Garden Of Vipers [Paperback]

We should all send a note of appreciation to Elaine Kerley of Newport, Kentucky. In the acknowledgments at the close of A GARDEN OF VIPERS, Jack Kerley's latest and greatest installment in his series featuring Mobile police investigators Carson Ryder and Harry Nautilus, Kerley thanks his wife for urging him to leave the advertising industry and begin writing. If not for such encouragement, we might not have one of the finest thriller series currently being written.

Kerley has demonstrated a talent that runs deep and true. Ryder and Nautilus are an unlikely team of police investigators whose professional relationship and personal friendship rings with a real world authenticity.

A GARDEN OF VIPERS initially centers on the investigation by Ryder and Nautilus of the brutal murder of a radio newswoman who, interestingly enough, has some ties to Dani Danbury, Ryder's significant other. Some additional incidents, including another horrendous murder, indicate the presence of a homicidal maniac in Mobile. Both Ryder and Nautilus are distracted by the revelations of personal betrayals --- Nautilus from the past, Ryder from the present --- that have a common source in Buck Kincannon, eldest son of a rich and powerful local family whose influence extends beyond the local environs.

The trail of the murders lead not only to the murky background of Kincannon family secrets but also to previously unknown and untold incidents in the past that threaten to be revealed by Nautilus and Ryder's investigation. As the two men come inexorably closer to the truth, they find themselves in danger from separate sources with a common origin.

With regard to the latter point, the always masterful Kerley utilizes an interesting plot device at the book's conclusion. By putting his detectives in separate dilemmas in which each is unable to assist the other, he provides two surprise conclusions with multiple revelations. This is not smoke and mirrors, either. Kerley's literary style remains first-rate, with his descriptions --- whether of scenery or of heartbreak --- so sharp and clear as to be almost painful in their beauty.

While the focus of A GARDEN OF VIPERS is primarily on Ryder, the equal billing that Ryder and Nautilus receive remains applicable. Nautilus arguably is the more interesting of the two at this point, being a bit more enigmatic, and further exploration of his personal life in the next volume of this most worthy series certainly would not be cause for complaint. With respect to Ryder, A GARDEN OF VIPERS certainly provides more grist for Kerley to grind in a future book. If you haven't jumped on this series yet, this is the novel and now is the time.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

In "A Garden of Vipers," by Jack Kerley, Alabama detectives Carson Ryder and Harry Nautilus are hunting the psychopath who tortured and murdered a young radio reporter named Taneesha Franklin. Ryder is a hard-boiled and wisecracking narrator who, along with his partner, is a member of a special unit known as the Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team. They are experts on the workings of disturbed minds.

During their investigation, Carson and Harry begin to suspect that the Franklin case is just one of several related crimes that have been committed over a period of years. After digging a little deeper, they find evidence of police misconduct and a cover-up involving the phenomenally wealthy Kincannons, a duplicitous and dysfunctional family with some ugly secrets. Adding to Carson's woes, his girlfriend, reporter Danielle Danbury, has become romantically involved with the handsome and influential Buck Kincannon, who promises to use his considerable clout to further her broadcasting career.

Jack Kerley has a fluid writing style, and his lively dialogue, dark humor, and vivid cast of characters add to the story's considerable appeal. The author effectively depicts the tedious and demanding lives of homicide detectives, who routinely work long hours with little to show for their efforts.

Frustrated by their slow progress in the Franklin case, Nautilus and Ryder decide to pull out all the stops. Not only do the detectives interview every witness who may have relevant information, but they also make good use of such varied resources as a talented sketch artist, a "digital cowboy" who can enhance videotapes and trace e-mails, a forensic expert, and a sleazy street informant.

This intelligently constructed novel is like an intricate jigsaw puzzle with many oddly shaped pieces. Subtle clues and misdirection keep the reader off-balance until the entire picture is revealed. In addition, there is a poignant subplot about Carson's emotional involvement with the sensitive Clair Peltier, a forensic pathologist who is eleven years his senior. "A Garden of Vipers" is a suspenseful and engrossing thriller about the pernicious and corrupting influence of money and power.

Detectives Carson Ryder and Harry Nautilus pick up a call from dispatch and beat another pair of detectives to the scene of a reporter found murdered in her car. The reporter is a friend of Carson's girlfriend, Dani Danbury. The trail soon leads to other murders, a police cover-up and to the very wealthy, influential Kincannon family, including Buck who is counting Carson's girlfriend.

This book lacked the spark of the previous two novels by Kerley. I found the plot implausible and imminently forgettable. Even to write this review, one week after reading the book, I had to go back and leaf through it to remember the plot. The best part of the book was the relationship between the two detectives, although even that didn't have quite the impact of previous books, and the growing relationship between Carson and Claire Peltier, a forensic pathologist 11 years his senior. There is a suspenseful scene toward the end that does make the book exciting. It's still a good series, but this wasn't Kerley's best effort.

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