Sometimes You Create the Monster

I was unprepared. I picked up the book at the last minute, sadly unfamiliar with the author, but there had been some positive feedback floating around. It came with the horror label attached and I was frankly a little worn out with some recent over-the-top experiences in the genre.

““Wanna fly, you got to give up the **** that weighs you down.”—Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

“Lone Women” opens with Adelaide burning down her house– along with the corpses of her mother and father. She is a black woman headed alone into the badlands of Montana, aiming to homestead on a piece of property just outside the remote town of Big Sandy. The only thing she is taking with her is a large, heavy trunk… a thing of secrets.

Early on I almost forgot the horror tag. Adelaide is such a compelling figure in a challenging situation there seemed no need to rely on the crutch of a Michael Myers or Freddie Krueger monster. Little by little things start to change, however, and the secret burden Adelaide has been bearing her whole life is uncovered. We are finding monsters– old and new.

She runs across other lone women, women forging lives against the odds in a harsh male-dominated existence, and– although her life has been starkly isolated– she cannot resist the urge to confide in her new companions. These women are not the characters you read about when dusting off journals of our wild wild west. “But that’s only because history is simple. And the past? The past is complicated.”

The author, Victor LaValle, won the Shirley Jackson Award for best novella a few years back. The tone here is reminiscent of atmospheres Shirley Jackson conjured up, vibrations steadily increasing the feeling something is terribly wrong in this world. I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful mix of historical fiction, western folklore, and… horror.

Sometimes you create the monster.

Thank you to One World, Random House, and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #LoneWomen #OneWorldBooks #RandomHouse #NetGalley

Lone Women was a perfect blend of horror, western, historical fiction and mystery that I didn't know I needed! The short well written chapters made the book very readable (and I just had to know what was in the trunk). I loved the strong women this featured!

Lone Women is unusual, unsettling, and haunting. It's a genre-bending story about a Black woman named Adelaide Henry who leaves her home in California in the 1800's to settle on a claim in the desolate landscape of Montana, carrying with her a past full of secrets and a steamer trunk that cannot be left unattended for suspicious reasons unknown.

This is an atmospheric novel above all else, and I've never read anything quite like it. It's hushed. Suspenseful. Eerie. Vacant. There's a lingering sense of disquiet that permeates from the first page, ushering readers into Adelaide's world at a time when homesteading was starting to take off and women could set out west to make new independent lives for themselves.

I liked the historicism this provided, with me being bestowed with the opportunity to journey along with Adelaide as she braved the harsh conditions of the midwest alone and as she collided with some strange folks along the way. I also liked the women supporting women camaraderie that was both founded and championed, because it proved to be a satisfying foil to the secluded, dangerous-feeling atmosphere the characters abided in.

For me, though, I will say the most propulsive thing about the whole book was waiting to learn what was hidden inside the trunk. That's what gave the story its pulse. That's what gave it a creepy and windswept little heartbeat.

Definitely one you should pick up if you're looking for something different!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Title: Lone Women
By: Victor Lavalle

Red Flags:
Gore, Horrific, Death, Killings

Excerpt:
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who live with shame and those who die from it. On Tuesday, Adelaide Henry would've called herself the former, but by Wednesday she wasn't as sure.

Summary/Review:
Alarmingly, Adelaide Henry leaves her home, with nowhere to go, she boards a train from California for Montana. Dragging her steamer trunk behind her, she gets a wagon to drop her in Big Sandy, Montana. Adelaide becomes a homesteader, and neighbors frequent in the beginning. The rest of the story is to be read, at your own risk. I hate spoilers.

I read this book thinking it was a Historical Fiction, but somehow this author creates a Historical Fiction novel blended with Science Fiction and Horror. It is not for the faint of heart…me! It is not a light, fun read. However, if you are looking for a fast paced, magically horrific weaved storyline, then this book is for you. I may not have preferred the storyline or content, but the author has unique talent. This is why I continued the read, and left a three star review.

Thank you to Victor Lavalle, Random House Publishing Group, and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads #Lonewomen
#horrificreads #horrorreads
#netgalley #victorlavalle

It's so difficult to categorize this story because it could fall into so many different genres. Suffice it to say that it was a real page turner that I couldn't stop reading. Kudos to the author for writing a truly unique story that defines being pigeonholed. Read it!

I love stories that are rooted in feminism and transcend genres, and this gave me all of that with short bingeable chapters and approachable yet descriptive writing. It’s a deceptively simple story that was simultaneously entertaining, thrilling, emotional, and thought provoking. The exploration of themes like family, “othering”, loneliness, and racism were expertly fleshed out without ever feeling heavy handed.

I genuinely enjoyed spending time with these characters in this community.

