The Serpent Club [Paperback]

Tom Coffey (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pocket Books (1999)
• ASIN: B000WL1V0U
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I was born and raised on Staten Island, where I attended Catholic schools. I graduated from the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, and embarked on a career in journalism. I've had the good fortune to work as a writer and editor at some of America's leading newspapers. I've been employed at The Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and New York Newsday. I've been a staff editor at The New York Times since 1997.

My first novel, "The Serpent Club," was published in 1999, and my second book, "Miami Twilight," came out in 2001. I live in Lower Manhattan with my wife, Jill, and our daughter, Skyler.

And if I knew back then what I know now, I would have become interested in writing children's books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sick and twisted and hard to put down, April 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Serpent Club (Mass Market Paperback)

The Serpent Club was really compelling, in fact I read it in one long day of reading. It's definitely not pretty though (random home invasions, rapes and violence and of course murders are there at every turn) and the faint of heart shouldn't even bother to pick it up. Coffey's first novel is written in a simple first person format and the way he uses words is just perfect in my opinion. As I said earlier, the subject matter was just disturbing enough for me to think "do I want to keep reading?" obviously I did and to tell the truth the ending almost made it worthwile. I hope that Coffey soon follows up with another book, either continuing Ted Lowe's story, or starting another one.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NEW THRILLER TERRITORY CHARTED HERE, February 17, 2001

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Serpent Club (Hardcover)

Justice is an anachronism, power the supreme deity, savagery routine in Tom Coffey's sharply conceived debut thriller The Serpent Club. An explosive plot plus a highly original suspense driven narrative are compelling, while the plausibility of his scenario makes this cutting-edge tale even more chilling.

The setting is southern California - land of power and plenty, a landscape now scarred by brutal, sadistic random violence, its populace plagued by faceless enemies who relish evil.

Antihero Ted Lowe is a curious blend of hypocrite and truth-seeker. He's a seasoned, salty-tongued reporter for a Los Angeles newspaper whose view of life may be found in his musings: ".....the ancients invented God to explain why things happen. They were afraid to accept the arbitrariness of life, too ignorant to understand the great cosmic joke that the universe itself is just a gigantic accident."

He is assigned to cover a murder story - the rape and fatal beating of 13-year-old Megan Wright. Her body is found atop Sepulveda Pass; the crime scene is grisly. It's a sight Lowe cannot forget.

Obtaining a photo of the dead girl, he thinks, "I'm glad for this chance to see her whole."

Lowe's coverage of the crime is set against a backdrop of apparently unconnected break-ins - brutal assaults in which a band of ski-masked thugs force mothers to watch the rape and sometimes fatal beating of their daughters.

"Why look for motivation behind the violence - why did he do it, why did it happen to her?" the narrator coldly asks. "These questions are pointless of course. Things happen because they do."

Doors close, evidence is skewed, and possible witnesses disappear when Brad Devlin, teenage son of wealthy, influential Jeremiah Devlin, is linked to Megan Wright's murder. Pressured by his editors for daily doses of sensationalism, Lowe knows a lurid front page story would be a boost for his career. He investigates on his own, while launching an affair with a smart but naive young reporter who shares his affinity for rough and tumble sex.

When the band of rampaging thugs, which includes Brad Devlin, kidnap Lowe and force him to accompany them as they rape and pummel an Asian mother and daughter, he is forced to confront his inner contradictions - he is fascinated by the ghastly act. "The sound of breaking glass thrills me. It's a true noise of the night."

Brad's eventual indictment for the murder of Megan is hardly a blip on his father's mental screen - Jeremiah Devlin has already bought off the district attorney, his challenger, the newspaper publisher, and others. The Devlin's high-powered, higher-priced attorney exudes supreme confidence.

Lowe is left to decide whether to take the stand and testify to what he witnessed in order to help convict Brad, thereby risking recrimination for failing to report the crime or remaining silent to protect himself.

Mr. Coffey handily layers moral questions with legal issues as the narrative races from investigation to a no-holds-barred courtroom trial. To the author's credit there is little physical description of the character who most embodies evil - he remains a faceless terror, growing even more frightening in the reader's imagination.

A cast of L.A. noir characters enliven the story, while the enigma of Ted Lowe's character both puzzles and fascinates. Mr. Coffey, an editor at the New York Times, charts new thriller territory with The Serpent Club; he's a cagey, daring and imaginative writer from whom we want to hear more.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing but....., November 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Serpent Club (Hardcover)

After completing this book, I was horrified to discover that the author is an editor for a major newspaper. While the story is intense and intriguing, the writing was pitiful. At times, I found it difficult to continue reading because of the lack of fluency and transition. The story plot is original and clever but I fear the author needs to revisit grammar and sentence mechanics 101.