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The Snakes

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The Snakes

By: Sadie Jones
Narrated by: Abigail Thaw
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE TENSE TWIST-FILLED RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK FOR SPRING 2020 FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE OUTCAST

Family secrets can be deadly…

Newly-weds Dan and Bea decide to escape London. Driving through France in their beaten-up car they anticipate a long lazy summer, worlds away from their ordinary lives.

But their idyll cannot last. Stopping off to see Bea’s brother at his crumbling hotel, the trio are joined unexpectedly by Bea’s ultra-wealthy parents. Dan has never understood Bea’s deep discomfort around them but living together in such close proximity he begins to sense something is very wrong.

Just as tensions reach breaking point, brutal tragedy strikes, exposing decades of secrets and silence that threaten to destroy them all.

©2019 Sadie Jones (P)2019 Penguin Audio Family Life Genre Fiction Psychological Small Town & Rural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction

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Critic reviews

Sadie Jones is such an enjoyable novelist to spend time with. Her books are so easy to read, while each sentence is rich in meaty observation… Elegantly atmospheric… The Snakes left me breathless (Claire Allfree)
The Snakes is superbly written, each sentence punctuated by a drumbeat of menace, each word placed with a master's touch. I keep thinking about the questions it poses: about what it is to be good in these imperfect times; about how we can protect our humanity in the face of narcissism and greed. Yet for all its depth and mystery, The Snakes is also just a thrillingly good read (Elizabeth Day)
The Snakes asks serious questions about human nature, avarice and justice, wrapped in the fast-paced rhythms of a thriller. It is written with Jones’s trademark economy and a fierce attention to the nuances of familial cruelty… I finished The Snakes with a juddering heart, strangely close to tears (Elizabeth Lowry)
All stars
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Absolutely amazing book. I can’t thinking about it. Also the best narrator I’ve come across so far

Absolutely amazing book. I can’t thinking about if

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This book was very well written and the psychology behind the characters was spot on. It held me throughout until the very end. I think it’s one of the best narrators I’ve heard and the story is strong. I can’t recommend it enough.

Captivating

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A promising start to the book though believing how characters behaved at times was a bit of a stretch. Narration good and I felt the tension was building but some parts were too drawn out and sadly I did not think the story delivered on its potential with the ending I particular being quite weak. I doubt that I will try another book by this author.

Expected more

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This was a very cleverly constructed story about a toxic, dysfunctional family and how excessive wealth and power corrupts and influences even the most rational of people.

Bea Durrant is the daughter of a dodgy property tycoon who made his money through being a slum landlord. Her mother is a self-obsessed, abusive, narcissist who has subjected one of her sons to gross levels of abuse, which Bea witnessed as a small child. She escaped her family and rejected their money and belief systems, choosing to work in a worthy but poorly paid job. She is married to Dan, a man from the opposite end of the financial and social spectrum. Bea is happy with him, believing that they are making their way in life in an honest and straightforward way. But whilst Bea is content, Dan is unsettled and wants more from life than a steady, unsatisfying job and a small ‘cushion’ of savings.

When Bea and Dan decide to take some time out from work and go travelling, their first stop is a visit to Bea’s troubled, ex-addict brother Alex who is renovating a small provincial hotel in rural France. But very quickly it becomes apparent that all is not well. Why are there no guests, why are the rooms named after the seven deadly sins and why is the attic full of snakes? When Bea’s parents arrive at the hotel, her old dissatisfactions rise to the surface and her instinct is to protect her brother. But when Alex is found dead after failing to return home from carrying out an errand for their father, a mystery is set in motion.

The title of the book is a very clever one. Do the snakes refer to the reptiles in the attic or to Bea’s family? And what will her family’s toxic influence do to Dan? Add an unhelpful, unresponsive, possibly racist local police force to the mix and you have a wonderful novel, filled with possibilities. The narrative starts off as an exploration of a family and abuse and then turns into a murder mystery. It is a clever mix and the author pulls it off very well. My only criticism is that the ending was very, very unsatisfactory for me. If this novel could be described in terms of goodies and baddies, the goodies definitely got a raw deal.

Abigail Thaw did a wonderful job on the narration.

An intriguing story.

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What a pity - this is a case of a book of two halves. It’s like two separate books have been put together. The first two thirds are really special, interesting, fascinating and suddenly the plot doesn’t fit. So disappointing . The editor should be shot. The performance and writing are good, it just doesn’t make a single book.

Spoilt by ending

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I really hate the way Audible can't leave even just a few seconds between the last words of the book and the end credits.

Audible conventions

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Kept my interest throughout but if I were to be picky I thought the first 2/3 were very realistic and natural while the ending seemed
contrived and rushed. But well worth a listen.

A very good listen

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I enjoyed reading Sadie Jones’s ‘The outcast’ (2008) some 10 years ago, and noted that today it was the only other novel of hers that Waterstones of Piccadilly had on the shelf.

The milieu of London, of death, the need to be credible and the compromises made or not; family pressures, urban regeneration, slum landlords - all these factors reminded me of my recent reading of Tessa Hadley’s latest novel ‘Late in the day’, and I note that Abigail Thaw also narrates the audible version of Hadley’s book.

Thaw’s reading is right on the money - and her characterization of the father Griff is particularly good.

So no plot spoilers but the slowish start winds into quite a nasty little tale - all very nicely done!

Quite a nasty little tale!

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Firstly, I’d like to make it clear that I really enjoyed The Snakes. A lot.
Secondly, I’m sorry for being so predictable, but I pretty much hated every single character in this novel, apart from Alex and Dan. Bea had moments where I felt that I could like her, but then she just didn’t seem to help herself or anyone else.
Thirdly, you will probably need to speed the narrator up, because she was far too slow (for me, anyway).

So, short summary of the plot: Bea and Dan live in a tiny flat in London and decide to drive through Europe on a shoestring budget, financed by renting their flat out. Their first stop is at Bea’s brothers hotel in Burgundy. Alex runs the hotel, which was bought for him by their ridiculously rich parents. I think they’re hoping that the responsibility will keep him busy and off drugs.

Shortly after Bea and Daniel’s arrival, Bea’s parents turn up, and they realise that the hotel is basically a dump. This is the point at which Dan learns that his in-laws are rich enough to own a private jet, and his and Bea’s financial struggles could easily be solved if they would just take their offered money. But Bea has her reasons and principles. And they’re good ones.

Some pretty awful things happen in this book. It’s a stark example of the “haves” and “have nots”, and how those with money (and I’m talking about Griff here) have no comprehension what living in poverty or with little money is like. I could understand Dan’s wish to take Griff’s money, but at the same time, I could understand Bea’s motivation for NOT taking it.
And the ending is a real kick in the guts, let me tell you!!

This is a firm five star read from me - it’s well worth the listen.

If you like the unlikeable you’ll love this!

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Couldn't stop listening to this book, its beautifully written and the narrator was perfect. loved it

Gripping

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