3.5. This is a solidly creepy Western horror, but I would have cut 50-100 pages of the random characters and alternate POVs (which didn't add much for me) and added some more details about Adelaide's experience on her land and what her surroundings looked like. I'm glad I went in not knowing anything about the mysterious contents of the trunk, though; it made the events that unfolded that much more scary.

The nitty-gritty: Historical fiction, horror and well developed characters come together in Victor LaValle's latest, a thoroughly entertaining story that celebrates strong, resourceful women.

Victor LaValle has outdone himself with Lone Women. Wow, I absolutely loved this book! This is the story of a Black woman who, in 1915, leaves her parent’s orchard in California and sets off to become a homesteader in Montana. I was surprised how much I loved the historical aspects of the story, and I was fascinated by Adelaide’s grit and determination to survive in such a harsh climate. Now this is also a horror story, but the horror elements almost take a backseat, so readers who just aren't into horror will probably love this too.

The opening scene is a grisly one. When we first meet Adelaide Henry, she’s preparing to leave her childhood home for good. She’s just lit her house on fire after carefully arranging her parents’ dead bodies in their bed. Adelaide’s plan is to make her way to Montana, where homesteading plots of 320 acres each can be purchased for a song. Adelaide has a big secret, and it’s locked in the old, beat up trunk she’s carrying with her. Why did Adelaide burn down her house? How did her parents die? And what’s in the trunk?

All these questions will be answered as we join her on the long journey from California to Montana. Once Adelaide arrives, she’s dismayed at the state of her new home, a ramshackle cabin outside of the town of Big Sandy. There’s no firewood and very little food, and a harsh winter is on the way. Luckily, she befriends a couple of neighbors, Grace and her son Sam, who help her out with much needed supplies. Little by little, Adelaide meets others who live in Big Sandy, including Mr. and Mrs. Reed, the wealthiest couple in town, and a young cowboy named Matthew Kirby and his uncle Finn.

But Adelaide’s big secret is weighing on her. No matter what, she must make sure the trunk stays locked, and whatever is inside it, stays there. When a family of thieves tries to steal everything she owns, her secret gets out, and Adelaide’s new life suddenly becomes very complicated.

Obviously I can’t tell you what’s in the trunk, that would spoil things. Let’s just say that I absolutely loved the reveal, and later there’s a big twist surrounding the thing in the trunk that made it even better. What I will tell you is that Adelaide calls it her “burden,” a family curse passed down to her now that her parents are dead. It was tough watching her struggle with her emotions—obviously whatever it is has some kind of emotional tie to the Henry family. She’s torn between her desire to be free of her burden and wanting to protect others from it, and it’s a struggle that carries through the entire story until the surprising resolution at the end.

Adelaide is tough, but also vulnerable, and I think that’s why I liked her so much. She has this amazing opportunity to own land as a single Black woman, and she’s determined not to fail. Of course, she runs into all kinds of obstacles, not only the unforgiving Montana winter, but once her secret gets out, prosecution from the other townsfolk. 

One of the more suspenseful story lines revolves around the Mudge family, a woman and her four young sons. After a violent event, one of the sons vows revenge on Adelaide, and I loved how LaValle keeps the tension going for the rest of the story. And speaking of violence, keep in mind the lawlessness of the time. Everyone carries a gun, and vigilante groups of men ban together and call themselves the Stranglers and deliver justice wherever they see fit. Some of the scenes in Lone Women are chilling, and the worst acts of violence don’t even involve the thing in Adelaide’s trunk. There are a few ghostly scenes as well. Adelaide’s dead mother appears by her side now and then to remind her that “A woman is a mule,” a phrase she repeated over and over to Adelaide growing up.

And speaking of women, in particular the lone women in the title, this is such an empowering story. In a time when women barely had any rights, Adelaide and her friends are able to survive in a harsh, male dominated world. I was fascinated by the Homesteading Act that allowed anyone over the age of twenty-one to own land, a piece of American history I’m sorry to say I wasn’t aware of. All Adelaide needs to do to keep her land free and clear is to “prove up” within three years. In other words, she has to produce crops on her land, but once the three years is up, the land is hers for life. Adelaide isn’t the only single woman doing this either. There’s Grace and Sam, as well as a Black woman named Bertie Brown who proved up several years before and now runs a distillery on her property. Bertie’s partner is a Chinese woman named Fiona who has her own interesting backstory. All these successful women who clearly don’t need men to survive are a threat to those men, who unfortunately want to put them in their place.

