3.75 stars, rounded up for goodreads

This is a unique book. The premise, and the horror, slowly sneaks up on you. You're given just enough information to understand the burden that Adelaide is carrying, or responsible for, but not enough to truly understand what would make her burn her home down and flee to the great nothingness of Montana. And that vagueness works in the story's favor.

LaValle doles out information regarding what is the true heart of the story in pieces and flashes. By the time you're introduced to the horror, you've almost forgotten that it is something that scares Adelaide and is significant enough to be kept locked away. Then, from the moment the horror is introduced, it sits above the story, waiting for the next moment to strike. The evolution of the reader's knowledge of this, as opposed to the other characters, truly shifts the readers perspective over time.

Along side the horror of what Adelaide has brought with her, are the horrors of living in such a desolate land. The characters are told the land is trying to kill them, and that point LaValle paints beautifully. More significantly is the idea of survival for those who don't conform. The point of this land in Montana was for women to settle, this immediately puts them at odds with the nature of things, as they're expected to survive on their own. But all of our main women are nonconformists in one way or another, and they come to rely on one another for support from those in their community who would otherwise persecute them or take what is theirs.

There is a lot to be said about the fact that much of the great horrors in this book take place as a means to protect, in some form or another.

The quiet horror story, while strong, is sometimes at odds with the rest of the story. There are times when it seems like the tone of the story was never settled on, mostly in terms of the writing. While vivid and strong, there are a few moments when choice phrases seem out of context. This could be because this is an uncorrected proof, but I'm not certain in that. Still, those moments, while a little jarring, don't do anything to deter you from the story itself.

I was also drawn to this story because of the setting. I dont know if its because I grew up playing The Oregon Trail and reading/watching Little House on the Prairie and watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, but I love stories that go into the details of a settlers life. I love reading about how they set up their home, how they have to find wood for fires, or water thats drinkable. There's just something so appealing about that to me. And, especially in the beginning, this book truly drew me in with those details. Strange? Maybe. but i love it anyway!

With more plot twists than an old fashioned pretzel, Victor LaValle's latest masterpiece is a journey to Mid Western America that you'll never forget. High in the frontier-lands of Montana, a mysterious Black woman, Adelaide, arrives with a fancy steamer. As she learns more about the town, deep, dark truths begin to appear. In this thriller, no woman is what she seems..

I had no idea what to expect going into this one and it's honestly really hard to describe! A woman from a small California town with a big secret moves to a remote village in Montana. The landscapes are absolutely lyrical, the characters totally unforgettable. Magical realism at its absolute finest, and a town full of scrappy lone women who do their best to survive against all odds.

This was a great read.! I seldom use exclamations but this book took me by surprise several times and the suspense was there from the beginning. I don't want to give any clues that would reveal what is in the steamer
trunk that arrived with Miss Adelaide as she settled into her claim in Montana. The character development was excellent. I liked everything about this book.

I really enjoyed this unusual book. It’s not horror per se but a book about women, and it’s written beautifully.

Víctor LaValle does it one again.

He created and spectacular, Dark, Vivid, Historical-Horror Fiction at its best!

I been sitting on this review for some time because I did not know where to start. This novel is so fast paced that you will be unable to put down and catch up with what’s coming your way. *I was shocked*

His writing style is do addicting, the setting, the characters, the plot twists .. imagine Montana in the 1900s, Where Adelaide Henry a women in her 30s is on the run leaving her life behind.

what is she running from? You may ask…You’re gonna have to find out 😜 please do! Pick up this book when it comes out on March 2023

This was quite the story, but stranger things have happened! I'm sure a lone women was not treated very well for many years. Think of what you would do?

I absolutely did not want to put this book down. At first it was because I had to know what was in the trunk. Then when I found out I was like what kind of book am I reading. However, I wanted to find out where this book was going to go. It ended up being an incredibly powerful story but it definitely has some graphic elements to it.

Adelaide has to leave her home in California. Her parents are dead and she has to get far away. All she is bringing is an incredibly heavy steamer trunk that she keeps locked at all costs. Adelaide decides to homestead a piece of land in Montana. Once in Montana she meets a family called the Mudges but they disappear at night. Adelaide fears that her trunk has something to do with it. In this new land she is all alone and is very unprepared for how hard her life is. She comes to rely on her nearest neighbor, Grace and her son. Slowly, Adelaide adjusts and makes new friends until one night when the trunk is opened. Her life will never be the same.

I love a good thriller but this book was more than that. Set in the early 19oos we get a glimpse at how difficult life was for those who tried to get a fresh start. It is also eye opening at how racism and discrimination was rampant in a place where life was so difficult. This book was so unique and unlike anything I have ever read. It was such a mix of so many genres- historical fiction, fantasy, horror, and thriller. I highly recommend this if you are looking for something very different. Just be warned, this is definitely not a beach read.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and the One World Team for this ARC!

