THE VIOLENCE by Delilah S. Dawson – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson
Published by Del Rey on February 1 2022
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 512
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A trio of abused women take back their power in this feminist, highly entertaining thriller.

The Violence surprised me in the best possible way, and although I think this will end up being a divisive book, I absolutely loved it. Delilah S. Dawson’s writing and storytelling style remind me a lot of both Stephen King and Chuck Wendig, and maybe that’s one reason I got on so well with this book. This is an unabashedly feminist tale with lots of triggers, so do be aware going in that the story deals heavily with verbal and physical domestic abuse and includes a couple of (brief) scenes involving animal deaths. It also features Covid-19, and even though it takes place after the pandemic is over, the author mentions Covid often. But don’t worry, the story isn’t all a downer! It’s funny, heartwarming, thrilling and fast-paced, with excellent characters and yes, some important messages.

The Violence is set in 2025, several years after the Covid-19 pandemic has ended, and revolves around three generations of women. Chelsea Martin is married to David, a man who has been controlling and abusing her for years. On some level Chelsea understands what’s happening to her and her two children, Ella and Brooklyn, but she continues to walk on eggshells whenever David is around, hoping for a “good” day when he’ll simply leave them alone.

Ella is seventeen and has mostly escaped her father’s attentions. She spends her time at home trying to protect five year old Brooklyn, and at school she has a boyfriend named Hayden. But Hayden is trying to control her, just like her father, and Ella has had enough.

Finally, Patricia Lane is Chelsea’s mother and grandmother to Ella and Brooklyn. She lives with her rich husband, an important judge, and keeps her daughter and grandchildren at arm’s length. Patricia became pregnant with Chelsea as a teenager and was tossed out by her mother, and after years of scraping by with nothing, she’s been able to find a husband who will give her anything she wants. But this has made her cold and unloving, and she wants nothing to do with Chelsea and the girls.

When the story opens, a new pandemic is emerging, hot on the heals of the old one. The Violence, as it’s being called, causes people to become suddenly violent and attack whoever is next to them. The affected person blacks out and doesn’t remember anything afterwards, but by then it’s too late. Most attacks end in murder, and those identified with the Violence are taken away to holding facilities where they can be locked up until a vaccine becomes available.

As the Violence becomes more and more of a threat, Chelsea, Ella, Brooklyn and Patricia find themselves forced to flee their old lives and navigate the unknown, trying to stay one step ahead of the men who still want to control them. 

The story is much more complex and detailed than my quick recap, but I don’t want to give too much of it away. Dawson structures her story in chapters that alternate among the points of view of Chelsea, Ella and Patricia, and I loved this format, which gives the pacing a nice urgency. Early in the story, Chelsea, Ella and Brooklyn are separated, and Brooklyn ends up living with Patricia. As Chelsea begins a new adventure on her own, Ella wants nothing more than to find her mother and reunite with Brooklyn, but there are so many obstacles in her way. Dawson’s story skirts the wildly impossible and unbelievable at times, but I was completely entertained from start to finish. With the unpredictability of the Violence added into the mix—and yes, some of the main characters end up getting the virus—it becomes a gruesome horror story punctuated with random brutality.

But as entertaining as it is, The Violence is also a multilayered story that delves into several serious issues, the most important being the effect of domestic abuse on women. Dawson writes a heartfelt introduction to her story describing her own personal battle growing up with an abusive father, and how she and her mother finally escaped and were able to begin the healing process after they met a wonderful therapist. Some of the scenes in this book are tough to read, especially for readers who might be triggered by graphic descriptions of abuse. But stick with the story if you can, because the payoff is a good one.

And because the women are leaving their old lives of abuse behind and striking out on new ones, the character growth in the story is pretty amazing. Chelsea’s path to freedom is very strange—and some readers might say over the top—and involves her joining a WWE-like group of fighters who all have the Violence called the VFR or “Violence Fighting Ring.” Chelsea discovers this detour is a necessary part of her healing process before she can rejoin her family, and I loved seeing her change from a woman with barely any self confidence to one who isn’t afraid of her horrible husband anymore.

But my favorite character, surprisingly, turned out to be Patricia. In the opening chapters, Patricia is awful. She says horrible things to Chelsea and practically ignores her granddaughters. But as things start to change, and Patricia’s pampered life begins to slip away from her, she is forced to care for Brooklyn and slowly grows to love her. Even when the Violence intrudes in a terrible way, Patricia’s new bond with Brooklyn remains steady. I loved the way she became “Patty”—her old persona when she was much younger—when she needed to find the strength and tenacity to survive. If you’ve ever seen The Gilmore Girls, Patricia reminded me a little of Emily Gilmore, Rory’s grandmother, another character I hated at first but who eventually grew on me.

A couple of things didn’t quite work. First, the way Covid is still affecting everyone was, frankly, depressing. I would hate to think that by 2025 we’re still going to be wearing masks, and even the thought of another pandemic will be enough to drive most people over the edge. I also thought the sections that dealt with the vaccine were rather far fetched, although I have to admit they made the story that much more interesting. I’m trying to avoid books with any mention of Covid these days, but I’m very glad I made this an exception, because I would have hated to miss this book.

At times Dawson’s feminist message came across a little too heavy-handed. Some of the dialog felt like it belonged in a therapy session rather than a thriller, but I’m willing to forgive these instances because I loved the story and characters so much. There are also a lot of horrible male characters in The Violence, in fact there wasn’t a single one I actually liked (and just wait until you meet the vice principal at Ella’s high school!) But I have to admit it was fun seeing the tables turned on them, once the women start fighting back. 

The final act was thrilling and tense, as all the characters finally come together in some very unexpected ways. Dawson includes an Epilogue which was a perfect ending to her fierce, crazy, and thought provoking tale, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.