There are quite a few characters and side plots, which make Lone Women feel a bit busy at times. But LaValle is such a skilled writer that he’s able to make sense of all these story threads and bring them together in the end. He also adds lots of little background details about the characters. For example, Adelaide has an old copy of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë that her father used to read from every night when she was a child, and despite her complicated feelings about her parents and the family secret, she always thinks back on those times with fondness.

LaValle eventually tells us the story behind the trunk and what really happened the day Adelaide was born, and this sets the stage for an exciting, emotional climax. The ending was almost my favorite part, I absolutely loved how the author wrapped everything up.

Lone Women will most likely be on my Best of 2023 list at the end of the year, it was that good. If you are looking for a unique take on a slice of American history, with a side of horror thrown in for good measure, then this is a must read.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

A little horror, a little mystery, a little 1900’s western atmosphere. Some creepy moments definitely stand out, but I just couldn’t get fully invested into this one. Some parts were too slow, several characters confused the plot; it just lacked some cohesiveness.

Thank you to NeltGalley and the publisher, One World, for a copy of this book I’m exchange for an honest review.

Victor LaValle's Lone Women is nothing less than brilliant, a historical/horror novel that delivers readers a succession of surprises. Real surprises.

As Lone Women opens, the novel's central character, Adelaide Henry, is leaving behind the small black farming community in which she was raised, taking with her only a a carefully padlocked, exceptionally heavy trunk. That trunk contains her family's burden: a demon. (The blurbs for the novel include this information, so it doesn't count as a spoiler.) She's been convinced by what she'll soon find is an all-too-good-to-be-true brochure describing homesteading in Montana. The brochure claims winters in Montana are milder than those in the U.S. south, but as one of the new neighbors tells Adelaide, "This land tries to kill us every day."

Adelaide is one of only three Black women in her new, scattered community. People help each other out, not so much from generosity, but from the knowledge they might be facing desperate need at any time. Offer a service to your neighbor; then you can demand help in your turn. There's a certain level of of cross-gender, cross-race acceptance, but it doesn't run deep.

Lone Women simultaneously offers an account of survival in a harsh world and a roller coaster of destruction at the times the trunk comes unlocked. Even if neither horror nor historical fiction are among you favorite reading material, you should give this book a try. Seriously. You'll experience some real surprises.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

I've never read anything quite like Lone Women, and I couldn't put it down! It's rare that a book this moving and thought-provoking is also this much fun to read. I will be enthusiastically recommending this book to a wide variety of readers!

Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

Horror, both with a touch of the magical, and also the reality of being a woman, especially in the American West in the early 1900s. Lone Women in their many forms. This novel sucked me in from the opening paragraph, and I was desperate to find out what was in Adelaide's trunk, as well as what would happen. I LOVED the ending - it was perfect in so many ways.

"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."

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

I'm a little stumped by all the rave reviews for this one. I did love certain elements of it, but overall, I don't get why people loved this book.

Things I did love: diverse characters (WOC, LGBTQ, etc.), the horror element, the surprise fantasy aspect, and the unique historical setting (a Montana homestead in 1915).

Things I did not love: the pacing (the opening was super intriguing, then my interest wasn't piqued again until about 30 percent in), the lack of resolution with some plot points, and the ending. I wasn't completely satisfied with how the story was wrapped up.

The plot and the writer of this book do both seem like things that would be right up my alley. But this book just didn't work in a broader sense for me. I'm hesitant to pick up another title from this writer, even though a lot of people seem to love him.

This is my first title written by this author. The story synopsis is compelling, once you read it, you almost HAVE to pick up the book and read it. You will be extremely glad you did!

The title LONE WOMEN refers to the early 1900's practice of allowing "lone women" to homestead land in the northern United States. Adelaide Henry becomes one of these homesteaders when she arrives in Montana, having left California under suspicious circumstances. She will set up her new home with only a locked trunk, whose mystery contents play a large part as the story unwinds.

Victor Lavalle has taken many threads from many genres and woven them together to get a story that is so much more than historical fiction. As in true life, the story races in sections then slows to let we readers digest what we just read. Each new chapter....they are short and to the point....sets us up for the next surprise. If you find yourself saying WAIT....what just happened, you are among good company. This book is not like any other I've read lately and I can't wait until my friends and family read it!!!

Magnificent! Speculative fiction with horror elements at its finest. Simple  prose yet vivid imagery, subtle yet stimulating social commentary, and layered character development makes Lone Women an excellent read.

Fascinating setting and protagonist. It's terrific to see a black female character starring in a western frontier story, and Adelaide is a strong and complex heroine. The supernatural elements are kept mysterious for much of the book, which adds a lot of intrigue. But some readers may be turned off or let down towards the end as the horror takes center stage.

