I usually try to write my reviews the night after I’ve read the book so its still fresh in my mind. However, with this one, it took me a while to formulate my thoughts and get them down on paper.

From the publisher: Blue skies, empty land—and enough wide-open space to hide a horrifying secret. A woman with a past, a mysterious trunk, a town on the edge of nowhere, and a bracing new vision of the American West...

What genre would this fall into? A little historical fiction, a little gothic horror, a little fantasy all rolled into a delicious piece of what is this book. To say I’ve never read a book like this is an understatement. While I have read historical fiction / horror mashups, this was the first with the fantasy mixed it. To be honest I wasn’t quite sure how great it worked until it was done, and I was reflecting – when I was deep into the pages I keep going “huh”, “okay – this works”. It was interesting and held my attention that’s for sure. I really didn’t want to put this one down. After the big reveal of what was in the chest, I wanted to know more, I needed to know more, and how what was found worked. The writing was impeccable and fun to read. The plot – oh gosh – well its well developed and written.

Check this one out if you are looking for a fun and engaging read – it’s out March 28th. Thank you to @netgalley, the publisher Random House Publishing Group – Random House, @randomhouse, for an e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

First and foremost, shoutout to the One World team for recommending I pick up Lone Women due to my review of a novel by another writer, as well as to the NetGalley team for supporting readers, reviewers, and authors. This novel, set during the early 20th century during the U.S. historical era of Westward Expansionism, has fabulous pacing that matches the western/horror/time period style incredibly well. Right around the halfway mark, readers get a big reveal, which allows for really nice ramping up of the story itself. Our protagonist is a Black femme homesteader during a historical period in the United States that was not kind to unmarried Black femmes.

There's a really gothic feel to this novel, and it's a bit of a combination of something like a monster noir story set during this period alongside a more traditional Western style novel. This combination isn't one I would have thought would work for me, but my experience is that this combination felt really clean and fresh.

I was pleasantly surprised by the LGBTQNIA2S+ representation in the novel as well and that these characters don't play solely a secondary part in the novel, but become the main focus for large portions of the story.

I would recommend this novel to folks who enjoy horror, Westerns, and are willing to take a risk on a combination of the two. Due to the style/setting/time period in question, the pacing is slower, but anyone who enjoys a good Western will be familiar with this!

CW: child abduction, transphobia, homophobia, monsters, classism, racism (albeit to differing levels among these).

In ‘Lone Women’, Adelaide Henry is forced to leave as a fugitive under the dark skies and dark past of California for the big skies of Montana in the early 1900’s. She is a very tall black American who hopes to hide and start over alone by taking advantage of a federal government homesteading act (which bears a resemblance to the true Homestead Act of 1862) giving out a 320-acre plot of land to adults and only requiring the ‘individual’ to live on the land for three years, cultivating crops and improving the land to a suitable state. It was an indomitable task in the vast, small-populated, northern open prairies of Montana.

The only thing Adelaide travels with is a small travel bag of personal belongings and a huge, heavy steamer trunk locked with a big heavy brass padlock - she always wears the burdensome key to the solid trunk around her neck and the steamer is always locked

Beyond the harsh winters when you have no choice but to rely on your neighbors who most often live miles away from your own homestead claim, the secret of the Seward steamer trunk preys on the mind of Adelaide.

Survivors are the only ones who stay but can even they survive the hell and dread of the monstrous secret that Adelaide has brought with her? The few men she sees prey on her loneliness and the horror of what is inside the trunk becomes even harder to conceal. If it was to be opened . . .

Lyrical moody writing by Victor LaValle captures the barren brutal landscape of a raw territory and the hidden, desperate terror inside the steamer trunk.

Thank you to #OneWorld, #PenguinRandomHouse and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this unputdownable book! #LoneWomen #Montana

Lone Women by Victor Lavalle is an incredible story told about a woman and her life in the plains of Montana in the early 20th century. Tragedy abounds in this book, as do fantastic images, and graphic violence. But there is also love, hope, and acceptance. This book is so many things: it is a historical fiction, feminist, supernatural, horror novel. The only book I have ever read even remotely similar is Lavalle’s previous book, The Changeling. I am so happy to have gotten a copy of this gem! Thank you to One World Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I've not enjoyed LaValle's previous work I've read (a me problem) but this one was great. I didn't find it scary, but it had some of my favorite elements of horror - a strong setting that lends itself to general creepiness, a strong female lead, and a plot that gives you just enough crumbs to keep reading as fast as you can to figure out what's happening. I really enjoyed it.

