Customer Reviews

The Serpent Club

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The actual writing deserves better than 2 stars, although it's of the terse, partial sentence macho/cool style. The problem is that i dislike the hero. We are supposed to think he's a Good Guy (are we?) because he keeps after the story, despite pressure from the ubiquitous Evil Rich Guy and the money-grubbing stooges that run the newspaper and (gasp!) would actually like to make money rather than subsidize ted's curiosity. But -- all of us have to make a living, why should he be exempt? More seriously, he drops his sort-of girlfriend because she actually wants him to interact with her, be interested in her kid, and do other basic things generally thought by most humans to be natural and positive in a relationship, and instead takes up with - - could it be any worse?? -- an INTERN at his own newspaper. No wonder they fired him, he deserves it. and he picks on his editor, who spends a lot of time trying to defend him to management, with zero gratitude from ted. I would hate to think that men in general think ted is a likeable fellow. Finally, the villain is not believable.

Just when I thought I was done with the slightly tired thriller genre, Tom Coffey and THE SERPENT CLUB pulled me back in. Told through the eyes of Ted Lowe, A Los Angeles newspaper reporter, THE SERPENT CLUB could be a story right out of today's headlines. Megan Wright, thirteen, pretty, and from a nice family is found raped and murdered, and it's Ted's job to cover the story. As he sifts through sordid details, suspects in the death accumulate quickly, and even Ted's life is in danger. Like a car wreck at the side of the road where you feel almost guilty to look, but compelled to do so anyway, THE SERPENT CLUB draws you in hook, line and sinker, and doesn't let up until the last page. Impossible to put down, and at times distressing, this is one of the finest first novels I've read this year.

I don't care if this book is supposed to illustrate the moral deprivation of the modern world... it is terrible. Other books that deal with the same sort of "essential human sickness" that The Serpent Club deals with usually have some sort of resolution; that is, something that makes you put down the book nodding your head in agreement and fulfillment. This book leaves you shaking your head in disgust. I found no pleasure in this novel, becuase it is a case of depravation triumphing over reason and good, even in retrospect. Usually I have great respect for books: this is the only one in memory that I have tossed straight into the trash when I was done reading it.

"The Serpent Club" is a strange mix of fiction and thriller.Its language is spare and broken, the thoughts and dialogue mingle in a forced alliance. Newspaper reporter Ted Lowe, an unlikely hero, is obssesed with the tragic life and death of 12 year old Megan Wright. He is an odd and disturbed man and I found it a major difficulty to identify with him. The excessive violence doesn't help much, and L.A. seems like a place where bad people should go after they die. This is deffinitely original and creative book, but little schlocky and superficial in the same time. Three and a half stars for this picky reader.

I'm not going into indepth description and assessment of this writer. I read alot. Especially James Patterson and Stephen King. I will only say this. For a first effort, Tom Coffey is absolutely "ON". Read this book. I have laid aside books by supposedly "better authors" than this guy, such as P.D. James, because I got so bored by the ineffectual descriptions of petty details that I couldn't continue. Enjoy Tom Coffey for his flow, the way he just lays it out there, the awful 'in your face' violence and the seduction of the question left in the last chapter you read. Not rocket science. But, Tom Coffey knows how to spin a tale. I didn't jump from chapter 3 to the end. That is good reading.

I picked this up ... the cover looked nice, and the inside flap story made me curious. I could not put this one down, and it's based in L.A... the story just keeps ya going... I recommend this book for thriller/mystery lovers!

Los Angeles news reporter Ted Lowe has covered many violent crimes over the years, but no incident affected him more deeply than the death of teenager Megan Wright. She was his first corpse and she was left beaten and naked except for a pair of white sox.

Ted is surprised how serene Megan's mother is over her daughter's murder. He makes some inquiries and learns Mrs. Wright is involved with a rich and powerful entrepreneur. Additionally, Megan was dating the man's son Brad. An obsessed Ted finds evidence that links Brad to the crime, but the journalist does not know how sordid the truth really is.

THE SERPENT'S CLUB is a very good tale that mixes a thriller, legal procedural, psychological suspense, and amateur sleuthing into an entertaining story line. Though Tom Coffey's book includes much violence, none of it seems excessive as these acts propel the dramatic story forward. Ted is a flawed individual struggling to redeem himself by obtaining justice for victims. Fans will want more appearances of this imperfect antihero.

Harriet Klausner