My Five Word TL:DR Review: Yes, She DId It Again

I very much enjoyed The Cloisters by Katy Hays and so when I was offered a review copy of The Vipers I was only to happy to snatch a copy with indecent haste.  And, I’m glad I did because once again Hays has created a family drama/murder mystery packed with atmosphere, a delicious setting and a bunch of characters behaving badly.

The premise of The Vipers (known as Saltwater in the US) is a mystery surrounding the Lingate family.  The Lingates are rich, and I do mean filthy rich, but even this much money can’t wash off some of the gossip that follows them.  Thirty years ago, Sarah Lingate (wife to Richard, one of the two Lingate brothers) died mysteriously on the Island of Capri.  Witnesses say she was seen arguing with her husband that evening and her body was later discovered in the waters surrounding the Island but the Lingates are found innocent of any crime and they return to the Island every year just to show the naysayers that they have nothing to hide.  As the book begins they once again return to Capri but this year a surprise is awaiting their arrival, something that is about to shake them up and set in motion a series of drastic events.

What I really liked about this.

Well, firstly, the writing.  I think I mentioned that the writing in The Cloisters was beautiful and a delight to read and The Vipers is no different.  The island is described to perfection, you can feel the sun sparkling off the sea, smell the figs and simply goggle at the decadent lifestyles on display.  At first, I found myself meandering a little, I don’t think I was really sure where everything was going but, as soon as I got a grip on the narrator’s and the jumps back and forth I became really absorbed and pretty soon I was flipping around like a fish out of water jumping to all sorts of ridiculous conclusions as the author cast threw out her red herrings.  This is one of those stories that when you eventually come to the final twist not only have you not seen it coming but it’s an absolute cracker.  Well, to be fair, more than one surprise actually.  I confess that I’m a bit useless at sleuthing and reading so others might have more luck at second guessing some of the outcomes but I never try too hard to figure things out because I enjoy the suspense.

Let’s discuss characters.  The Lingates are, as you might imagine with a family with so much wealth, very insular, even more so since the death of Sarah and the ensuing gossip.  Sarah and her husband had one child, a daughter called Helen who was only three at the time but is now in her thirties and is one of the narrators.  The family itself – the brothers Richard (married to Sarah before her accident) and Marcus and his wife Naomi.  There is also Helen and her companion Freddy and the hired assistant.  Now the thing is, none of these characters are particularly nice people.  Although, to be fair I felt for Helen and I did become attached to her as the story progresses.  Basically, Helen is trapped.  She is literally kept like a prisoner, a very well kept prisoner, but nonetheless she has no freedom and a gilded cage is still a cage.

The thing about all the characters is that they’re all keeping secrets.  Some of this becomes obvious as you read along what with the changes in narrative voice and the jumps back in time – but even as you begin to realise that not everything is rosy in the Lingate abode it’s still difficult to pin down what’s really going on and I advise you to really pay attention to everything because looking back I could see that the author was throwing out a little trail of breadcrumbs.

The setting is, with only a few exceptions, Capri.  What a glittering place for this story to take place.  It really was the perfect setting and felt so natural for this particular family.

Anyway, to cut to the chase, apart from a slightly slow start, once I was pulled into the Lingate family dynamics and the whole ‘did he or didn’t he’ dilema, not to mention a whole new murder mystery – well, I was totally compelled and found myself reading the whole book in two days.  I loved the twists, I didn’t second guess everything although I do congratulate myself on one aspect of the mystery – even though it turned out slightly different to that which I’d imagined.  I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 sparkly stars