This book is my curse! From now on I’ll compare any book I’ll read with this and I’ll hardly enjoy them! This is EXCELLENT! It absolutely lives up to its hype! It’s even better! I was so sure I would enjoy this book! But I didn’t think I would love that much!

The plot, the characters, twists are incredible! The beginning hooks you up! Tension keeps escalating! The disturbing and troubled characters couldn’t be portrayed so great!

Each of them fights with their inner demons. They’re flawed, far from perfection. That’s why you can easily connect with them.

I’m normally not into historical fictions. But this book provides us great combination of different genres including horror, thriller, women’s fiction, historical fiction, fantasy. This is powerful feminism story meets a monster’s survival saga takes place in Montana, early 20th century!

Adelaide Henry is unconventional, unique, peculiar woman, strong, tall, trapped. In 31, raised like a mull more than a human, deciding to take her own fate into her hands. Her life completely changed at the day she put fire her farmhouse in Redondo, where her parents Glenville and Eleanor Henry’s corpses left behind.

She dragged her trunk that carried a special delivery/ her big secret/ her curse inside, moving to Montana to start over where her fate crosses with a very suspicious woman and her 4 blind sons.

She tries so hard to keep her secret hidden for not only her but also townies’ sakes! But what if she’s not the only cursed one in this town! What of town is already rotted with hypocrisy, inequality, greed. What if she’s not the only lone women in the town who has to fight against the monsters live under human furs? She has to do anything to survive, doesn’t she?

I’m so shaken to the care! Giving only five stars is not fair to this book! This is exceptional! Please urgently read it! Highly absolutely extremely recommended!

Millions of thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/One World for sharing this FANTASTIC digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

LONE WOMEN is the kind of novel that resonates so strongly and feels so real that despite its fantastical elements, I am certain my personal sense of Montana's non-indigenous settlement history will be forever imbued with the belief that it was shaped in part by Adelaide Henry and her family, friends, and foes.

While I really thought this book excelled with story building. I was disappointed in several aspects of it. I didn’t like that so much of the town were absolutely awful! It gave a very much “us against the world” feel to it which I do enjoy but that people got worse and worse.

I did appreciate the ending in that Adelaide, Fiona, Bertie and Grace finally made a community where Elizabeth was also included.

Things I loved:
1. Victor LaValle was a new author for me and the creepy, captivating (horror) combined with historical fiction guarantees I will read more of his books!! A combination I did not see coming!!
2. The diversity of characters who were well developed, unique and differentiated was wonderful!
3. I love when the land and surroundings are characters and Montana did not disappoint.

Things I wished were different:
1. Wanted to know more about Adelaide and how she works the claim (a little more historical fiction for me).
2. The ending gave us a lot of POV and it was a little confusing.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is due to be published March 21, 2023.

This book!!! Wow!! Not at all what I was expecting....I knew it was an historical fiction, taking place in Montana, with a single black woman moving so she could have her own free piece of land.

The start of the story leaves you with a question as to who she really is & how did this happen, ( I won't say as it is a huge spoiler). Her journey to Montana & the people she meets along the way set the tone for the rest of the story.

This is totally believable historical, western tale with a twist!!

Do not read too many descriptions of this book, go with it & be surprised!

Now I need to look up some more Victor LaValle books!

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I read The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle a while ago and admit that I didn’t find it all that great. The book couldn’t decide what genre it wanted to be. However, this book is solidly horror. Not graphic or anything, but horror with a touch of fantasy. Oh, and it takes place in 1915, so it’s historical as well. That said, the horror plotline is consistent throughout.

From Goodreads:

Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear.

The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, forcing her to flee California in a hellfire rush and make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will become one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can tame it—except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing that will help her survive the harsh territory.