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

Oh my goodness. I absolutely adored this book and couldn’t put it down. Realistic, fantastical, scenery building, amazing characters, and just so detailed. Loved it.

Lone Women pulled me in at the beginning and then quickly took a sharp dive. For me, the plot didn’t come together in a way that made sense. Fantasy requires a good amount of explanation for the other worldly things that happen, and this story is missing that. The big reveal about Adelaide’s sister never made sense. How did two humans birth a dragon? How was the dragon contained in a suitcase? I also wanted more insight into Elizabeth’s experience. This story would’ve benefited from Elizabeth’s pov. She’s the whole reason Adelaide fled and we don’t actually hear from her. She could’ve been a talking dragon or a dragon that could use telepathy to transfer thoughts. Something.

Thank you to NetGalley and One World for the eARC

I loved the ending of Lone Women and want to move there immediately!

There is a saying that men settled the West and then had their wives and children flown out later. In reality, thousands of women settled the West on their own, sometimes with children in tow. The protagonist of Lone Women is fleeing to Montana but unlike most fugitives, she's bringing her curse with her...in a big, heavy trunk.

This isn't only horror. It's a fantastic Western with outlaws, horse thieves, and vigilantes, that happens to have some magic and horror, too. Most of the characters are women, both the heroines and the villains. The setting itself looms large. As the characters repeatedly warn each other, "Montana wants to kill us."

Whatever you do, don't open that trunk!

Thanks to One World Publishers (a division of Penguin Random House) and to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review Lone Women.

This was extraordinary, absolutely excellent! I believe that Lone Women is a story that will not only appeal to lovers of horror, but a vast number of audiences as well. A disturbing reminder that the true monsters of this world are not the boogeyman, or demons, or other "traditional"monsters of tales; they are humans. Humans that inflict horrors beyond what seems possible. Despite that, there is a quality of endearment and hope found within the group of "lone women". I can't wait for others to read this and be absolutely stunned at this fast-paced, unforgettable read. Plus... this book included some badass bitch energy and I am here for it

I don't tend to read westerns, so dipping my toes into this did take some early easing into the genre conventions. I ultimately found it a creative and meaningful spin with a monster-based twist - always a bonus for me. At its core, this is a book about what it means to be an 'outsider' and how the world will try to bring you in line, and that when that happens you have to stand with everyone else who's been told they don't belong.

The ending surprised me but was extremely satisfying. This book packed in a lot of surprises and made it an incredibly refreshing read.

A mildly creepy Western with a lively cast of characters, I think I would've preferred LaValle to lean more into the setting and history. He gives some sense of the expanse of Montana, and the cold and wind, but beyond that this could've taken place almost anywhere, and without the catalyst of homesteading to move Adelaide to the state with her mysterious locked trunk and the difficulty of getting around anywhere without a horse or one of the few cars in existence, there isn't much historical flavor either. I finished this with very little sense of what Adelaide did for food, for example, or what the land or the other characters or the secret in the trunk actually looked like. I enjoyed the ratcheting tension in the last third (despite the confusing, frankly needless introduction of two new characters who were around for three pages) and the ending is a nice idea for sure, but on the whole this was too vague and the fast female friendships seemed unearned. Two and a half stars rounded up since (view spoiler)

Lone Women was better than I had ever hoped for. If horror could ever be uplifting and leave you feeling warm and full inside, this book is it.

Started out a little choppy but LaValle’s always gorgeous prose and skill with creeping dread kept me hooked until the various threads began to weave together. Lone Women is both intimate and sweeping, all-encompassing and close, claustrophobic and massive, and has that Shirley Jacksonesque quality that makes for the most frightening stories: the monstrosity of humanity.
Can’t wait for the next.

Wow!

Tense. Unnerving. Chilling.

All words to aptly describe how I felt following Adelaide’s journey north to Montana.

Homesteading is as always dangerous: the harsh landscape, the meager food stores, climate and weather, and threats from human and animals alike. But what would a homesteading journey look like when the young woman trying to chart a new life for herself is carrying secrets? What if the secrets were more like curses?

Barraged from all sides, Adelaide’s story will keep the reader guessing, the heart thumping and the palms damp!

A terrific ride for lovers of westerns, horror, and those who want a terrifically plotted masterclass of the genre book!

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. From the first scene and the “curse” that Adelaide had to endure, I was drawn into the book. However, after those scenes the book was a little slow until around the halfway point. I was intrigued by what was in the box. In the end, all of my guesses were wrong! I really like Adelaide’s arc. She grew a lot and the relationships with the other women assisted in that journey. Overall I really liked this book.

This was a good read. In fact, I wasn't wholly ready for it to end. Atmospheric, and mysterious.I definitely recommend this one.