In DC there are a small number of families who live an ultra-exclusive existence. They’re from aristocratic, wealthy, and exclusive bloodlines and they only socialize within their own circle. But the world is changing as they’re forced to learn, when a family in their circle is held hostage and brutally murdered while the rest sleep. The Cave Dwellers by Christina McDowell explores this exclusive society through the viewpoint of several generations. The adults have grown up with this wealth and privilege. For most, it’s been handed down through generations, though a few have been lucky enough to find their way in. Their children—though also handed the privilege of being on the inside—enjoy the financial freedom of their family status, but yearn for something more, only to find they are bound by the constraints of their families.

The Cave Dwellers explores how privilege can both benefit a person’s life and also impact their ability to fully comprehend the lives of others. Sadly, I didn’t finish the book feeling like there were any magnificent revelations. The novel really reads like a sterile exploration of just how wealthy some people can be, describing clothing brands, cars, design aesthetics, etc. The one thing I really didn’t come away with at any point was an emotional attachment to any of the characters, even the murder was presented in an anesthetized manner.

The Cave Dwellers is an interesting tour of the 1% lifestyle, but I was hoping for a more substantial story arc that would restore my optimism for humanity.

*I received an ARC of The Cave Dwellers from Netgalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review*

This book is about a group of families that are considered “high society” in Washington, D.C. Following a wide age range of characters, this story felt to me like a combination of House of Cards and a darker side of Gossip Girl.

The first chapter was so intense that I thought, “wow, this is going to be good.” Unfortunately, that was the only time I was truly excited about this book. Although there were bright spots—some chapters where I felt truly engaged—those moments were few and far between. Aside from those morsels, though, I found the content very disturbing and it also was difficult tracking the characters.

Overall, this book just didn’t work for me. But someone who likes dark political/crime stories might enjoy it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for this e-ARC I’m exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ This book is dark and graphic. Please read descriptions and research to make sure this is the right fit for you.

This read like a bad FX show that's aiming to be "edgy" and "current," but one that gets cancelled after only one season because it's unbearable to watch.

This book focused on the upper echelons of Washington D.C. society and it all starts with the brutal murders of a very important family. Someone breaks into the home of the Banks Family and tortures the three people at home before killing them. Their murders are truly grizzly and the premise of this book promises that those deaths set off a kind of chain reaction, rocking the foundation of this well-to-do suburb, not unlike Celest Ng's Little Fires Everywhere.

But here's the thing: by the mid-way point in this book, the murders may as well have never happened. You would think there would be some kind of a mystery surrounding them since the book starts with the murders, but of course not. Instead, we spend our time with an overambitiously large cast of characters living and working in D.C., including a sex-addict senator and his desperate social climbing wife, a high-ranking military official and the son he expects to follow in his exact footsteps, and the teenage daughter of a powerful family and her reckless high school friends.

Each one of these families/groups has their own plotline, but because the author is trying to *say something* about Washington D.C. society in each one, none of their stories go anywhere interesting. On top of that, it seems like the author wanted the characters to be the focal point of the book, but all of them are one-dimensional and you can tell they were all imagined with the purpose of filling pre-prescribed roles based off of the laundry list of messages the author sought to communicate.

Now, most authors want to convey a grander message within their books. I think that's really important, actually. But this author seems to have forgotten that the story must also be interesting. The people need to act like nuanced human beings and not cardboard cutouts of stereotypical figures in D.C. that she hates (with good reason) and therefore wants to figuratively set fire to them in her book. Since it's not an interesting story and because she's trying to say too much with all these simultaneous plotlines centered around detestable characters, it comes off like 3oo-something pages of screaming: I HATE WASHINGTON D.C. AND EVERYONE WHO LIVES THERE. You have the right to feel that way, but can you expect readers to stay engaged when the story doesn't deliver?

Adding insult to injury, the writing is downright bad and it's as subtle as a wrecking ball. Every thought and feeling is inelegantly blurted out on the page. There is no room for a reader to interpret anything about a character's motivations or behavior because the author's done literally all the work of thinking for us.

She's clearly trying to demonstrate that the issues in D.C. run deep. Generations deep. But how she laid out these very complex social issues in such an on-the-nose way (the whole thing is a violation of "show, don't tell") was cringey and not at all effective.

This book started out with a bang, and was hard to put down. The behind the scenes power broking and cheating is well known, but this book started to lay it out.

A third of the way through, the author turned to the spoiled brat kids of the Washington elite and wrote as if their drug infested evenings were normal and they could control their parents.

I thought the last third was going to be better, but she pretty much ended the book as the extreme left wing of citizens would have hoped.

Sorry, but not ALL Washington folks are this pitiful.

