MYSTERY

The Violence

by Delilah S Dawson
Del Rey: Ballantine. Feb. 2022. 406p. ISBN 9780593156629. $28. THRILLER
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In a post-COVID world, two other pandemics form the basis of this searing, reality-based dystopia: the plague of pervasive, enculturated violence against women, and the titular condition, which causes its victims to enter a fugue state, fatally attacking anyone around them without warning or compunction. For everyone else, it’s another reason for quarantines and debates about who can afford the expensive vaccine. For Chelsea Martin, it’s an opportunity for her and her two daughters to escape her abusive husband: claim David got the Violence and have him sent away. But once her plan falls apart, she hits the road, meeting up with a memorable cast of supporting characters, and hatches a plan to get her girls back and end the cycle of abuse for good.
VERDICT The early pages of this book from veteran novelist Dawson (author of several novels under the Star Wars franchise) feature several graphic scenes of emotional and physical abuse that might lose it some readers, but what’s left is a propulsive redemption story with a determined woman at its center.
Reviewed by Michael Pucci, South Orange P.L., NJ , Dec 01, 2021
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