed her parents and others, for whenever the trunk opens, people have a disturbing tendency to vanish. Adelaide intends to take advantage of the government’s offer of free land in Montana to any who can cultivate it, becoming a homesteader. But secrets have a way of catching up to their holders.

The best way to describe LaValle’s style is “tense.” But from the very start of the book, LaValle immerses the reader in absolute dread. Adelaide is not merely on the run from her past, she carries it with her wherever she goes. As a single Black woman in 1914, Adelaide is subject to some of the worst prejudices of the day but refuses to cow under them. Making herself the guardian of a dark secret, Adelaide attempts to safeguard what she brings with her, intending that no others be lost, least of all her neighbors. But she may not be the only woman struggling with demons.

LaValle’s mastery lies in his characters. Each is a fully, beautifully fleshed out human being with hopes, fears, dreams, and flaws. Nobody is fully innocent, but all attempt to build their own destinies and fates in worlds that seek to deny them. Adelaide is a woman seeking redemption, doing her best, and the absolute emotional core of the novel.

The book’s pacing is ponderous, letting the reader soak in the horror they experience. The strong characterization keeps Lone Women going and above all, LaValle compels us to experience the strength a lone woman brings with her.

I had a vague idea of what I was getting into with Lone Women, but holy twists and turns. This is a story that is filled with strong female characters. Adelaide leaves her family farm in a hurry and travels to Montana to start over. She only packs a steamer trunk that is suspiciously heavy...and causes big problems when opened.

Without spoiling things or giving the secrets of the story away, Lone Women read fast because I needed to know what was happening. It was filled with unexpected friendships and situations that both made me a little nervous and compelled me to read more than I planned. Strong women, the cold hard west, and a lot of intrigue will keep you reading way past your bedtime. (but only in the daylight for me!)

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I’ve heard great things about Victor LaValle as a Black thriller/horror author, and I found Lone Women intriguing enough to give it a try. And while it’s definitely one of those WTF-inducing reads that I’m not sure I entirely get yet, that’s absolutely a good thing in this case. LaValle expertly combines historical fiction and thriller/horror, using supernatural elements to help magnify the issues plaguing the town, including the many sins of the townsfolk.
The book begins with a bang, and while there are some meandering moments in between, it contributes to the slow building tension and questions around Adelaide and her mysterious trunk. And I love how deeply personal the demons that follow Adelaide around in the trunk are, especially given how deeply intense the opening was, and how her secret of what happened in her past with her family impacted her in multiple ways.
While Adelaide is the central character and the most developed, there are other characters, some of whom get their own POVs. While I was initially concerned they wouldn’t be as developed, I came to appreciate what they added to the overall concept of the narrative
This is a wild genre-bending read, and I’d recommend it if you enjoy a blend of historical Western fiction, fantasy, thriller, and horror.

Wow. Okay. This was awesome. Victor LaValle has impressed me before, and I entered this book with cautiously high hopes… only to be blown away by this incredible tale.

It's 1914 and Adelaide Henry arrives in Montana, with nothing but a bag of possessions and a trunk full of secrets. She begins a new life, shedding the sins of her past, making friends, learning to live off the land. And then the trunk is opened and bad things start to happen… 😬
So… what's in the chest? You'll just have to grab a copy and find out! 📦

This book was fantastic. Like, beautifully crafted, perfectly paced, with the creation of characters you truly care about.

My only complaint was that I wanted more! There were no loose ends and no unfinished pieces of the puzzle but I devoured this book too quickly 🤭

I'd highly recommend this one to LaValle fans, those who love historical fiction with a twist, and even those who just want to break out of their box and read something truly unique.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Victor LaValle and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I immediately bought into Adelaide and her struggles from page 1. Sure, something horrible and mysterious had happened to her parents, but she was someone I could root for: tough, motivated, and ready to survive.

The question of "What's in the trunk?" haunts the book for quite some time, and when you get the answer it's quite explosive.

My favourite parts had to have been the realisticness of rugged life on the Montana claims (it felt both immersive and well-researched), the inclusion of real world intersectionality without erasing people that were present, and the way that - yep - the supernatural exists in this world too.

I sometimes struggled with the style of how the writing sometimes keeps us a hand away from being inside the character's heads (at times I wasn't sure if it was third person POV or omniscient), and the overall pacing of the plot was different - not a problem, but different. While the chapters were short and it was easy to blaze through piece by piece, the revelations came at interesting points and a lot of chapters began with that stepped-away voice.

Regardless, this was a really enjoyable, well-researched book. And I was very pleased to see that LaValle writes women so well! I feel like this is the sort of book that could crossover to non-horror readers too - so if the concept of a Black woman surviving on the plains of Montana (and everything that entails) appeals to you, pick this one up!

I received an advance reading copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.