"Guilt seized Lawson's chest in an iron vise, and for a second--just a second--he considered throwing everything away, lifting his brother off the ground and saying he was sorry, that he'd never hurt him again. He wanted to tell Sutter everything--about the Vipers, the treasure, all the horrible things he'd discovered because of them.
But he knew he couldn't. He was in too deep now. He had to do this alone."
This was the last time Sutter saw his brother--in the older boy's dorm room at Meddlehart Academy on the stormy night that was supposed to have been Lawson's senior prom. When searches were fruitless people started giving up, achieving closure, moving on, putting up a memorial statue on campus...
...But not Sutter. He's convinced that Lawson is alive somewhere. He'll find him--whatever it takes. And he has his besties by his side.
When Sutter finds a mysterious package addressed to him it holds Lawson's missing cell phone. It contains a cryptic message: if anyone asks him how Franklin Thatcher died he should tell them by the fangs of greed. The video leads them to unearth a time capsule containing pictures, a map of the school, and a viper pendant. Sutter is now convinced that Lawson is giving him a clue to the location of the treasure...
...it's a long held legend at Meddlehart. Many people believe it's just a story. But others search for it, a few of them paying the ultimate price. Sutter is convinced that when he finds the treasure he'll have located Sutter.
It turns out that there's a secret society at Meddlehart--the Order of the Vipers--dedicated to finding the treasure. When Sutter and his friends get the chance to try to join they go for it. Sutter is sure membership will bring him closer to his goal...
...if they can survive the incredibly dangerous tests.
If you're in the market for a narrative featuring a secret society, lies and deceit, constant darkness and peril, and a twisty roller coaster of a plot you can't do better than A House of Vipers.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday at 4:00 a.m., instead of quietly getting ready for work, Eugene was doing something noisy inside and outside. It turned out we'd lost water. He was going to cut work and fix it. He had no clue how long it would take. I was all OMG! NO TOILET!!! I spent the day in the library and the evening in the community garden. Realizing the strong possibility of a whole night without access I didn't eat or drink anything all the very hot and humid day. When I got home about 8:00 I was so happy to learn that Eugene had fixed the problem and I could have a nice late supper. Today I ran a bunch of errands. I registered Eugene's motorcycle. And I did a Goodwill/Hannaford run. At Goodwill I found 2 Squishmallows, a Squishmallow journal, and 2 cat shirts. At Hannaford I got ingredients for Katie's favorite cookies, strawberries and raspberries for me, and a brownie mix to make Eugene a yummy dessert 🍨 🥧 🍦 tonight to go with his yummy supper of BBQ chicken, beans from the community garden, and tater tots.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, a man of many talents.
Jules Hathaway
