This book will give you nightmares
I love Sadie Jones and the way in which her book make small family dramas so tense,
Newly weds on an adventure but how much do they know each other.

I cried.

I really enjoyed this book. It was engrossing and original and nothing like I was expecting it to be. I have never read this author before but I will certainly look out for more of her books now.

Wow. This was completely different to the usual offerings. A novel that is dark (think Stephen King) but with the characters and flourish of something much more literary - Edward St Aubyn, perhaps, and especially given the milieu that the characters inhabit. Bea and her husband are happy, or so it seems. They've got just enough money (thanks to the 'cushion' Bea insists on), and are planning a holiday in France. That's when things start to go wrong. We meet Bea's drop-out brother Alex, her dysfunctional parents, the village's bumbling homicide police. By the end of the novel, Hitchcock's psycho would not be out of place. The story is grim, brutal, yet beautifully written and - probably - moral at its core. I hugely enjoyed it (if enjoyed is the word). By the hideous finale, the eponymous and symbolic snakes at the top of the farm house are the least of Bea's problems.

Dan was brought up by his single mother in a South London flat. After his foundation year at art college he marries Bea, he knows there is family money but Bea wants nothing to do with her parents and they settle into life struggling to make ends meet. They decide to go for a trip to Europe, to spend their precious savings and decide what to do with their lives as Bea has made a promise to her brother, they go to stay at his hotel in Burgundy. However nothing is as it seems, the hotel is empty and unfinished, Bea's parents turn up and then Alex disappears.
I loved this book simply because it is so clever and with so many twists and turns. None of the characters is particularly likeable, Bea is self-righteous, Dan easily swayed by the chance of money and the rest of the family is even worse. At the start of the book I thought it was going to be a 'navel-gazing' piece of hard work, it was just not that. There are so many sub currents in the plot - wealth, abuse, values and morals are key but add in racism, poverty and crime and the surface is barely scratched. Although the snakes of the title are present, it more about the ideas that snakes conjure up, the ideas of venom, slippery, shedding skins, suffocation, poison etc, an unusual but very apt set of similes. This is a brilliant novel that begs to be appreciated and I particularly liked the fact that there is no happy ending, how could there be?

A brilliantly tense and original novel. Please buy this and be prepared for a real immersive read. The characters are real and the story compelling.
4/5 on goodreads.

It's tricky to write a review of this one without giving away any spoilers and I would recommend that readers come to this without knowing too much. I am prepared to share that it's an astonishingly good book! The characters are so well drawn, and there is an unsettling air of menace and claustrophobia as soon as Dan and Bea arrive in France and this gets worse and worse as the novel goes on! I found it impossible to stop revisiting the story and its many themes once I'd finished the final page.

I've already started recommending it to all my friends and it would be an excellent choice for a book group. A haunting, memorable read, I loved it!

I absolutely loved The Snakes. I've long been a fan of Sadie Jones' novel but this one is outstanding because it contains all the elements that I loved from her previous novels - domestic detail, atmosphere, narrative, character - but with a splash of Patricia Highsmith. The sense of menace that builds within the novel - the symoblic Snakes in the attic - and the ending are brilliant. Definitely in my top reads of 2019

Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Random House for this e-ARC

I finished reading Sadie Jones' novel 'The Snakes' a while ago and yet I cannot stop thinking about it. It is an outstanding novel and incredibly thought provoking, tackling the very complicated, and corrupt nature of money upon human relationships (particularly familial ones), especially its perversive role of power and controlling those we claim to love (and there is, of course, the unpleasant matter of how the copious amount of money has been earned and at whose disadvantage).

This is such a cleverly crafted novel, Jones' best work so far. The novel is beautifully written, with gorgeous descriptive passages about surroundings and excellently depicted fully rounded complex characters ('His voice was a sandpaper baritone with a diesel boom, consistently aggressive, the difference between a joke and an attack not easily felt out.') and the author a master of pacing and rhythm.

The novel is a horror story where the author unravels concepts of good and evil in great depth and great unease to the reader. The setting is mainly a paradisiacal hotel (whose rooms are aptly named after the Seven Deadly Sins – Dan and Beatrice stay in the Hubris room) set in the idyllic French countryside (their neighbours are cultish Christians with an altarpiece in their barn and who are strange and feel dangerous), and Beatrice and Dan represent a modern-day Adam and Eve (with the male/female roles inverted – Dan is the one attracted to the forbidden fruit while Beatrice represents purity and honesty in her attempt to shrug off the grasping fingers of greed). The literal and figurative snakes slyly slither into their lives (Alex is obsessed with capturing them, Beatrice's encounter with the snake occurs when she has let her guard down and is sleeping). Throughout the novel, we are aware that something is nightmarishly wrong and out of place (and wish Dan and Bea would just leave) but we are drawn to the characters through their revealing conversations (including their views about religion and money) and their predicaments. The final chapters will blow you away, absolutely fantastic writing with a very cinematographic finale.