They are the families considered worthy of a listing in the exclusive Green Book—a discriminative diary created by the niece of Edith Roosevelt’s social secretary. Their aristocratic bloodlines are woven into the very fabric of Washington—generation after generation. Their old money and manner lurk through the cobblestone streets of Georgetown, Kalorama, and Capitol Hill. They only socialize within their inner circle, turning a blind eye to those who come and go on the political merry-go-round. These parents and their children live in gilded existences of power and privilege. But what they have failed to understand is that the world is changing. And when the family of one of their own is held hostage and brutally murdered, everything about their legacy is called into question.

This book was so good. It was very timely, as it dealt with issues of racial profiling, racial discrimination, and just generally the way Washington is run by an elite few who have wealth and aristocratic bloodlines on their sides. I loved the bits of history at the end of several of the chapters. I found those fascinating. The rest of the book was reminiscent of Lauren Weisberger or Cecily von Ziegesar. It was highly entertaining, with bits of educational trivia thrown in for good measure.

I thought I would love this one since it sounded juicy and is set in DC. I usually love politics including politic thrillers, political history and political romance but this was just . . . lifeless. It was trying to be super scandalous and just fell flat, for me. I didn't even mind all the different POV but in trying to have a larger theme of political corruption and money that infects politics in the worst ways, it just felt onerous and boring. I haven't read anything else by this author but I am now curious and may see what she's written in the past. Although this didn't work, I could see potential.

The Cave Dwellers comes out next week on May 25, 2021, and you can purchase HERE.

The walls of this mansion are covered in law books, encyclopedia collections, and photographs of foreign diplomats, kings, queens, and presidents--and Jeff Bezos. An original Chagall hangs above the library's green marble fireplace, near which seven men are seated in Chippendale chairs that form a circle. The men are hard to differentiate from each other, rich white men who are undoubtedly power players. But you'd have to know what kind of car each one drives or the neighborhood in which he lives to truly know who he is: Kalorama, McLean, Chevy Chase, Georgetown.

The book holds a lot of promise, but it leaves me feeling very much left wanting. The premise is fantastic - looking at the life of the privileged living in DC from the eyes of a group of mostly teens. However, there is so much effort to infuse the idea of white privilege that it takes away focus from the story. The author goes so far to drive that point home that she leaves footnotes that aren’t really connected to the storyline at the end of each chapter in an attempt to make the reader feel bad. It is a very interesting look at the politics of DC mired in the authors desired need to make one become part of a culture that intends to make woke culture okay. The three stars are for the actual storyline. Thanks to NetGalley & Goodreads for the advance read.

This one was super interesting. I love the cover and I thought the story was excellent. However, the writing didn't do it for me and that took away from the experience. I'm glad I powered through though.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley. It was a little slow to get started, and many families and characters to keep straight. But half way through, I couldn't put it down. While this is a work of fiction my author Christina McDowell, there are definitely more then one thread of truth you can pick up on that mirrors our current culture climate.

THE CAVE DWELLERS ☆☆☆ - Pub date: 5/25⁣/21
Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press + @netgalley for my e-ARC. ✨ ⁣
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This book explores Washington DC’s elite and what they do behind closed doors. When a high society family is held hostage and murdered, everything begins to unravel. ⁣
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I was sure this one would be right up my alley. I’m a political junkie, after all. Unfortunately, it fell short for me. The beginning was very strong and gave me Scandal vibes. Once the focus turned more to the teenagers, though, I lost interest. I just felt like it was missing something... You know what I mean? It had *a lot* of characters and then no closure. ⁣
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A positive: the author’s note was really interesting and bumped up my rating a bit. ⁣

Not normally a book I would pick, I was curious and I am glad I picked up this book. I loved how the author included information about places and objects mentioned in the story. As someone who did not grow up in affluent Washington DC, I found this very helpful and also fascinating. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and the ending took me completely by surprise!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The story begins with the murder of the family in the most prestigious neighborhood of DC. The Banks family is of old money and aristocratic bloodline. They are listed in the exclusive Green Book, a who’s who in Washington DC. The families listed there only socialize within their own circle and are known as the Cave Dwellers. They and their families are privileged and powerful living life free of any consequences.
Privilege, politics, power, murder, sex scandal, racism, suicide, ambition and social climbing. This a look inside the protected, elite society that has the power to change the fabric of our country. Will the next generation continue the past’s legacy or will they question and change what has always been the same?

The Cave Dwellers is one of the most extraordinary books I’ve read in quite some time. Set in Washington, DC, it’s a fictional insight into the dark side of the lives of the rich and powerful; the movers and shakers, elected or not, in DC. Having spent 25 years of my adult life in DC as a career civil servant, I was delighted to recognize where people were. In addition, the author has done extensive research about DC history which is graciously shared and cited.

The story begins with a tragic fire, probably arson, in which an entire family of the DC elite are killed. (The family, as it turns out, with another, are implicated in toxic waste dumping in multiple states that has killed an untold number of people, most of them poor Black people, who, it is revealed later on, have been paid off by the company’s owners and required to sign non-disclosure agreements..)

There is too much going on in this book to discuss the story except in the broadest terms, lest I reveal spoilers. There are multiple layers and players, however, that can be teased out without going into much story details.

