C J Dotson’s debut novel “The Cut” arrives like an unwelcome visitor in the night—unexpected, unsettling, and impossible to ignore. Set against the bleak backdrop of Lake Erie’s industrial shoreline, this supernatural horror tale weaves together themes of domestic abuse, maternal protection, and otherworldly terror with varying degrees of success. While the novel demonstrates genuine atmospheric prowess and emotional authenticity, it struggles under the weight of an overly ambitious plot that doesn’t quite coalesce into the masterpiece it aspires to be.
The Premise: Sanctuary Turned Nightmare
Sadie Miles, a pregnant mother fleeing an abusive relationship, seeks refuge at the decrepit L’Arpin Hotel with her toddler daughter Izzy. What begins as a desperate grasp for safety transforms into something far more sinister when Sadie discovers that the hotel harbors secrets darker than her troubled past. The titular “Cut”—a stretch of Lake Erie beach adjacent to the hotel—becomes the epicenter of increasingly strange phenomena involving missing guests, mysterious creatures, and an ancient evil lurking beneath the waters.
Dotson establishes her premise with admirable restraint, allowing the supernatural elements to seep in gradually like water through cracked foundations. The early chapters excel at building tension through mundane horror—the terror of starting over with nothing, the constant vigilance required when escaping abuse, the isolation of being completely alone with a small child. These human fears provide a solid foundation that makes the later fantastical elements feel grounded rather than ridiculous.
Character Development: Strength in Struggle
Sadie Miles: A Protagonist Worth Following
Sadie emerges as the novel’s greatest strength. Dotson crafts her with nuanced authenticity, avoiding the common pitfall of making her either helplessly victimized or implausibly heroic. Her constant second-guessing stems from genuine trauma, not authorial convenience. The way she checks and double-checks doors, her hypervigilance around male authority figures, and her determination to trust her own perceptions despite past gaslighting all ring devastatingly true.
The relationship between Sadie and her daughter Izzy provides the emotional heart of the story. Dotson clearly draws from personal experience with toddlers—Izzy’s dialogue and behavior feel refreshingly realistic rather than precociously literary. Their bond drives the narrative forward with genuine stakes, making every threat feel visceral and immediate.
Supporting Cast: Mixed Results
The supporting characters present a more uneven picture. Gertie, the elderly guest with mysterious connections to the hotel’s dark history, works well as an ambiguous figure whose true nature remains effectively hidden until the climactic revelations. However, other characters feel less fully realized—particularly Sam, Sadie’s abusive ex-fiancé, who occasionally veers into cartoon villain territory despite Dotson’s clear understanding of abuse dynamics.
The hotel staff, including the morally ambiguous manager Mr. Drye and maintenance worker Beth, serve their plot functions adequately but lack the depth that would elevate them beyond mere story devices.
Atmospheric Excellence and Tonal Challenges
Where Dotson Truly Shines
The novel’s greatest achievement lies in its atmospheric construction. Dotson possesses a genuine gift for creating oppressive environments that feel both physically and psychologically claustrophobic. The L’Arpin Hotel becomes a character unto itself—a decaying monument to better times that now houses corruption in both human and supernatural forms.
The descriptions of the lake and surrounding industrial landscape paint a convincingly bleak picture of economic decline and environmental degradation. The power plant looming over the beach, the concrete steps leading down to the water, the perpetual sense of things rotting just beneath the surface—all contribute to a pervasive sense of unease that makes the supernatural intrusions feel inevitable rather than arbitrary.
Narrative Structure: Ambitious but Flawed
Pacing Issues and Plot Complexity
While Dotson’s ambition is admirable, the novel suffers from structural problems that undermine its effectiveness. The story attempts to juggle multiple storylines—Sadie’s escape from domestic abuse, the hotel’s supernatural mysteries, an ancient cosmic horror, and various character subplots—without maintaining consistent focus.
The middle third of the novel particularly suffers from pacing issues, with investigative sequences that feel drawn out and revelations that arrive either too early or too late to maintain optimal tension. Some plot threads, particularly those involving the hotel’s history and the nature of the lake creatures, could have been streamlined without losing narrative impact.
The Final Act: Spectacle Over Substance
The climactic sequences, while undeniably intense, lean heavily toward action-horror spectacle at the expense of the intimate psychological horror that marks the novel’s strongest passages. The resolution feels somewhat rushed, with cosmic horror elements that don’t entirely mesh with the more grounded domestic thriller that preceded them.
