”…wickedly clever suspense” ~Self-Publishing Review
“A fantastic and dark paranormal mystery” ~Readers Favorite
From USA Today bestselling author, Linda Watkins, comes the second installment in the award-winning Kate Pomeroy Mystery series,, The Tao of the Viper…After the events of the summer before, Kate is finally getting her life back on track. She and Jeremy have reconciled and are … events of the summer before, Kate is finally getting her life back on track. She and Jeremy have reconciled and are planning for a life together. But things are not always what they seem. The arrival of a sinister old man, with an agenda of his own, may serve to turn Kate’s ordinary world upside down!
“Fluidly moving between romance and suspense, The Tao of the Viper is a supernatural thriller with teeth, heart, and a visionary mind at the creative helm.” ~Self-Publishing Review
The third novel in the series, Abducted, A Kate Pomeroy Mystery, is in process and expected to be published in early 2020.
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A friend recommended this to me – and I enjoyed it! The Tao of the Viper is the second in the Kate Pomeroy Gothic Mystery series, and it’s pretty scary. It won the Readers Favorite 2020 Gold Medal Winner in Supernatural Fiction.
Kate Pomeroy, a physician, is recovering from what happened to her in the 1st book of this series, and has converted her mansion Stormview into a medical clinic. She’s also engaged to her love, Jeremy, and all looks promising until the clinic’s opening party on Halloween eve, when a feeble but angry grandfather appears, destroys the joy of the party, and reveals his old grudge against Kate along with his cruel plan to punish her and Jeremy. What follows is gothic terror winding through the past and present, scary but also a wild and fun read. With its twists, mystery and romance, it reminded me of Anne Rice and other original horror writers. If you enjoy paranormal and mystery, you’ll enjoy this book. Well done. Five stars!
A Dark, Unique, Suspenseful Read
“The Tao of the Viper” begins with a hurricane approaching South Carolina’s barrier island. Everyone has evacuated except for a wheelchair-bound old man who has the power to command the elements, and he saves his house from destruction. Realizing his energy is deteriorating, the old man heads to Storm Island to stay with his grandson, but he has more in mind than just a friendly visit.
Kate Pomeroy has changed her inherited Stormview Manor into a medical clinic. The clinic’s grand opening celebration is on Halloween. The old man shows up at the event and he glares at Kate and Jeremy, Kate’s fiancé. As he stares at them, he thinks about his sinister plan to seek revenge on Kate due to something Maude Prichard, one of Kate’s ancient relatives, did to him centuries earlier. Instead of going after Kate directly, he has his sights set on Jeremy. The grandfather’s temper rises and he pounds his cane on the floor, putting a serious dent into the evening’s festivities.
With each encounter Jeremy has with the old man, he ends up dazed with a burning temperature and he can’t remember part of time they spent together. As Kate tries to figure out what’s going on, she learns a member of the Russian mafia, who she helped convict, has escaped from jail. Can she stop whatever the old man has in store for Jeremy? And deal with the Russian?
The author, Linda Watkins, has expertly woven together gothic horror, romance, mystery, and suspense in this captivating story. Through her keen imagination, she has created a secret society of supernatural beings that must abide by the way of the viper. The story’s terrifying scenes, left me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys dark supernatural mysteries!
The Tao of the Viper is the second book in the Kate Pomeroy Gothic Mystery series. In this book, Kate, having recovered from the events of the first book, Storm Island, has left her surgical residency behind, is now a family practitioner and is planning on opening a free medical clinic for the residents of the island. Kate is engaged to Jeremy and is the owner of one of four large mansions on the island. Things are going well, until she catches the attention of a mysterious old man who holds a grudge against Kate and her whole family, going back to Maude Prichard, a witch, and also Kate’s distant ancestor. Meanwhile, Vladimir Sokolov, the villain of the first book, has escaped from prison.
Kate, it turns out, has enemies, the existence of whom she has no suspicion, who resent her for events that happened before her birth and of which she has no knowledge.
The plot is indeed Gothic. It’s spooky and mysterious and full of unexpected twists. The characterizations are excellent and the setting, a rocky, isolated island, battered by the sea, and with a long, dark history, nicely sets the tone.
Highly recommended.
Kate is just about over what happened to her in the 1st book of this series-and she is back with her boyfriend. But get ready for some really scary stuff happening. Someone is messing with her head big time–and she found out that the guy she helped put away has managed to escape from jail. Meanwhile there is a really old guy who gives her the creeps–what he is up to will really make you shiver. However Kate manages to use a very new procedure to eradicate a very old evil!!
This series is not to be missed. Although this is the second book in the series it can be read as a stand alone-but you might want to consider reading the first one to see hiow it all began!
I do enjoy a good mystery, I am not really a fan of gothic and supernatural conspiracies but this story held my interest better than I thought it would at first. I didn’t read the first book, but that didn’t seem to matter for me. I like the characters and the way the storyline went. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from Net Galley.
Dr. Kate Pomeroy is recovering from the events of the past summer and has converted Stormview into a state of the art medical clinic. Her friend Steve, from Memorial, has joined her to work as the clinic nurse, and a former trafficking victim, Nadia, is the office assistant with a talent for computers.
Kate and Jeremy are engaged as well, and the clinic’s opening party, on Halloween eve, promises to be a smashing success. That is, until the withered and wheelchair-bound grandfather of one of the manor families, Ian Morrison, causes a scene by thumping his cane on the floor and staring daggers at Kate. The elderly Mr. Morrison has an ancient grudge against the good doctor, for which he plans to cruelly punish her, as well as targeting Jeremy to execute a macabre plan.
And just to keep matters interesting, Kate receives a call from the FBI to let her know that Vladimir Sokolov, who swore vengeance against her when her testimony sent him to federal prison, has escaped.
What follows is a harrowing and nightmarish journey through the past and present, drenched in the undiminished sadism of unrepentant souls. Ms. Watkins writes horror novels as well as mysteries, and Tao of the Viper is packed with spine-chilling terror from every direction of the compass, just like the position of the manor houses on the island. Like Storm Island, Linda Watkins has written another well-constructed mystery, but Tao will leave readers frightened as much as entertained.
This book can be read on its own but it is the second book of a series and you will enjoy it more if you read book 1 first. This picks up shortly after Storm Island. Kate is in the process of setting up her free clinic on Storm Island and still seeing Jeremy. They are planning their future together. It seems she has her happy ever after. Wrong! People are still messing with her mind. Who is it this time? I’m not telling. You will have to read it to see. I thoroughly enjoyed this action packed Gothic mystery/paranormal suspense. I can’t wait to read book 3. Thanks to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this book and review it. And thanks to the author for being so involved in dog rescue.