Excellent creepy thriller, bordering on horror novel by British author S.J. Bolton. There is a strong focus on snakes (sometimes a wee bit too much information perhaps) used as murder weapons in the deaths of numerous elderly people in a small village. Suspicion is spread between a disfigured veterinarian, a public television snake expert, a religious cult, and young thugs. Author does a phenomenal job keeping the reader guessing and keeping the reader sufficiently on edge as you wonder when the next snake will appear. A few possible ghosts make their appearance as well. Well done.