Season of the Snake [Hardcover]

Claire Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2005

The new novel by the award-winning author of Winter Range

When tragedy leaves her life in shambles, Nance flees her Wisconsin hometown and its reminders of grief, creating a new life in the West. She is a scientist, specializing in rattlesnakes and attrition rates in dens, believing that "you can overcome fear, control the level of risk by being prepared, by knowing your subject." Now with a home in Lewiston, Idaho, overlooking the Snake River, and her marriage to Ned Able, a grade school principal, Nance finally feels at peace.

Then an unexpected visit from her wayward sister Meredith revives old family conflicts, and resurrects a secret life that has long lain dormant in Ned. While Nance and Meredith mend their relationship, Ned's other nature begins to emerge, transforming him in ways that Nance denies, until, with the help of her sister, she is made to see what lies beneath the skin. But neither can predict how far Ned will go to hide his past, or where his frightening memories will lead him as he searches out an object for his obsession.

Claire Davis's debut novel, Winter Range, established her as a powerful voice in American writing. Season of the Snake extends her scope with a dramatic story, a vividly evoked setting, and an unforgettable group of characters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A naturalist's difficult relationship with her sister collides with her second husband's hidden violent streak in Davis's second novel, an entertaining albeit predictable thriller set in eastern Washington near the Idaho border. Herpetologist Nance Able lives a seemingly quiet, stable existence with her second husband, Ned, a pleasant but aloof school principal. The fly in the family ointment appears to be Nance's sister, Meredith, who has a flair for attracting abusive boyfriends and lovers, a tendency that helped get Nance's first husband, Joe, killed. But trouble begins when the uneasy truce between Ned and Meredith begins to fray and the tension affects Nance and Ned's marriage. As the couple becomes increasingly distant, Nance notices Ned's increasingly lengthy forays away from home, and she is horrified when she discovers his shady second life. Davis does a solid job of generating suspense and tension, although the initial chapters that flash back to Joe's death are underdeveloped and the final confrontation between the three protagonists isn't really a surprise. But the biggest problem with the novel is Ned, whose character never develops enough dimension and depth to make his violent side truly terrifying. The result is a decent read that could have been much more intriguing with a few small improvements.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Lavishing affection on a hibernating rattlesnake may not appeal to everyone. But scientist Nance Able even finds aesthetic differentiation among members of the species: "Such a handsome lad," she thinks as she runs a finger down its spine and studies its rattles. Taking such chances as she tracks the snakes' movements for research--after having climbed a rock cliff face to reach the creatures' Idaho den--is all in a day's work for this heroine. But will such risky pursuits insulate her from emotional pain? Reverberations from her first husband's brutal murder are brought to the surface as her train wreck of a sister, Meredith, moves from the Midwest into the new life Nance has built with her second husband, Ned, seemingly an open book, but actually a man of mystery. Davis develops a carefully drawn accrual of texture and detail as she explores the fragile play of twilight shadow on a tree canopy or a shiver of anticipation felt by a peeping Tom. Compelling writing on the powerful bonds that constitute family. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (February 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312332823
• ISBN-13: 978-0312332822
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #739,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific read!, April 20, 2006

By 

KatPanama "katpanama" (Readerville) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Season of the Snake (Hardcover)

Last night I stayed up too late finishing Claire Davis' "Season of the Snake," it was that good. There was no way I was going to sleep until I found out what happened. Exquisitely creepy, enthralling novel set in Idaho and Eastern Washington State with the Snake River playing a part. The life and times of a herpetologist, her husband and her problematic sister. Perfection. Can't wait to see what Davis gives us next.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Crafted!, January 23, 2007

By 

Kelley Moss (Ft. Collins, Co.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Season of the Snake : A Novel (Hardcover)

Having read "Winter Range" and found it lacking, I only read "Season of the Snake" on the recommendation of a family member. I was thrilled by it!! Her previously dark writing has found real focus and structure. "Season of the Snake" does a great job getting you to care about the characters, and although you may think you know where it is going... it either takes you there in such a unique fashion, or twists how far and where it goes... that the whole ride is a joy. Truly got under my skin and sucked me in. Great Book!

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Season of the Snake, a Beautiful Horror, March 15, 2005

By 

L. Reznicek (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Season of the Snake (Hardcover)

It's rare to find a book that is not only beautifully written, but also a mesmerizing read. When you do, you raise your hands and praise the great god of stories. Claire Davis' book is, most certainly, one of those that have my hands up.

The main antagonist, Ned, a rapist and murderer, is a character you find yourself at first wanting to like, though as the book progresses he has you up locking your doors and closing your blinds. He's the kind of guy who might be your friend, possibly a brother or, Lord forbid, your husband. And maybe this is what I appreciate most about the book, that it tells a familiar story, a story we can believe. We have only to look at life in real time, people like Jeffrey Dahmer, Robert Yates, Ted Bundy, and more recently, Dennis Rader, a.k.a. "B.T.K." to see how easy it could be to miss the "signs," even for the smartest, strongest and most cynical among us.

The flip side of this is that we can also discover wonderful things about people we may have judged harshly. The relationship between the sisters, which the book weaves tenderly between scenes of Ned, is an example of this. So, while the story mortifies on one hand, it redeems on the other.

I'm always interested in honest explorations of human nature: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Any book that plumbs the bowels of human experience and retrieves the worst and the best of what we are capable, becomes a timeless read. In fact, I did lose track of time reading this book. I read half the book in a day, took another day to detox, and then finished it, I'm pretty sure without blinking, on the third day.

Suggestion: Read it with a pen to underline such gems as, "A school of minnows, sides bright as pyrite, wends through river weeds that have jimmied up through a jigsaw of rocks." Davis' book is like a thousand poems woven together into a startling, frightening, beautiful horror. You'll love it!