Victor Lavalle wrote a very strong, fast-paced opening to LONE WOMEN. I could not turn the pages fast enough as we are introduced to Adelaide who is surviving a tragedy in her home where she is the sole survivor. She knows she has to leave quickly. She has a very heavy trunk that she is taking with her and traveling by ship to find a new life as a “Lone Woman” in Montana. In 1914, she could qualify to own her land if she does so much improvement over three years. At first, the writing for me had a Huck Finn style about the writing. Adelaide meets different people along the way. Each has a different story. The descriptions of the snow storms and the rugged land made me wonder how she could survive. My fast-paced reading came to a dead stop when I discovered why this book was also categorized as horror fantasy. I rolled my eyes. It definitely took away my urge to continue. In fact, I put the book down for a week before I decided to continue. There were many parts of the book I enjoyed; however, I am going to steer away from horror fantasy. My thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

This book is a perfect combination of mystery, historical fiction, and horror. The opening scene establishes a tense and uneasy atmosphere that permeates the entire story. From the first page, I was completely hooked. The Montana homestead setting felt both realistic and foreboding. While the horror element was not as prominent as I expected, I realized that the true horror lies in the societal and cultural norms.
Thank you Netgalley and One World Publishing for an advanced copy.

🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤

Lone Women follows Adelaide Henry as she leaves her life in California behind and starts again in the wide-open spaces of Montana. It's 1915 and Adelaide is essentially fleeing from her previous life, leaving death and destruction behind her. At least that is what she is hoping. In Montana, she'll be a lone homesteader. On her journey, she's conspicuously dragging with her an overweight steamer trunk. That's not suspicious at all...

This story is steeped with mystery from the very first pages. A tragedy occurred on the Henry farm and Adelaide is on the run, but you have no idea what happened. Adelaide is rushed and confused, she's full of anticipation and doubt about her chosen path. Can she actually do this? It won't be easy. The landscape is brutal, unforgiving. Will she even be able to survive her first month on her own, let alone a lifetime? She feels ill-prepared.

Something is going on with the trunk. She's so concerned about it. Double, triple-checking that it's securely locked; that no one goes near it. It gave me anxiety. What is in the trunk!?!?

As the Reader you follow along as Adelaide stakes her claim in Montana and begins to figure out a path to survival. She makes friends and begins to fall into a pattern. She should know though, it won't stay uneventful forever. She should know better, that soon enough, you know what is gonna hit the fan and boy, does it ever.

In addition, to Adelaide's own secrets and demons, she also has to contend with those of others. It seems like a lot of people came to Montana running from something. These homesteaders are essentially forging their own society. There's going to be some good actors and some bad. Adelaide runs into them all.

I enjoyed this as a story of female rage, power, will and spirit. Adelaide is such an interesting main character to follow. I loved watching as the truth of her life slowly unfolded. There were some interesting developments towards the end that I'm not quite sure what to make of yet. I feel like I could read this story a few times and pick up different points every time. LaValle packed a lot in and I'm sure a bit of it has gone over my head.

The dark elements in this were really well done, but I enjoyed them most in contrast to everything else. I liked how they added such an odd layer to the overarching plot. It made everything seem more perilous. I also liked how those same dark elements made me question Adelaide herself; her nature, whether I really knew her at all. It was definitely compelling. I had to keep reading because I had to know more.

Additionally, I found LaValle's writing style extremely fluid and easy to read. I feel he really succeeded in bringing a lush and historical atmosphere to this story. In fact, the historical details were so well done, I felt like I was being transported to another time and place while reading. I was hungry, I was cold and I was scared once the sun went down. That's a great reading experience.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys creative Dark Fiction, or Historical Horror stories. Even though this is a relatively short-story, there's so much great content packed in here.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had a ton of fun with this and look forward to reading more from LaValle

Lone Women, This book was totally amazing! I enjoyed the writing from the first page. Victor LaValle knows how to write a great book and more so, Write a book that is unique but not so far out there that it wouldn't appeal to the average reader.

Summary According to myself:
How far would you run, to get away from the person you are? How long could you keep a family secret knowing the danger it could cause others? Adelaide Henry, The girl who has a secret like this.

Adelaide Henry, at the age of 31 years old, up and leaves the only thing she has ever known. Her whole life. Everything besides one large trunk she just can't seem to leave behind. Adelaide's family has a dark secret that lingers as long as Adelaide has been alive. However, Adelaide Henry wants to leave that life and to start anew. with Leaving no trace of herself behind and the large trunk with her, She sets on a journey to Montana, where Lone women can homestead on contract to gain something of their own. However, when her past shows up and the darkness is revealed, Adelaide has to decide to live life as normal as she can or to claim her dark secrets and hope no one else is harmed. 4.5 Star read!