Serpent's Teeth

It's Paris, 1617, and Maria is desperately trying to avert the execution of her physician husband Manuel. Despite her friendship with the young King Louis XIII, his execution cannot be delayed indefinitely. Who could have added hemlock to the medicine Manuel had given the tailor? Concino Concini seems the most likely suspect, but when he is murdered by order of King Louis, and his wife Leonora sentenced to death, all hope seems lost. Leonora denies all knowledge of the tailor's poisoning, even as the axe is poised above her neck. As Maria sobs her final farewell to Manuel, a new and shocking possibility dawns on him.

"Serpent's Teeth" by David West is a novel that aptly reveals who people are through their choices, gestures, and reactions, not just by what the narrator says about them. West does not spoon-feed character analysis, rather he trusts the reader to see, to judge, interpret, and discover for themselves. This is unique in that it rejects the modern temptation to over-explain the characters' lives. It also trusts the reader to be an equal partner in meaning-making. Readers will appreciate the suspenseful chapter endings, the book's ticking clock sense where time feels like it's always running out, and multiple threads that it leaves unsolved in-between the chapters, threads whose design is proof of a master storyteller in full command of his craft. For those who seek historical fiction that transports them to another time and space, where the dangers of 17th century Paris, during King Louis XIII and his mother Marie de' Medici's era, are rendered with breathtaking authenticity, this novel is a journey well worth taking. - Historical Fiction Company

"West's latest page-turner will generate anticipation for its forthcoming sequel, while tempting his readers to devour the preceding four Anthony Standen books. A thrilling installment in a series that also succeeds as a stand-alone volume." - Kirkus Reviews