Crafted by a modern master of magical suspense, Lone Women blends shimmering prose, an unforgettable cast of adventurers who find horror and sisterhood in a brutal landscape, and a portrait of early-twentieth-century America like you’ve never seen. And at its heart is the gripping story of a woman desperate to bury her past—or redeem it.

This book comes out in March, so if you are a horror fan, mark your calendars. Coming in at just 240 pages, I got through this one in a couple of days. I loved Adelaide and was cheering for her the entire time. The “burden” she carries is immense, but how she reckons with it is admirable. She is a great dynamic character whose shifts make sense. And LaValle does an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing. The book starts off with a bang, and you are immediately drawn in. This is one I’ll definitely be recommending.

I just love when I start a book that captures me from the start and this book did just that! I couldn't put this book down! Read it in a few hours and it was so good! The twist and turns and all the WTF moments I had!? LOVED this one!

This is one I could not put down! After reading the synopsis, I wanted to read this book so bad, just so I could figure out what was hidden in the trunk! Once I found out what was in the trunk (no spoilers), I just wanted to know where this book was leading me. Fascinating, horrific read. Thank you.

Victor LaValle does it again! This was such an eerie creepy novel full of so many twists and turns that I could not get enough of.

Who knew a steamer trunk could be the stuff of nightmares. I loved how slowly LaValle peeled back the many spooky layers of this story. Definitely had me hooked and on the edge of my seat from the very first page. The suspense and haunting vibes were immaculate!

Advice: don't read this at night or you won't be getting any sleep!

This memorable supernatural Western marries nonstop action with profound questions about loyalty and shame. In 1915 a Black woman flees her family farm in California to homestead in Montana, carrying a trunk that contains a monstrous secret. Her journey from isolation to solidarity with other frontier women illustrates the difference between the type of loyalty that silences and separates us, and the type that makes us grow in courage and compassion. The former type is personified most grotesquely by the wealthy white doyenne of the town, whose support for her fellow women stops at the color line. Positive LGBTQ representation makes this book a standout as well. LaValle writes convincingly from the standpoint of a female protagonist.

Lone Women is a fantastic story about a black woman named Adelaide who is off to make it in the wilds of Montana. What brings her there is tense and how she survives once she gets there is even more so. The story is full of interesting characters and a demon of sorts. The women who help her are awesome and tough as nails. The setting is so unforgiving and the author really is able to capture that in his writing. I absolutely loved the book and read it in two sittings. Another excellent story from this super-talented author.

LaValle writes incredibly cinematic moments in his tales, and I'm grateful whenever a chance comes to my door.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – One World for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a captivating story that grabs you at page one and drags you spellbound through it to the very end. The setting for it begins in California and later moves to remote Montana. The main character is a very tall, strong, young black woman who flees her family home in California. She sets out to make a new life for herself in Montana. While in Seattle she purchases a forfeited Montana homestead. It is a terrifying tale and one that keeps you guessing all the way through it. The characters are wonderfully crafted and I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who and what was happening. This book is set in the early days in the west, in ghost towns, small towns in California and Montana and what life must have been like for the early settlers. See if you can figure this one out. I read it never wanting to put it down and highly recommend it. I will be looking for more books by Victor LaValle.

Montana offered a new start for Adelaide but it was not an easy life for a lone black woman especially one who brings a curse with her. A homestead far away from prying eyes can be a dangerous thing but after a rocky start she finds a few female friends in town - after all lone women need to stick together. There is a secret that threatens her new life. It will not be contained, kept hidden or silenced as Adelaide soon finds out. The hardships that these women face are different from the men and justice doesn't always land on their side but they all show incredible resilience, strength and understanding. Once the trunk is opened you will find out, dear reader, why they call it the wild west.
Horror mixed with a rainbow of characters in complex relationships make this a must read for fans of A DANGEROUS BUSINESS, UPRIGHT WOMEN WANTED and WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

In the windswept, flat land of Montana, Adelaide Henry hopes to find a place to hide from the horror of her life. She finds other lonely women, all hiding from something.
A harrowing story tempered by found friendship and comradery of other women. Very deep and emotional. An excellent read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.