Season of the Snake

March 1, 2005
A naturalist's difficult relationship with her sister collides with her second husband's hidden violent streak in Davis's second novel, an entertaining albeit predictable thriller set in eastern Washington near the Idaho border. Herpetologist Nance Able lives a seemingly quiet, stable existence with her second husband, Ned, a pleasant but aloof school principal. The fly in the family ointment appears to be Nance's sister, Meredith, who has a flair for attracting abusive boyfriends and lovers, a tendency that helped get Nance's first husband, Joe, killed. But trouble begins when the uneasy truce between Ned and Meredith begins to fray and the tension affects Nance and Ned's marriage. As the couple becomes increasingly distant, Nance notices Ned's increasingly lengthy forays away from home, and she is horrified when she discovers his shady second life. Davis does a solid job of generating suspense and tension, although the initial chapters that flash back to Joe's death are underdeveloped and the final confrontation between the three protagonists isn't really a surprise. But the biggest problem with the novel is Ned, whose character never develops enough dimension and depth to make his violent side truly terrifying. The result is a decent read that could have been much more intriguing with a few small improvements.

February 1, 2005
Snakes figure prominently in this follow-up to Winter Range, which won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. Nance is a herpetologist studying rattler migration along the Snake River in Idaho and Washington. A snake is also a treacherous, insidious person, and it is readily apparent that Nance's charming but staid school principal second husband, Ned, is hiding some major psychological dysfunction. When Nance's reckless younger sister Meredith moves nearby, Ned's careful equilibrium teeters, and his behavior becomes increasingly erratic and violent, like a snake whose nest has been disturbed. Meredith has a history of abusive relationships, and Nance secretly blames her for inadvertently causing the death of Nance's first love. The tension between the sisters is palpable, and it's only when Ned turns on Nance that she is able to feel empathy for Meredith. Ned's back story lacks depth, but vivid scenery and a tangible impression of ominous menace will appeal to fans of literary psychological suspense. For Northwest fiction collections.-Christine Perkins, Burlington P.L., WA

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