Viper’s Nest was a spooky and exciting story that I devoured in one day! When I wasn’t reading the book, I was thinking about it and wondering what would happen next. The story had so much to offer. What peaked my interest right from the beginning were some very interesting history facts that were tied into the story about mental institutions and the sad events that sometimes took place in them. It made me want to read up on the history of these asylums.
The book also had a light romance that developed naturally through it. For a good portion of the book, Wren and Allan were not on the same page spiritually. I like how the author addressed this. She was able to point out how God had been working in Allan’s life, even through terrible events, when he had been unable to see it.
The mystery and suspense in this story was great! The portions of the book when Allan and Wren were inside the asylum were extremely suspenseful. The ending, when everything is finally revealed, felt slightly rushed to me. However, this did not squelch my enjoyment of the story, at all. I have read other books by this author, and have enjoyed them all. Viper’s Nest was my favorite so far. (5 stars)
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Research assistant Wren Bergschneider and her boss, Professor Allan Partner, find themselves targets of a deranged shooter after they emerge from the basement of an old asylum slated for demolition. As their lives take an unexpected and dangerous turn, both the police and the institution’s comptroller want Allan and Wren to cease their research of the historical building.
But the handsome history professor has more at stake than publishing another bestselling biography about Dorothea Dix. He is also quietly investigating the death of his mother, who died under suspicious circumstances while a patient at the mental asylum many years before.
Can they uncover the scandal of the institution before the secrets—or Wren and Allan—are buried forever?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
An award-winning nonfiction writer and former columnist for The Santa Fe New Mexican.
Shirley Raye Redmond has sold 27 books and over 450 articles to a wide variety of publications, including The Pacific Stars and Stripes and Cosmopolitan as well as Highlights for Children and The Christian Standard. Two of her nonfiction children’s titles have sold more than 200,000 copies each.
Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President (Random House) was a Children’s Book of the Month Club selection. Pigeon Hero! (Simon and Schuster) won an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award. Patriots in Petticoats, Heroines of the American Revolution was named one of the best children’s books of the year in 2004, when it was released by Random House.
Her historical romance novel, Rosemary’s Glove, won the 2009 New Mexico Book Award. It was a finalist in the Phoenix Desert Rose Golden Quill Contest that year too.
Shirley Raye has one husband, two grown children, one delightful grandson, and an M.A. in Literature. She has taught a variety of writing and literature courses at the University of New Mexico–Los Alamos campus, WORDHARVEST Writers Workshops, the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference, and many other venues across the country.
You can connect with the author on her website, Facebook, and Stitches Thru Time.
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