3.5 stars
The Snakes is quite a strange book. To start with, the genre is undetermined: it's too slow for a thriller and not much is really happening; possibly a family drama. The characters are well drawn out and the writing is atmospheric but on the whole, I thought the story was pretentious and let down but the ending.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

You can rely on Sadie Jones to write good, well-rounded and naturally flawed characters and this novel is no exception.
Psychologist Bea, and her husband Dan, decide to take a few months out travelling but their plans are thwarted by Bea's family. She has tried to keep her life separate from her parents' embarrassingly lavish and borderline-corrupt lifestyle but it was bound to catch up with her, and it does – with consequences.
A fantastically written, slow-burner. It has some potentially triggering themes, including abuse. I'm still reeling from the ending, I know other readers haven't been happy with it but I think I understand it and it wouldn't put me off recommending it to other readers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read The Snakes in exchange for an honest review.

Much of this book was so well written and intriguing. The actions taken by some characters were unbelievable at times, although I'm quite happy to suspend disbelief for the sake of a good story. However as I realised what lay behind the main characters loathing of her mother, it became slightly appalling and extremely frustrating. Felt cheated by the ending, which did not give the resolution or retribution you might hope for. I know many authors don't like to ties everything up in a bow at the end and this was probably intentional but it did leave me dissatisfied.

I found this a gripping read, with so many layers to peel beneath. The characters were brilliantly drawn, true to life, with flaws and morals or lack of. The focus on greed and the evil money provokes made for a great central theme, looking at the impact on family and loved one that money and power and control all have. Literally a nest of snakes. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

This book was eloquently written but after investing so much time in this family and its dynamics I feel cheated by the ending.

Bea is making her own way in the world, turning her back on the money and privilege her family could offer but dark deeds within have left her shunning their offerings. Having met the man of her dreams but feeling stuck in a rut they decide to visit her brother, Alex, in France before travelling further into Europe.

The hotel that Alex runs is in disrepair and there is little sign of any visitors. They are enjoying each other’s company when their parents arrive and the consequences of this prove fatal, but who is to blame?

There is no doubt that this author is gifted with words and we are led on a journey of intimate discovery of each of the characters. My heart was in my mouth for the last 30 or so pages and it was therefore somewhat of a disappointment that the ending was so cruelly and abruptly halted. What happened next???

Divided into four parts and set, for the most part, in contemporary Hampstead, Peckham and Paligny, rural France, we follow the lives of millennial Bea (tattooed with a tiny flame to signify her link with Dante’s adored Beatrice) her husband Dan and her addict older brother Alex, whom she loves dearly despite – and perhaps because of – his many shortcomings. He is the only one in the family who has ever been kind to her, she tells Dan.
On the surface, Bea is typical of her age and education. She is a psychotherapist; she worries about the state of the world; she lives in a tiny flat, paying a crippling mortgage; she loves her new husband very much. However, she loathes her parents, Griff and Liv, and will have as little to do with them as possible. They do not attend her wedding; she refuses to share in any of her father’s substantial fortune, and she can hardly bring herself to speak to her mother. As the story develops the reader is able to fully sympathise with her unusual position; Mr and Mrs Adamson’s surname is most apt, reminding the reader of the central character in the bible story about original sin, a story which grows in significance as Bea and Dan arrive in France to stay with Alex.
In Alex’s defunct hotel in Paligny the snakes of the title climb up the creepers and enjoy the safety of the attic. He tries to trap them with little success; indeed one afternoon, Bea falls asleep in the garden, waking to discover one curled up on her belly, asleep itself. No harm is done but the strange atmosphere at the hotel is ominous, unsettling the holidaymakers. It comes as little surprise when the first tragedy of the novel occurs.
Just as the snake in the Garden of Eden is both a snake and a symbol of evil, Sadie Jones explores the nature of evil throughout the novel. We fear for Bea; will she succumb to all the corruption that she’s fought against? Will her husband be tempted by riches he can hardly imagine? Who else will be drawn to Griff’s wealth and Liv’s extravagance? To write more about the actual plot would be to spoil the slow build-up of tension as Bea and Dan begin to understand how little they know of each other. The severity of Griff and Liv’s crimes is finally understood and, whilst neither of them commit murder in person, they both destroy their children. This is a very sad, compelling read. Sadie Jones reminds us that evil is part of life. It is insidious and destructive and those who do evil neither see nor care that this is so.
My thanks to NetGalley and Chatto & Windus for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Yes yes yes. An amazingly written, tense and atmospheric novel full of layers and convincing characters. I missed my stop on the way to work so many times whilst reading this, on the edge of my seat until the final devastating moments - I’m still reeling from the ending.

