"With a pitch-perfect insight Namkung charts the ranges of emotions, justifications, and equivocations that a predator's actions have provoked in the lives of others." - Los Angeles Review of Books
At Windemere School for Girls, one of America’s elite private schools, Dr. Gregory Copeland is the beloved chair of the English Department. A married father with a penchant for romantic poetry—and impressionable teenage girls—he operates in plain sight for years, until one of his former students goes public with allegations of inappropriate conduct. With the help of an investigative journalist, and two additional Windemere alumnae who had relationships with Copeland as students, the unlikely quartet unites to take him down.
Set in modern-day Los Angeles, These Violent Delights is a literary exploration of the unyielding pressures and vulnerabilities that so many women and girls experience, and analyzes the ways in which our institutions and families fail to protect or defend us. A suspenseful and nuanced story told from multiple points of view, the novel examines themes of sexuality, trauma, revenge, and the American myth of liberty and justice for all.
PRAISE FOR THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS:
"... a worthwhile read. A sober, personable tale about the complexities of sexual abuse and its aftermath." – Kirkus Reviews
“These Violent Delights is smart, suspenseful, unsettling, and only too relevant. I promise you won’t be able to put it down. Just don’t forget to breathe.” –Kim Askew, co-author of the Twisted Lit novels from Simon & Schuster
"Namkung writes with ferocity, portraying a compelling story of women uniting to bring their abuser to justice." – The International Examiner
“A devastating yet empowering narrative of women banding together to bring the teacher who abused them to justice. It powerfully illustrates how the abuse affects them each differently, how institutions enable predators in order to protect their own liability, and the life-changing courage it takes to speak out. As more women refuse to stay silent in the face of sexual assault each day, These Violent Delights could not be more timely.” – Andrew Grant Jackson, author of 1965
“These Violent Delights is a deeply thought-provoking story about the ways abuse ripples through our lives. It’s for every woman who has ever been in a situation that could have ended with the question ‘but what were you wearing?’ In other words, this book is for every woman.” – Tiffany Hawk, author of Love Me Anyway
"Provocative, a wonderful selection for any reading group. As important today as it will be tomorrow." – Bookstalker Blog
