The Violence

Reviews

“Dawson’s thriller is a surprising, exhilarating journey of three generations of women navigating a changing world.”—The Washington Post

“Every summer needs a superb thriller, and this is it. A story of three generations of women making their way through an America ravaged by violence, this is also a wonderful narrative about liberation and perseverance.”—The Boston Globe

“Dawson’s prose is a kind of knife work: short, sharp stabs after agonies of teeth-clenching tension. . . . Dizzyingly effective . . . It’s impossible not to read.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Enthusiastically suggest to readers who enjoyed the table-turning feminism of Naomi Alderman’s The Power, the band-of-survivors theme in Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, and the emotional journey of Victor LaValle’s The Changeling.”—Booklist (starred review)

“[A] smart, fast-paced thrill ride.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The Violence is a novel that will stand out for its intelligence, for its compassion, for its ‘un-put-down-able-ness.’ . . . It is the kind of novel that will stand the test of time.”—SFF World

“A propulsive redemption story.”—Library Journal

“A paean to the resilience of women . . . The Violence could not be more of-the-moment.”—Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger and The Deep

“A piercing examination of survival, courage, and self, terrifying and hopeful in equal measure.”—Peng Shepherd, award-winning author of The Book of M

“A gorgeously creative and surprisingly gleeful story about the way violence infects every aspect of American life.”—Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors

“A stellar thriller full of danger, courage, and characters who feel alive.”—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones and Ararat

“The Violence is Dawson at her best: unflinching yet empathetic, the brutal and the gentle side by side, rage and despair tempered with joy and hope.”—Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of the Ink & Sigil series
 
“A compulsively readable fusion of domestic thriller and modern horror that shocks and surprises at every turn. A must-read!”—Kameron Hurley, author of The Light Brigade

“A staggering, masterful tale of survival and redemption during a literal epidemic of violence. Dawson is a storyteller working at the top of her class.”—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers

“Visceral, thrilling . . . A novel paced like a fistfight, aching like a just-gone tooth—but there’s hope in the harrowing.”—Max Gladstone, Hugo and Nebula award–winning author

“The Violence isn’t just a timely, ripping thriller—it’s an intimate, thoughtful, heart-wrenching portrait of abuse and power, and how those things ripple through generations.”—Rob Hart, author of The Warehouse Expand reviews