"The Serpent and the Menace brilliantly blends the mystery and crime thriller genres and can be enjoyed from both the fictional thriller and historical aspect." –Anne Brownlow, ex-criminal investigator

John Doby is many things: a venomous snake hobbyist and societal dissident with a list of priors not for the faint of heart, an autodidact versed in herpetology and Native American languages—and according to some, a “carnival attraction” and “welfare queen.” But is he the person responsible for the disappearance of local boy, JC Wagoner, in this quiet community?

Is John involved? Glenn Barnes thought. Does he know anything? Maybe JC ran away. Maybe that was all. It stuck in a sore spot in her imagination, a bad neighborhood in her brain. She arrived at John’s, feeling a bit through-the-looking-glass, approaching the porch of this dilapidated trailer, wondering why she was there. Feeling suddenly guilty—always guilty for something or another—for needing this particular distraction, for feeding off it like a bored housewife. Her Mission Hills home with its wild rose-lined fences was only three hours away but sometimes, it felt like a million. Her stomach was uneasy as she made her way up the dry-rotted stairs, alone, deep in the backwoods…hoping for what? A peek through the keyhole? Was there a dark undercurrent running through her old home town…a grim truth coiled quietly just below the surface?

In this serpentine tale of rural decay, Alice Curtis explores what “home” really means when it is constantly vanishing beneath your feet and what we are made of when met with our greatest fears.

The setting of this book is well-researched and based on a mining community-turned ghost town in northeastern Oklahoma, described in a report by journalist Garrett Lewis as “the biggest environmental disaster you’ve never heard of," and an area the EPA once declared “the most dangerous hazardous waste site in the nation.”

READERS ARE SAYING

“Incisive, hilarious, steeped with localisms that build atmosphere. I love how modern and real the style is, perfect for a thriller, never flowery or overcomplicated. So witty, dry, and cutting… impressive; entertaining.”

"Perhaps more than anything, I found that this book encapsulates the freedom of the ‘90s in such a beautiful and ephemeral way. The pacing of the story is well crafted and executed. From start to finish, I don’t think I put down the book once...an incredibly tight book, a page-turner in a non-traditional sense, and populated with fantastic characters. It’s honestly a book that makes me excited to read in general, and something that sticks with me hours, even days, after I finished it." –Nathaniel Faro Mellor

"I was immediately sucked in and thoroughly enjoyed these fascinating characters and setting—a brilliantly woven together story that is not only raw and intense, but powerful and poignant. I found myself identifying and empathizing with so many aspects of the characters…such realness and authenticity. And the setting provides a whole other level of depth to their lives...An intense, real, and still raw history of the land and the people who occupy it. Really beautifully done!"