First, we encounter the blatant social climbing wives, whose husbands, while important, dwell quietly in the background, in the world of deals and money, except for one, who is a US Senator (if you believe what you read in newspapers about elected officials abusing their power to keep women subservient you will get the idea). These women spend their time pretending to like each other while at the same time competing with and trying to dig up dirt on the others. Although they wear fashionable clothes, carry very expensive bags (brand always provided, - so costly I would not even venture into the department where they are sold), and are fond of Hermès scarves and extravagant, ostentatious jewelry, if you imagine the Hermès scarves tied around their heads like Grandma’s babushka, you will understand that they are gossiping biddies.

Then there are the children of these entitled families. They all go to a private school on the grounds of the National Cathedral (an homage to the schools actually there - St. Alban’s and The Cathedral School), live to get wasted and post scandalous videos, and are so tightly locked into the bubble of White privilege that they know nothing about people “other” than them. One who stands out as wanting to learn about Black lives and why they matter and is desperate to escape the high fences of their own society is Bunny. She visits the young Black man arrested for the fire that killed her friend and her eyes are opened.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it is horrifying. The writing and character development, even though many of the characters and situations are purposely caricatures, is terrific, and the dark river that runs through the book reaches a sad and unfortunate climax.

I would love to read more by this author. I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. What first attracted me to this book was the cover, well done! This book is about Washington D. C. high society. It's about generations of people who have bloodlines that boast of old money and prestige. These people live and socialize within in their own tight-knit bubble, one that was originally created by Edith Roosevelt's secretary's own creation of "The Green Book." But a tight-knit bubble will inevitably burst. When one of their own is murdered, they realize the world is not what they have believed it to be. So what now? What a great book. I recommend this book.

After a wealthy DC family is held hostage and murdered, their friends are left reeling.

I’m a bit conflicted with this book. It had some really good gossipy moments. I loved the teens and how some of them became aware of their privilege, but didn’t understand quite what to do with it. My favorite part was this takes place in my area, Washington DC. This book takes us to a DC that most of us won’t see. I liked the historical information on DC. The murder that happens in the book reminder me of the Savopoulos family Murders, which shocked the heck out of me. If you like juicy gossip and the inside lives of the wealthy elite, this is one for you.

“Survival in this town requires playing chess, and playing it well. Every more calculated. Never being vulnerable or someone will inevitably prey upon your weakness and turn it into shame. One wrong move could have you ostracized from all social events, removing any chance for leverage and power moves.”

The Cave Dwellers comes out 5/25.

This was alright. This was a compulsively readable novel that I finished in two days- but I'm not sure I liked it. The Cave Dwellers follows the exploits and betrayals of uber wealthy, powerful families in Washington DC who are reeling after the brutal murder of a family much like theirs. It tells a parallel storyline of power couples and their privileged teenage children, who are all connected in some way. McDowell was inspired by her actual lived experience growing up as a member of the DC elite, which made the story a bit more interesting in hindsight.

Besides Bunny and Cate, I couldn't tell you about any other characters because they were all interchangeable and completely the same. (Maybe that was the point?) It was also unclear whether this story aimed to be satire, a didactic critique of class and privilege, or fever dream of wild parties and outrageous disregard for others. Despite all of this, I couldn't stop reading. The comp to Bonfire of the Vanities meets The Nest is very apt.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book but unfortunately it did not deliver for me. I just felt like there were way too many characters, I couldn't keep track of them at all. Also I didn't like any of the characters. Which, most of these people are not people I would like in real life so I guess I shouldn't have expected to like them in book form. I do see the goal of the book, to explore the wealth/privilege, and race issues, especially in this sect of American society. The best part for me, was placing myself in the different places around DC as I am from Maryland and am fairly familiar with the area.

The three P's: Privilege, Politics, and Predators. This book had potential, but in my opinion, it fell short. It was a fast read of an interesting plot with characters that were not fully developed.

The author's note at the end was enlightening and I would have appreciated the book more if the note was placed in the preface.

Not my favorite book of 2021.

While I enjoyed reading this book, it fell short for me in a few ways. There were so many characters, so many storylines and so many lessons being taught that none of them had the impact they should have. It certainly felt at times that I was getting beaten over the head with the white privilege messaging – and while I do feel that reading the author’s note at the end helped make some sense of that for me, it was too little too late. I was also disappointed that the initial main murder storyline got lost as everything else was woven in with no real resolution at the end. At times it was a fascinating and very readable look into the DC political lifestyle (that it does seem the author has experience with), but I just wished it had gone a little deeper into fewer subjects and characters vs. skimming the surface on so many.

The premise for this sounded so good and had a lot of potential. However, there were too many characters and spotlighted D.C. politics and the people involved. The execution was bad and predictable and again too many people to keep track of. Not for me and cannot recommend, which is disappointing.

Thanks to Netgalley, Christina McDowell and Gallery Books Scout Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 5/25/21