THE SERPENT’S KISS A divorced, second generation homicide detective out of San Diego, Seamus Moynihan figures he's witnessed the worst kind of violence humans can visit upon one another. Then he's summoned to a crime scene where the victim, a naked man, has been bitten to death by a snake in a bizarre ritual orchestrated by a cunning and vicious murderer. To catch the killer, Moynihan must embark on a mesmerizing journey into a world of twisted eroticism, black-market herpetology, fanatical spiritual cults, and ultimately one of history's enduring mysteries: Who was the second woman? With the help of a Biblical scholar whose theories about the enigmatic wife of Cain may provide a startling link to the current investigation, Moynihan follows a twisting trail that leads to herpetologists on the cutting edge of television celebrity, Internet swingers exploring the dark depths of human sexuality...and a chilling fundamentalist cult in the backwoods of Alabama. As the mystery deepens, weaving together events of the distant and recent past, the veteran detective is forced to confront his own life's choices in a climax that threatens to destroy his sanity. Rights Information Publisher: Atria Books, Hardcover (July 8, 2003) Pocket, Paperback (February 1, 2007) Territory: Rights Available: Film/TV Reviews: "Engaging and satisfying; a good one for a rainy night" - Kirkus "Exciting and well-crafted ... readers won't be disappointed." - Publishers Weekly Blurbs: "THE SERPENT'S KISS pulls you guts-first right through to the back cover. Homicide Detective Seamus Moynihan is relentless in a seamless story that offers fascinating detective teamwork, academic sleuthing, and steamy scenes that make for great reading. Mark Sullivan's many fans will want to see more of Moynihan. I loved this book." - Nelson DeMille Rarely is a book so exciting that I find myself clawing at the pages, trying to turn them fast enough. The SERPENT'S KISS is one of those books, filled with so many shocks and surprises and moments of "oh my god" that I was left exhilarated by the ride. Thrillers just don't get any better than this." - Tess Gerritsen "Sex comes with teeth and liquid fire in Mark Sullivan's dazzling and intelligent thriller, THE SERPENT'S KISS . . . a story that resonates . . . a story that takes on original sin, the sexual interplay between men and women, and the shadow cast by a predator who will keep you awake long into the night. Lock the doors and leave the lights on. You will not sleep until you've turned the last page." - Lynn Hightower "A wickedly good murder tale, guaranteed to spike your pulse and jitter the hands you turn the pages with. Original, too. I've never read a mystery quite like it." - T. Jefferson Parker Purchase at Amazon.com

THE SERPENT’S KISS

A divorced, second generation homicide detective out of San Diego, Seamus Moynihan figures he's witnessed the worst kind of violence humans can visit upon one another. Then he's summoned to a crime scene where the victim, a naked man, has been bitten to death by a snake in a bizarre ritual orchestrated by a cunning and vicious murderer.

To catch the killer, Moynihan must embark on a mesmerizing journey into a world of twisted eroticism, black-market herpetology, fanatical spiritual cults, and ultimately one of history's enduring mysteries: Who was the second woman?

With the help of a Biblical scholar whose theories about the enigmatic wife of Cain may provide a startling link to the current investigation, Moynihan follows a twisting trail that leads to herpetologists on the cutting edge of television celebrity, Internet swingers exploring the dark depths of human sexuality...and a chilling fundamentalist cult in the backwoods of Alabama. As the mystery deepens, weaving together events of the distant and recent past, the veteran detective is forced to confront his own life's choices in a climax that threatens to destroy his sanity.

Rights Information

Publisher: Atria Books, Hardcover (July 8, 2003)
Pocket, Paperback (February 1, 2007)

Territory:

Rights Available: Film/TV

Reviews:
"Engaging and satisfying; a good one for a rainy night" - Kirkus

"Exciting and well-crafted ... readers won't be disappointed." - Publishers Weekly

Blurbs:
"THE SERPENT'S KISS pulls you guts-first right through to the back cover. Homicide Detective Seamus Moynihan is relentless in a seamless story that offers fascinating detective teamwork, academic sleuthing, and steamy scenes that make for great reading. Mark Sullivan's many fans will want to see more of Moynihan. I loved this book." - Nelson DeMille

Rarely is a book so exciting that I find myself clawing at the pages, trying to turn them fast enough. The SERPENT'S KISS is one of those books, filled with so many shocks and surprises and moments of "oh my god" that I was left exhilarated by the ride. Thrillers just don't get any better than this." - Tess Gerritsen

"Sex comes with teeth and liquid fire in Mark Sullivan's dazzling and intelligent thriller, THE SERPENT'S KISS . . . a story that resonates . . . a story that takes on original sin, the sexual interplay between men and women, and the shadow cast by a predator who will keep you awake long into the night. Lock the doors and leave the lights on. You will not sleep until you've turned the last page." - Lynn Hightower

"A wickedly good murder tale, guaranteed to spike your pulse and jitter the hands you turn the pages with. Original, too. I've never read a mystery quite like it." - T. Jefferson Parker

Purchase at Amazon.com