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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
 HONORED DAUGHTERS
Laura Kate Plantation Series Book Two
"The Long and the Short of it Reviews"
J. Thomas
March 24, 2010
Laura Kate O'Connell is a super-star of a clever southern bell with a quick
wit and a nice way with horses. Honored Daughters is truly more mystery than romance, but the romance matters and readers
will really enjoy Jack Rhodes when they finally meet him.
Overall, the quality of the story is excellent. Epic-like adventures - and
love - befall our heroine, who seems pulled in several directions most of the time. Her personal life, her decisions and future
plans are complicated; Jack Rhodes is her distant, if still true love. He seems to envision an ordinary, predictable sort
of future for the two of them, a future Laura Kate isn't enthused about. (Although after meeting him, we do realize he's more
insightful than Laura Kate gives him credit for.
Before we even get to the questions of romance, Agent Nyan Hill complicates
her life with his desperate effort to see the murder of his niece Dari solved. Nyan and Laura Kate's antagonistic relationship,
and occasional sharp dialogue really make readers admire our heroine. She's nobody's fool, but is at the heart a caring,
almost driven person.
Ferris has a distinctive voice, giving Honored Daughters a continuous, rather
evocative aura. She creates a time, a place and a series of characters that seem utterly original, yet also familiar and appealing.
There are some seriously suspenseful moments, as well as more tender times; and the mystery is a real mystery, both intriguing
and heart-wrenching from the start.
Although this is contemporary, there is a certain historic feel to it.
The horses, the hunt club, the southern-bell comments, and Honored Daughters School itself. Although contemporary, it all
has an old, old feel to it. Fans of any southern-style epic will really love this story; perfect reading by a cozy fire.
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