I absolutely adore this an will be recommending to all my friends.

I'd say The Snakes is like a concoction of Virginia Woolf meeting Sally Rooney. It grabs you from the very beginning with its consuming portrayal of a young woman, and the way her interior life is portrayed is especially strong. Super twisty and gripping, I was literally racing through the final chapters as I NEEDED to find out what happened! Sadie Jones has absolutely smashed it and I'll be sure to post about this one.

I recently read Sadie Jones’ excellent Fallout and worried this wouldn’t compete. I was rapidly proved wrong as I became instantly involved in this story about Bea, a young woman trying to escape her rich and toxic family, and her husband Dan, an artist working miserably as an estate agent but respectful of Bea’s insistence on taking nothing from her father. A trip to Europe begins with a stop in France at her brother Alex’s run down, snake infested hotel, closely followed by the (to Bea), alarming news that the parents are coming to stay.. This is a story about money and family, greed and damage. The story moves into thriller territory towards the end, but despite the breathtaking pace, Jones never loses the smaller moments, or the perfection of her characterisation.

I have read all of Sadie Jones’ novels and was thrilled to have the opportunity to read her new book. Bea and Dan, a young married couple, arrange a grown up ‘gap year’, aiming to travel through France. They take the opportunity to visit her troubled brother Alex who is starting up a hotel with the investment of their wealthy parents. Whilst they are staying at the hotel, a terrible event occurs which brings all the old issues and bitterness back to the fore. A highly literary thriller, The Snakes is beautifully written and really grips as it hurtles towards its conclusion.

Bea wants to help everyone, even a troubled young woman with a knife who she sees when she pops into a charity shop to buy her handsome husband, Dan a leather bag as a gift. She gives tirelessly of herself as an NHS psychologist and lives a frugal, eco life relsihing coming home to their tiny one bed flat. Her husband Dan isn't so happy, an aspiring artist he has given up his dreams to contribute towards the mortgage by working as a letting agent, a job he hates. He persuades Bea that they should use their "cushion" (savings) to go on a road trip around Europe. Bea suggests that they call in to see her brother, Alex, a recovering addict who is renovating and running a hotel. Dan agrees as Bea is estranged from her parents, who he hasn''t met them.

The hotel is decrepit and has the titular snakes residing in the attic and grounds. Dan dislikes Alex and swhen Bea's parents show up he starts to question just how wealthy Bea's parents are and why she won't make their life easier by accepting money from them. On an errand for their bully of a father, Alex is shockingy killed and the narrative follows the family and their shifting dynamics as the police investigate. adn we discover the shocking family secret that has haunted Bea.

I enjoyed this novel, it really surprises. I thought we were going to have some sort of powerplay between Alex and Dan in the stifling hot FRench countryside, but then Bea's dreadful but immensely wealthy parents are brought into the mix and we discover why Alex and Bea are so damaged. Blindsided, Alex's death becomes a murder investifgation and then the narrative becomes a thriller. It ends a bit suddenly, which disappointed me a bit, but that was because it was so good, I wnated to learn more.

The setting of a run-down hotel in Burgundy was appealing and add in to the equation, a murder and a mystery to be solved, then this promised to constitute a good read. Jones portrays the main characters quite well. For example you are made to swing from feeling annoyed and frustrated with the brother one moment, to feeling pity and great sorrow for him, especially as his relationship with his mother is revealed. This is perhaps why, although you know he must be involved in something undesirable, you are still somewhat surprised at his demise. The relationship between the two main characters was sometimes strong and believable but at other times it didn't ring true for me and they became quite annoying..
Whilst the introduction was exciting and does re-enter the book later, I didn't really understand the full relevance of the drama in it.
The plot dragged a little for me at times but, I have to say, that Jones did not flinch from providing what would probably be a more realistic and likely, although more unexpected ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chatto and Windus (Random House UK, Vintage Publishing) for this copy in exchange for an honest review.