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THE SERPENT'S KISS is Mark T. Sullivan's sixth book. Detective Sergeant Seamus Moynihan is a less than desirable hero. He is a womanizer and not the best father, although that flaw is more the result of his job rather than for lack of trying. Luckily for Moynihan, he seems to live in a world where he does not need to worry about HIV. A cleaning maid finds a body. Her first impression is that he died of Ebola and creates a panic as hazard suits are pulled out of storage. Moynihan is pulled from his son's ball game in order to assume authority over the investigation. It quickly becomes apparent that the dead man died due to the venom from numerous snakebites rather than a biological epidemic. There is also evidence that the body was tied up. The restraints are missing; however, there is evidence of swelling. Unfortunately, for Moynihan, the apartment was swept clean shortly after the murder. Then the next body is found in a similar manner, only this time he is still tied up. All of the evidence quickly points to sex games gone terribly wrong. Moynihan must find his killer before another person is murdered. THE SERPENT'S KISS focuses a lot on Christian ideology. The use of the serpent is an obvious giveaway. After all, a snake gave Eve the "forbidden fruit" in the Garden of Eden. The book also questions the idea of the second woman; of Cain's wife or Lilith. This person has many different roles in different religions; yet, all of these roles are evil. Luckily, Sullivan does not force a specific religious belief on his readers. In fact, excluding the parts that deal with this theory, religion is not discussed. None of his characters discuss their opinions regarding the theory of Lilith or the use of snakes in some religious ceremonies. This complete disassociation seemed unusual but Sullivan most likely did not want to offend any of his readers. This book did have an undercurrent connecting the idea of sex with religion, i.e. having sex with a person and then killing them with a serpent; however, this idea was not fleshed out. This is the only real explanation for the uses of sex scenes. They were neither truly necessary to the plot nor necessary for character development. That is assuming Sullivan does not think his reading audience is titillated by the description of other people involved in sexual acts. THE SERPENT'S KISS was interesting; however, it lacked a vital element to grab the reader, which forces him or her to finish the book in one reading. Sullivan does have the ideas necessary to write successful mysteries, he now just needs to continue to hone his skills.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, August 2003
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