Thank you to the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. McDowell’s “The Cave Dwellers” is set in current time Washington, DC and is a snapshot of the lives of the old moneyed, nouveau-riche and politically invested families who live there. While not completely far-fetched, these families are on the extreme end of privileged, wealthy, ambitious, conniving and vapid — which did not deter my enjoyment of the story. The narrator describes the action with unconcealed disdain, demonstrating that McDowell may have direct experience with this crowd. Easy to read and tough to put down, nevertheless the characters and their actions don’t lend much hope for their redemption.

A book about power, money, privilege and affluence amongst the elite dwellers of Untied States capitol. The book is written from both the parents’ and their children’s POV. I struggled keeping all the adult characters straight and was somewhat confused who was who. However, as the novel unfolded it became less challenging. The book captivated me from the beginning as topics of privilege ( and non privilege ),power and money, addictions, abuse, and murder are woven throughout the storyline. As children we learn that not all parents are who/what they seem and the world can be very different from what we have come to believe as truth. A thought provoking book I’d recommend reading.

The Cave Dwellers is a dark political drama exposing the seedy behind-the-scenes of prominent Washington, DC families. The points of view vary between political figures, their wives and their teenage children. It touches on such difficult topics as sexual misconduct, domestic abuse, drugs, racism and murder. The children's point of view was the most interesting to me, while it did read as privileged children acting out, their actions mirrored the environment they were growing up in. I very much enjoyed this book and was hooked after only a few chapters. I was a bit surprised when the book ended as it didn't feel very resolved, but the author's notes at the end definitely made up for that. I don't always read the notes at the end but recommend it for this book especially!

*3.5/5 stars*

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC

The premise of this book compelled me to give it a shot. It's about a group of elite Washingtonian families who deal with the fallout of a murder in their community. The plot intrigued me enough that I kept reading. But the writing was too clumsy and bloated, which made me stop at certain points. I really had to make myself finish the book. I appreciated the themes of white privilege and racial inequality that the author was trying to convey. But sometimes the way they came across to me as a reader was a bit heavy handed.

Cave Dwellers, a term I was not familiar with, refers to the deeply veiled lives of the ultra-rich Washington elite - powerful multi-generational families with their legacies of old money, white-privilege, and the sexist, racist, classist customs, institutions, and trappings that continue to sustain them.

In this fictional novel, the author leads us through the lives and stories of several Washington characters and their families, including, among others:

- A network of vapid, catty, immoral wives-of-the-powerful and their interminable luncheons, galas, country clubs, and charity events.
- A power-hungry political press secretary, and the lengths she will go to for ambition.
- A politician, his double life, and an all too familiar cast of supporting characters.
- A great many neglectful, manipulative, controlling and finally even truly evil and abusive parents.
- A brutally murdered family, cave-dwellers themselves, and the impact this event has on the characters described above.

I found all of these characters interesting. The author has clearly lived in this world and her insights are sharply targeted and barbed. In many ways, the early part of the book felt like a political version of the HBO comedy-drama “Succession”, - satirical and caustic and hard to watch, but harder to turn away from.

The book really took off for me, however, with the character development of the next generation, in the form of the teenage children of the families followed.

Bunny, Billy, Marty, Chase and MacKenzie live in a world of privilege, surrounded by private schools, secret service, panic rooms, service elevators, and iron gates. Their struggles, as they approach adulthood, and how they come to accept/reconcile/escape the identities imposed on them by their families was superbly presented and deeply moving to read.

4.5 stars. I could not put this one down.

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Simon and Schuster Canada, and the author for an advance review copy of this book. All thoughts presented here are my own.

This book had way too many characters and did not live up to my expectation based on the blurb provided.

It is obvious in reading this book that the author has an extensive knowledge of both the politics and history of Washington DC. The story unfolds at a rapid pace, at points I found the number of characters a little difficult to keep up with, but overall I found the story engaging. A brutal murder in a tony area of Washington opens the story, a family of three, Mom, Dad and daughter are murdered and their house set on fire. The story touches on many themes as a result (direct and indirect), one character in particular, Elizabeth (Bunny to her family and friends) makes steps to connect with the man charged with the crime, an eye opening experience for her about her white privilege and how the other side (the black man charged with the crime) lives. A lot of the plot points do not have a resolution, and the ending feels a bit rushed, but overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you for letting me read this book.
I could not put it down. It is fiction but with a lot of nonfiction facts in the notes about black history, racism, and private clubs for the white privileged citizens of Washington.
The story begins with a wealthy family being murdered and how their neighbours and supposed
friends react. The book covers it all, old money versus new money, scandals and politicians, Will
also be reading this author’s memoir.