Reporter Ted Lowe hastens to the scene of a murder because he could use a good story. There, for the first time in his life, he sees a murder victim -- one who was most likely beaten and raped. She is later identified as thirteen-year-old Megan Wright. His editor likes the story and wants a picture of the girl to run. Through cunning, Ted meets Megan's mother and elicits a photograph. He is struck by how very calm she is, and the very matter-of-fact manner in which she is handling Megan's death.

Ted's editor wants him to reconstruct Megan's last day. During his investigation he talks with Megan's divorced father who can barely remember when he saw her last. The father makes a living as a deadbeat surfer. His other line of work comes to light when he is arrested for fronting a drug ring.

While covering the funeral, Ted notices super wealthy Jeremiah Devlin sitting with the mother. His son Brad had been one of Megan's peer group. In fact, Megan had left her house with him the night before she died. The peer group is definitely weird and strong on counter-culture activities. Peppered throughout Ted’s investigation are accounts of seemingly unrelated criminal activities that do much to portray the decay of L.A. Suspects abound and, as he persists in his inquiries, personal troubles begin to mount for Ted.

The plot of The Serpent Club has some unexpected twists but unlike most thrillers, the resolution leaves one fairly empty. While that may be a testament to our times, it would be easier to take if the writing style were more palpable.

The story is delivered in a biting and didactic style as if words were rationed. Told in the first person, there is very little dialogue, and often Ted merely relates what the other characters say. The result is that the reader feels very removed from the action -- as if one were reading a newspaper account.

There is little, if any, character development or even physical description of the characters. In addition, there is little, if any, setting of a scene, and there are definitely no segues between the abrupt scene shifts. The Serpent Club is written as a commentary, almost as if the author did not want the reader to become involved. The result is that the reader remains uninvolved in the story other than as a very remote, distant and uncaring spectator.

--Thea Davis