The Dew Breaker

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The Dew Breaker is a novel by Edwidge Danticat, published in 2004. The title "comes from a Creole phrase which refers to those who break the serenity of the grass in the morning dew. It is a Creole nickname for torturer." In this case, the "Dew Breakers" are members of the Tonton Macoutes, a group of volunteers who tortured and killed thousands of civilians under the regimes of François and Jean-Claude Duvalier in Haiti.
The book can read either as a novel or collection of short stories, a short story cycle. It is divided in nine portions. The Book of the Dead, Seven, Water Child, The Book of Miracles, Night Talkers, The Bridal Seamstress, Monkey Tails, The Funeral Singer, and The Dew Breaker.