The Vipers

By Katy Hays

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of The Cloisters comes this electrifying thriller about an affluent family whose annual retreat to Italy is shattered when a decades-old murder resurfaces . . . think The Talented Mr Ripley meets Succession meets The White Lotus . . . On the glittering island of Capri, anything can be a mirage. But one thing is true- there's nothing deadlier than a family with everything to lose . . . The world was shocked by playwright Sarah Lingate's death thirty years ago at an opulent, white-washed villa on the island of Capri. Absolved of the crime, the Lingate family maintains that what happened that night was a tragic accident. And every July they return to Capri to prove it's true. This time, Helen Lingate - sole heir to the family fortune - has a plan. Tightly controlled by her father, she enlists the help of the family assistant, Lorna Moreno, to free herself from her family's stranglehold on her life. And yet, behind closed doors, the legendary Lingate family unity is at breaking point. Upon arrival at the villa in Capri, an anonymous gift awaits them- the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died. In the aftermath, the paranoid, insular Lingates begin to unravel. As the investigation into her mother's death is reopened, Helen begins to lose trust in everyone around her- her controlling father Richard, drug-addled aunt Naomi, aloof uncle Marcus, and even Lorna, whose past she realizes is frustratingly opaque. And as the family fractures, the long-hidden truth about that night and the secrets they've kept from one another boil to the surface - and they might not leave the island alive. 'Sultry and sophisticated with a menacing undercurrent that keeps you thrillingly unsettled until its final spellbinding twist. Let the languid glamour of Capri gently take you by one hand, an ice cold Negroni in the other, but watch your step - the cliffs are treacherous and so, too, is a family with everything to lose.' RACHEL KOLLER CROFT, author of Stone Cold Fox 'Engrossing and sinister . . . a must-read for 2025.' JULIE CLARK, author of The Last Flight

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0857505971
• ISBN13: 9780857505972
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.4" x 1.2" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

A pit of vipers!

The phrase "lifestyles of the rich and the famous, they're always complaining" kept popping into my head as I read this book. The title is well suited, as you read and see how the Lingates are like vipers, willing to bite and kill to keep their power/money/lifestyle. It is a kind of slow burn thriller with lots of twists as secrets and lies come to light on this week on Capri (as well as a dead body or two). The characters are nicely real, though not really easy to like, even Helen who, with Lorna's help tries to find out the truth about the death of her mother and extract herself from the grasp of her family so that she can live her own life, away from the dark shadows of the past. Though I do like her, and a bit Lorna as they are not quite as rotten to the core. This book, shows well, what lengths anyone could go to for riches and freedom. Told in mostly three views (Lorna, Helen, and Sara), weaving the past and the present, so that the reader gets the whole story. I did not expect that twists but it added to the story nicely and really made the case that the Lingates were a pit of vipers, willing to do anything to stay on top with the power. I did enjoy this novel and I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this!