Technical Craft and Literary Merit
Prose Style: Workmanlike with Flashes of Brilliance
Dotson’s prose tends toward the functional rather than the lyrical, which serves the story’s urgent pace but occasionally lacks the distinctive voice that might elevate the material. However, she demonstrates particular skill in writing action sequences and building tension through accumulation of small details.
Her dialogue generally feels natural, particularly in conversations between Sadie and Izzy, though some exposition-heavy exchanges between adults feel less organic. The author shows strong technical control over point of view, maintaining tight focus on Sadie’s perspective while occasionally shifting to other characters when the story demands it.
Thematic Depth: Trauma and Trust
Beneath its supernatural trappings, “The Cut” by C J Dotson grapples seriously with themes of trauma, recovery, and the difficulty of learning to trust one’s own perceptions after systematic gaslighting. Dotson demonstrates clear understanding of how abuse affects its victims, and she never trivializes Sadie’s struggles or suggests easy solutions.
The supernatural elements serve as effective metaphors for the way trauma can make the world feel fundamentally unsafe and unpredictable. The recurring motif of contaminated water works particularly well as a symbol for how corruption can spread through seemingly safe spaces.
Genre Expectations and Innovation
Horror Traditions and Fresh Approaches
“The Cut” by C J Dotson operates within established horror traditions while bringing some fresh elements to familiar formulas. The combination of cosmic horror with domestic thriller creates interesting tensions, though not all of these tensions are successfully resolved.
The novel’s treatment of motherhood in horror feels particularly noteworthy. Rather than positioning maternal instincts as either salvation or corruption, Dotson presents a more complex picture where love and protection coexist with genuine human limitation and fear.
Critical Assessment: The Three-Star Reality
What Works
- Authentic character development, particularly for Sadie and her relationship with Izzy
- Excellent atmospheric writing that creates genuine dread and unease
- Thoughtful handling of domestic abuse themes without exploitation or oversimplification
- Effective use of setting as both physical and psychological landscape
- Strong opening and middle chapters that build tension methodically
What Doesn’t
- Overcomplicated plot structure that dilutes focus and momentum
- Uneven character development beyond the central mother-daughter relationship
- Tonal inconsistencies between intimate horror and cosmic spectacle
- Rushed climactic resolution that doesn’t fully satisfy the buildup
- Some clunky exposition and convenient plot developments
Comparative Context and Recommendations
Literary Lineage
“The Cut” by C J Dotson shares DNA with several notable works in the domestic horror subgenre. Readers who appreciated the mother-child dynamics in Josh Malerman’s “Bird Box” or the isolated hotel setting of Stephen King’s “The Shining” may find elements to enjoy here. The novel also echoes some themes found in Jennifer Kent’s “The Babadook” in its exploration of motherhood under extreme stress.
However, Dotson’s work feels most comparable to recent novels like Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “Mexican Gothic” or Grady Hendrix’s “The Silent Companions“—books that blend supernatural horror with social commentary while maintaining focus on female protagonists navigating hostile environments.
For Readers Who Enjoyed Similar Works
- “The Angel of Indian Lake” by Stephen Graham Jones – For cosmic horror with emotional stakes
- “Ring Shout” by P. Djèlí Clark – For horror as metaphor for real-world violence
- “The Fisherman” by John Langan – For atmospheric lake-based horror
- “The Only One Left” by Riley Sager – For haunted house mysteries with family drama
- “An Academy For Liars” by Alexis Henderson – For supernatural threats in isolated communities
Final Verdict: A Promising but Imperfect Debut
“The Cut” represents a solid debut effort that showcases genuine talent while revealing areas for growth. C.J. Dotson demonstrates real skill at creating atmosphere, developing authentic characters, and handling sensitive subject matter with appropriate gravity. Her understanding of trauma and family dynamics brings emotional weight that elevates the material above typical monster-of-the-month horror.
However, the novel’s structural ambitions occasionally exceed its grasp, resulting in a story that feels simultaneously overstuffed and undercooked in places. The various plot threads never quite weave together into the unified tapestry the story needs to achieve its full potential.
Despite these limitations, “The Cut” by C J Dotson succeeds more often than it fails, particularly in its depiction of a mother’s fierce love and the ways both human and supernatural monsters threaten the bonds that sustain us. Horror readers seeking atmospheric dread with emotional authenticity will find much to appreciate, even while recognizing the novel’s imperfections.
For a debut effort, “The Cut” establishes C J Dotson as an author worth watching, someone with the fundamental skills and thematic interests to potentially deliver something truly special in future works. This novel may not be a masterpiece, but it’s a promising beginning that suggests better things to come from this emerging voice in contemporary horror.