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The Viper: Birth of Chaos
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jul 26FBI Agent Laura Sellers and her partner Daren Smith are called to the quiet Appalachian town of Burnsville to investigate a string of brutal murders. Lurking in the shadows is the killer himself—soon to be called the Viper—stalking the Burnsville forests. Each victim is gutted and marked with a large, carved V. Balancing her personal life and the investigation, Laura is drawn into a twisted game of cat and mouse. As the Viper stages gruesome tableaus and taunting messages, Laura’s sanity and resolve are pushed to the brink. In this fast-paced psychological thriller, Laura races against time to uncover the Viper’s identity before he strikes again. As the line between hunter and hunted blurs, one question remains: will she catch the Viper—or become his next victim?
156 pages, Paperback
Expected publication July 2, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What did I just read? My heart's still pounding hard as I write this review.
The Viper is a fantastic read - sharp, tense, thrilling, and fast. Each chapter grips you, and before you know it, you've completed the story. The story follows FBI Laura Sellers as she tries to track down a psychotic serial killer. I liked the fact that Laura was not a perfect person and had faults and issues of her own.
To start with, we are introduced to the killer quite early on. The author shows the childhood of the killer and how he turned out to be someone who enjoys killing people. It's quite scary to think that there could be people like the Viper in real life. Each time I read the Viper's POV, I found myself feeling extremely unsettled and freaked out.
I knew this story would be the start of a series; however, I assumed there would be a new story in each book. At the end of the book, I realised that the next book would follow the same story with the police trying to capture the killer. I was slightly put off, as I expected the Viper to be caught by the end, so the ending did take me by surprise.
This book, in many ways, reminded me of Ice Child by Camilla Lackberg, but with much better writing and tension.
The Viper is a fast-paced book with extremely good writing, characters, and plot, leaving you wound up and wanting more long after you finish. I can already tell that this series is going to be one hell of a thrilling ride!
The Viper is a fantastic read - sharp, tense, thrilling, and fast. Each chapter grips you, and before you know it, you've completed the story. The story follows FBI Laura Sellers as she tries to track down a psychotic serial killer. I liked the fact that Laura was not a perfect person and had faults and issues of her own.
To start with, we are introduced to the killer quite early on. The author shows the childhood of the killer and how he turned out to be someone who enjoys killing people. It's quite scary to think that there could be people like the Viper in real life. Each time I read the Viper's POV, I found myself feeling extremely unsettled and freaked out.
I knew this story would be the start of a series; however, I assumed there would be a new story in each book. At the end of the book, I realised that the next book would follow the same story with the police trying to capture the killer. I was slightly put off, as I expected the Viper to be caught by the end, so the ending did take me by surprise.
This book, in many ways, reminded me of Ice Child by Camilla Lackberg, but with much better writing and tension.
The Viper is a fast-paced book with extremely good writing, characters, and plot, leaving you wound up and wanting more long after you finish. I can already tell that this series is going to be one hell of a thrilling ride!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was really excited for this book— having grown up close to the town it is set in, I was looking forward to a dark Appalachian thriller. Unfortunately, this ended up being a DNF due to it being poorly written and even more poorly researched. The moment the author described Burnsville, NC (a cute town north of Asheville with a charming, artsy vibe) as a place that has “always been known for being lower-class,” I realized she had made absolutely zero effort to research the area, and was relying on outdated and offensive stereotypes of what a “rural Appalachian community” would be like.
The writing is incredibly repetitive to the point of regurgitating the same facts over and over without adding any further context or insight. The characters were all static archetypes with no meaningful development or depth, and the dialogue is flat and awkward. Every character spoke robotically. There were multiple times that I was concerned that this was heavily assisted/ generated by AI.
This could have been a good thriller- the concept for the case is excellent, but the bad writing and lack of research makes the entire experience unenjoyable.
The writing is incredibly repetitive to the point of regurgitating the same facts over and over without adding any further context or insight. The characters were all static archetypes with no meaningful development or depth, and the dialogue is flat and awkward. Every character spoke robotically. There were multiple times that I was concerned that this was heavily assisted/ generated by AI.
This could have been a good thriller- the concept for the case is excellent, but the bad writing and lack of research makes the entire experience unenjoyable.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an arc from NetGalley.
DNF :/ I don’t know if it was me or what, but this just seemed repetitive to me. Not to mention the formatting of this book wasn’t great (which isn’t the fault of the author) so it was hard to concentrate and I kept losing my place! It was all smushed together and not formatted as paragraphs. The concept of this was great, so I will give it that.
DNF :/ I don’t know if it was me or what, but this just seemed repetitive to me. Not to mention the formatting of this book wasn’t great (which isn’t the fault of the author) so it was hard to concentrate and I kept losing my place! It was all smushed together and not formatted as paragraphs. The concept of this was great, so I will give it that.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
✨ARC Review✨
A fast paced thriller, diving into the mind of a serial killer and the agent trying to capture him.
I do wish this was a bit more detailed and in depth, as I felt the characters were a bit flat and I couldn't connect with them very well.
Story wise, this was chilling and gruesome with a shocking ending that leaves you itching for more.
A fast paced thriller, diving into the mind of a serial killer and the agent trying to capture him.
I do wish this was a bit more detailed and in depth, as I felt the characters were a bit flat and I couldn't connect with them very well.
Story wise, this was chilling and gruesome with a shocking ending that leaves you itching for more.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews