The Snakes - Tapa dura

"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)

"I am blowing the trumpet for The Snakes to anyone who'll listen. I devoured the book, awed by its beauty and brilliance. We'll be lucky if 2019 brings us much else of this rank. This is wickedly good writing and something really special. Sadie Jones has talent to burn." (Billy O'Callaghan)

"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 Guardian)

"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 Daily Mail)

"An all-encompassing read from the first page to the devastating final paragraph" (Alice O’Keeffe The Bookseller)

"Ever since her debut, The Outcast, Jones has peopled her propulsive plots with nuanced, dimensional creations imbued with human failings and graces. The Snakes is no exception... Jones crafts a pitiless shock ending; a denouement that refuses closure and resonates long after the book is set aside... [the ending is] bound to become a talking point" (Suzi Feay Financial Times)

"A suspenseful, beautifully written thriller about the corruption of money and abuse within a dysfunctional family" (Guardian)

"Masterful, terrifying, dangerous, with an ending that is as uncompromising as the build-up is truthful. The Snakes is as beautifully written as it is dark and honest." (Rachel Joyce)

"I was absolutely gripped by this original and beautifully-told story of a couple enmeshed in a nest of vipers -- a rich family of criminals. Its evocation of a sinister French house, the corruption of love and the powerlessness of good is both haunting and chilling. Nobody contemporary writes about unhappy families as well as Sadie Jones." (Amanda Craig)

"The ending is devastating" (Jeffrey Burke Mail on Sunday)

Discover the bold, masterful new novel from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Outcast, which holds the reader in its tense grip from start to shocking finish.

‘A thrillingly good read’ Elizabeth Day

Bea and Dan, recently married, rent out their tiny flat to escape London for a few precious months. Driving through France they visit Bea’s dropout brother Alex at the hotel he runs in Burgundy. Disturbingly, they find him all alone and the ramshackle hotel deserted, apart from the nest of snakes in the attic.

When Alex and Bea’s parents make a surprise visit, Dan can’t understand why Bea is so appalled, or why she’s never wanted him to know them; Liv and Griff Adamson are charming, and rich. They are the richest people he has ever met. Maybe Bea’s ashamed of him, or maybe she regrets the secrets she’s been keeping.

Tragedy strikes suddenly, brutally, and in its aftermath the family is stripped back to its rotten core, and now neither Bea nor Alex can escape...

‘Terrifying, dangerous, with an ending that is as uncompromising as the build-up is truthful’ Rachel Joyce

‘A suspenseful, beautifully written thriller’ Guardian