Book Review: The Serpent's Kiss

Reviewed By: Luke Croll - RAM

The Serpent's Kiss     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Mark T. Sullivan
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Serial Killer
2003, Atria Books, 373 pages

Homicide detective Seamus Moynihan thinks he has seen the worst things that humans can do to each other in his years in the San Diego police force. However, when he finds a man who has been bitten by to a death by a snake in a twisted sexual ritual, he realises that a killer has taken him into an entirely new league. With shocking links to religion and cults, Moynihan soon finds himself in the most dangerous case of his career.

'The Serpent's Kiss' has one big cliché central to the novel ? that of the police officer father whose job ends up taking priority over his son and divorced wife. This stereotype is increasingly used in fiction and in this novel, it is essentially unnecessary, as if we were to remove it, it would make little difference to the plot. Despite this, Sullivan succeeds with his characters, making them interesting and real, particularly his Israeli-American detective, Rikko, and there is certainly enough potential to use the police team again in another novel.

Sullivan also employs a movie-style ending and indeed, the novel as a whole could be a film, as we have all the requisite elements ? gore, car chases, excitement and sex. The author has clearly done his research into Biblical movements and ideas and his scenes that deal with us are very informative. It can be said that Sullivan has used plot devices that have been seen before, such as crazed, religion-based killers, but his skill in increasing tension and his descriptive prose easily make up for this.

'The Serpent's Kiss' is a very fast and exciting read. It is gruesome in places but any thriller fan is guaranteed to enjoy it.

Luke Croll - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

Luke Croll - Conference interpreter and translator
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