Book Title : When Serpents Die
Author : Gerrie Ferris
Publisher : Desert Breeze Publishing
Genre : Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publication Date : April 2009
ISBN : 978-1-936000-13-5
Pages : 171 Pages
Series : Laura Kate Plantation Series, Book 1
Category : Sweet
Type : ebook

Reviewer : Lindsay Townsend

5 Wings

From it’s tense, expectant opening, When Serpents Die by Gerrie Ferris is a gripping, fast-paced novel. Blessed with a clever and sympathetic heroine who had to literally kick her way out of trouble, (martial arts) it holds the reader from the very first page.

When Royce Lee is shot dead in the small south Georgia town of Roston, the initial verdict appears to be suicide, but Laura Kate, a long time friend and journalist – a former foreign correspondent – is immediately suspicious. Swiftly, her suspicion is proved to be well-founded. When she encounters Jack Rhodes, Royce’s legal partner, sparks fly. There is mutual attraction and also wariness. Laura Kate gives as good as she gets and I really enjoyed the sparring between them.

The spirit of the south is beautifully captured and wonderfully evoked in ‘When Serpents Die’. A lurking sense of evil and the evil eye is well done, too. There are snakes in this small town….

The characters in When Serpents Die are all well drawn, including minor characters. The changes in viewpoint are clear and interesting and Gerrie Ferris writes men as well as women very well indeed. The author has a lovely ear for dialogue that had me thoroughly engaged. Can Laura Kate trust Jack? Especially when she is threatened more than once by an unseen possibly murderer and Jack is often ‘around’?

The tension builds and then Royce’s former lover Hannah is also murdered. The police – who do not cover themselves in glory – consider Hannah’s death a suicide, but Laura Kate suspects the killer of Royce has struck again.

The climax of When Serpents Die is a twist and a shock, but very apt. The ending of the novel is a lovely double twist that had me right on the edge of my seat. I look forward to reading more of this engaging series from Gerrie Ferris.