Lone Women: A Novel

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER . 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, andan "absorbing, powerful" (BuzzFeed)new vision of the American West, from the award-winning author of The Changeling. "Propulsive . . . LaValle combines chills with deep insights into our country's divides."-Los Angeles Times ONE OF THEMOSTANTICIPATEDBOOKS OF 2023- The New York Times, Time, Oprah Daily, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Essence, Salon, Vulture, Reader's Digest, The Root, LitHub, Paste, PopSugar, Chicago Review of Books, BookPage, Book Riot, Tordotcom, Crime Reads, Kirkus Reviews 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.

Reviews

Enthralling . . . The combination of LaValles agile prose, the velocity of the narrative and the pleasure of upended expectations makes this book almost impossible to put down . . . Lone Women deftly weaves history, horror, suspense and the perspectives of those rarely recorded in the West.The New York Times

LaValle gets coy in Lone Women, teasing us by trickling details that gradually reveal Adelaides intricate connection to the creature. Meanwhile, he adroitly intertwines the eerie fairy tale with early 20th-century historical realism.The Washington Post

A blend of historical fiction and horror that you wont be able to put down.The Root

Hold your breath as you read,but LaValle has built abrutal and compelling portrait of early-twentieth-century America that may just keep you up at night.Chicago Review of Books

In his new book, Lone Women, author Victor LaValle transports readers to the desolate plains of 1915 Montana . . . though its set more than a century ago, this eerie story of a haunted would-be homesteader cobbling together a life she doesnt want to escape from feels both prescient and modern.ESSENCE

If you havent read aLaValle novel, prepare to stock up. LaValle combines chills with deep insights into our countrys divides.Los Angeles Times

[A] tense horror novel thatll have you flipping pages faster than you can say keep the lights on . . . Lone Women is must-read fiction.Readers Digest

Victor LaValle is one of the best . . . and Lone Women is an absolute page turner. Its a tale of hardship and strength and community, but also of the creeping quiet of the American Midwest, of loneliness, and the hauntings we cannot rid ourselves of.Tordotcom

Lone Women isasearing and unsettling mixtureof historical detail, Western imagery, andterrifying twists and turns, from an author who continues to reinvent horror with every page.CrimeReads

Highly recommended for historical fiction readers just as much as die-hard horror fans.Vulture

LaValles work is always darkly magical, suspenseful and deeply compelling.. . . [In] Lone Women . . . expect richness, surprise and beautyfrom thisvisionarynew rendering of the historic American West.Salon

The novel is, in a word, delightful, and whether or not it is the first Victor LaValle book you pick up, it most certainly wont be your last.LitReactor

Let me tell you this about Victor LaValle: he is a man we can trust. I wont give anything else away, but I will say that I loved the ending. Two thumbs up.Emma Straub

An expert at suspense, LaValle is at his best in the American Wests untamed wilds.People

[A] tightly written horror novel . . . This is such an absorbing, powerful horror novel with one of the best endings Ive read in a while.Buzzfeed

Some books, special books, have a narrative style that grab the reader by the throat while whispering the words of angels in the ear . . . Lone Women [is] such a fine read, one that will stick in readers memories long after the book is closed.Cemetery Dance

Violent delights abound in this historical horror tale from one of the genres most exciting voices . . . rich in secrets, suspense, and dread, LaValles latest is a gripping and heartfelt thriller about how lone women survive a harsh world.Esquire

The author of The Changeling transforms genre in an arresting blend of history, horror, and suspense, showcasing a Black womans odyssey through the American West at the beginning of the 20th century.Oprah Daily

Author Bio

Victor LaValle is the author of seven works of fiction- four novels, two novellas, and a collection of short stories. His novels have been included in best-of-the-year lists by The New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The Nation, and Publishers Weekly, among others. He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Book Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Key to Southeast Queens. He lives in the Bronx with his wife and kids and teaches at Columbia University.