A mysterious plague that causes random bouts of violence is sweeping the nation. Now three generations of women must navigate their chilling new reality in this moving exploration of identity, cycles of abuse, and hope.

Chelsea Martin appears to be the perfect housewife: married to her high school sweetheart, the mother of two daughters, keeper of an immaculate home. But Chelsea's husband has turned their house into a prison; he has been abusing her for years, cutting off her independence, autonomy, and support. She has nowhere to turn, not even to her narcissistic mother, Patricia, who is more concerned with maintaining the appearance of an ideal family than she is with her daughter's actual well-being. And Chelsea is worried that her daughters will be trapped just as she is - then a mysterious illness sweeps the nation.

Known as The Violence, this illness causes the infected to experience sudden, explosive bouts of animalistic rage and attack anyone in their path. But for Chelsea, the chaos and confusion the virus causes is an opportunity - and inspires a plan to liberate herself from her abuser.

'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