Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. The Vipers is a thrilling murder mystery, that had me hooked from start to finish. Katy Hays writes such fantastic villains, it was so hard to guess whodunnit because it could have been anyone. Five stars.

The Vipers takes us to the glittering yet deceptive island of Capri, where the famous Lingate family returns every year to revisit the site of a tragedy that shocked the world. Thirty years ago, playwright Sarah Lingate died at the family’s luxurious villa. Although her death was ruled a tragic accident, the whispers of foul play have never truly faded. Each July, the Lingates return to Capri, determined to uphold their version of events.

But this time, Helen Lingate, the family’s sole heir, has other plans. Tightly controlled by her overbearing father, Helen seeks the help of the family assistant, Lorna Silva, in an attempt to finally free herself from her family's iron grip. However, the Lingates’ seemingly unbreakable unity begins to unravel when an unsettling gift awaits them upon arrival: the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died.

As tensions rise and the investigation into Sarah’s death is reopened, Helen starts to doubt everyone around her, including her controlling father, her drug-addled aunt Naomi, her distant uncle Marcus, and even Lorna, whose past is shrouded in mystery. With the family at breaking point and the truth threatening to come to light, old grudges and long-hidden secrets emerge, and it becomes clear that the Lingates might not all leave Capri alive.

The Vipers is a gripping, well-written book filled with twists that will keep you guessing until the very end. Just when you think you have it figured out, everything changes, making for a thrilling and unpredictable read. With its vivid setting, intricate family dynamics, and mounting suspense, it’s a must-read for anyone who enjoys a tense, twisty family drama.

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A little disappointed by this book which I didn't enjoy as much as the author's previous work, The Cloisters. For a start, the wealthy family is so far removed from my life that it was hard to empathise with the characters and secondly I was left feeling they rather brought it all on themselves. The setting, on the island of Capri, whilst well described, is also unfamiliar to me.
In the beginning I sympathised with Helen and Lorna and was willing them to succeed, but in the last twenty percent of the book with all the twists and turns, I'd given up on them as much as I had the other characters.
The book relies too much on keeping things from the reader so all the reveals, rather than being a matter of 'why didn't I see that', really are big reveals.
Having said that, the book is well written and plot will keep you guessing until the end if only because a whole lot changes near the end.
With thanks to Netgalley and Transworld, Penguin Random House for an early copy in return for an honest review.

Helen is the daughter of Richard Lingate, second son of a wealthy american"Old Money" family., and currently the only heir. Although she has an enviable lifestyle she feels completely bound in by the family and wants to break free. Thirty years ago her mother died, found at the bottom of the cliffs near their summer holiday villa on Capri. and now the whole family is back there as they are every summer. Helen conceives a plan to br's PA.free which she shares with her friend Lorna, her uncle's PA. They are close to success when Lorna disappears with the money and is found dead at sea a couple of days later. The police start to investigate, not only Lorna's death, but re-open the inquiry into Helen's mother's death too.. The investigation re-opens old wounds and family tensions. The truth will out and nothing we believed about the family at the out set is true. Enjyable follow-up to her first book, The Cloisters.

I have never read anything like it a running monologue interspersed with flashbacks of memory or inspiration an unedited proof a meandering of thought a interrupted conversation hard to follow but interesting in the way that you look out for inspiration in creative thought processes a circular motion of original thought and repeat but the story developing making you think this repeating must be inevitable in how the story develops. I have not finished but I'm intrigued