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Dawn
First published 1990 · 496 pages
A breathless, gothic soap opera dripping with scandalous family secrets, forbidden desires, and shattered innocence.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like being swept into a dark, breathless soap opera where no one can be trusted and every gilded closet hides a skeleton. The narrative moves at a propulsive, almost feverish pace, dragging the reader through a claustrophobic maze of toxic family dynamics, cruel matriarchs, and shattered illusions. It is a dread-soaked, sensational experience that leans unapologetically into its own melodrama, wrapping you in an atmosphere of oppressive wealth and sinister secrets. The prose is highly emotive and earnest, amplifying the sheer tragedy and scandal of the protagonist's plight. It is a perfect, guilty-pleasure read for those who crave gothic suspense, forbidden yearnings, and the relentless, twisty drama of a deeply broken family tree.
- Mood
- claustrophobic
- scandalous
- dread-soaked
- gothic
- Tone
- melodramatic
- earnest
- sinister
- sensational
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- loss of innocence · toxic family dynamics · forbidden desires · shattered illusions · class disparity
- The writing
- Breathless and highly emotive, leaning heavily into gothic atmosphere and sensational melodrama.
- The arc
- Begins with fragile, hopeful security before plunging into a nightmare of betrayal, culminating in a desperate, hardened resolve to uncover the truth.
- Who it's for
- Readers who devour dark, scandalous family sagas packed with forbidden romance, cruel matriarchs, and relentless twists.
Content notes
- kidnapping
- emotional abuse
- sexual assault
- incestuous themes
- gaslighting
- teen pregnancy
About the book
Here is the stunning debut of a phenomenal new series...a compelling story of sinister secrets, shattered illusions, tender drams...and a young girl's desperate yearning for the sheltering warmth of a true home and a happy family.
Dawn Longchamp wants more than anything to believe that, at last, she's safe and secure. Her daddy has a good job as a janitor at a private school in Virginia, so Dawn and her brother Jimmy have a chance for a free, fine education and a decent life.
For the first time Dawn has a room of her own, but she misses whispering nighttime make-believe with Jimmy. Deeply devoted to her intense, brooding brother, Dawn always turns to Jimmy when she feels sad and lost.
But now Philip Cutler, the handsomest boy in school, is paying Dawn lots of attention. Her heart on fire, she imagines them together always, a beautiful dream come true.
Suddenly Dawn's whole world begins to crumble. The police accuse her father of having kidnapped her as an infant and Jimmy is taken away. Worst of all, she is thrust into a new family and an evil web of unspoken sins. Scorned by the iron-backed matriarch of the wealthy Cutler clan and forced to suffer the loss of her innocence at the hands of the one she trusts the most, Dawn fears for her future.
Driven to despair, she must find her proud, reckless Jimmy and strip away the wicked lies of three generations.
Description from Open Library.
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