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by Reuben K Youngdahl
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by Anthony Hitchcock, Jean Lindgren
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by Robert S. Weiss
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by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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(Larger Image)
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Where Serpents Lie
by T. Jefferson Parker
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Hyperion (1999-05-01)
ISBN: 0786889446
EAN: 9780786889440
Dewy Decimal #: 813.54
Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
SKU: mon0000047235
Condition: Good
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
In this intense psychological thriller, Parker masterfully reinvents the classic loner cop: a man with a dark and violent past whose redemption can come only through saving others.
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Amazon.com Review
What novelist T. Jefferson Parker does so well in Where Serpents Lie (and in such previous high-octane outings as Laguna Heat and Pacific Beat) is to bind his characters tightly to the territory in which they live and die--the mostly scorched and urbanized but occasionally still pristine turf of Southern California's Orange County. When he's not running the Crimes Against Youth unit at the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Terry Naughton sits in a cave in Laguna Canyon, drinking tequila, smoking cigars, and trying to understand the twisted mind of a particularly vicious child molester called The Horridus. The serpents of the title are real, as is the terror Parker manages to evoke with the intense power of his writing. "I knew that there was no way that Lauren would ever have her childhood replaced with a better one," Naughton says about a 9- year-old girl sold for sex by her parents. "Lauren had the resigned eyes and the aura of passive invincibility found in nearly all children who have escaped to the last place they can go--to the private, silent cave of their own selves."
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Customer Reviews
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Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick
Rating  (4)
Date: 2006-11-26
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
A previous reviewer wrote, "Please don't waste your time or money on this one."
Re the latter, I use the local library exclusively for my books. Re the former, It was not a waste of time. It was a good read as were several other of Parker's books. Not a disappoint at all, not even close.
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This guy is good!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2006-08-01
I had earlier stumbled across another novel by Parker--"The Fallen"--about a detective who had synesthesia, the ability to see peoples' voices as colored shapes. I was intrigued by the premise of that story and how well written it was, so I picked up "Where Serpents Lie". Parker's protagonist in this story is Terry Naughton, who not only has to contend with the monstrous but memorable villain, Horridus, but also cope with his inner demons. Parker is an elegant writer who can really turn a phrase. This is a mesmerizing, gripping tale, replete with vivid imagery.
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Darker Parker......
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-04-07
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I first discovered T. Jefferson Parker in Silent Joe, a carefully crafted and intriguing story with a twist. Joe, a sweet man with a damaged face, is one of Parker's great heroes. Naughton, in Where Serpents Lie, is another. He's a self-acknowledged flawed character who lives with regret and sorrow and deception while struggling to do his job as head of the Crimes Against Youth division of the Orange County Sheriff's Office. I liked him immensely, perhaps because he is flawed enough to be real. The crimes against children which he investigates make your hair stand on end, partly because you know they really happen. But Parker appears to have done his research and presents the cases and circumstances with compassion while creating a villain who is both monstrous and yet sympathetic. This is an exciting if long read, maybe a trifle overwritten. The novel contains one glaring error that no other reviewer has commented on, so I will. After Naughton sees photos of himself that he knows are doctored, he goes to a friend and asks the friend to doctor some photos himself, of a woman bathing a child, a woman and child who have never actually met. Apparently, Naughton means to use this doctored photo as proof that the photos which resulted in his suspension from CAY were also doctored. As readers we get on board with this idea and wait to see what happens. But we wait in vain, for this entire plot line and the requested doctored photo is never heard of again. The photo never materializes and the friend is never again mentioned. It's an editor's job to catch these things so I blame him or her more than Parker himself for this big ooops. Other than that, Serpent is another winner in the Parker ouevre. I put Parker in the company of Dennis Lehane, James W. Hall, and Carl Hiassen--all gifted writers and good storytellers.
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Excellent read
Rating (4)
Date: 2003-08-27
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This was my first experience with this author, and I would recommend this book to everyone. It took me a full 2 weeks to finish, because I found myself not so engrossed in the story through the middle of the book. The final chapters of the book though kept me wanting to find out more. There were plot twists that were unforseeable, to me anyway. I was stupified a couple of times. The characters in this story were believable, although not memorable. Donna Mason, the main character's "mistress" was too supportive, it made me wonder if there was something she was hiding. Come on, no one is that nice!
Over all I give this book a thumbs up and will put it on my to-read-again list.
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Where serpents lie
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-04-02
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is the 2nd book I read from this author and it was pretty much wat I expected. A terrific read. This book is about a child molestor who call's himself The Horridus. The whole book is a cat and mouse game between The Horridus and CAY (crimes agains youth) unit. I like the way this book is written and how Jefferson Parker writes. The environment and the places are described well so you can really get into the book and relax now and then. 5 stars.
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