I thought the first half of this book really dragged, but eventually got caught up in the apprehension of a child abducter/rapist/murderer by the head of the Crimes Against Youth unit, who has to deal with phonied evidence that he too is a pedophile. ( )

Terrible read.

1. I don't like obfuscation for the sake of obfuscation.
2. The main character is about one binge short of needing AA while being fitted for a straight jacket.
3. The author was way too squeamish about "follow through" (though I'm extremely thankful) considering the topic.
4. Melinda isn't punished. I call shenanigans on that. She gets away because he loved her? He caused her pain? He done her wrong? Bulls---.
5. The only character I cared about was the puppy. ( )

A great story...though I felt like I needed to take a shower to wash the yuck of me after reading it. Not saying it was bad..the opposite. The villan of the story was portrayed to well, he made my skin crawl. That the characters were so real just made the story better. It is about very touchy subject matter, pedophilla, and some parts are in depth and overly disturbing, which they're meant to be. Most of us don't, or try not to, think about such subject, but Mr. Parker makes us take full notice of just how easy the "creep" could be your neighbor or the person on the corner.
The "hero" cop, Terry Naughton struggles with his own inner demons as well as chasing down the ones on the streets in the CAY (Crimes Against Youth) division. Dealing with jealous co-workers, home life and his past at the same time trying to hunt down the newest in a series of pedo's hunting down children.
I love the story, the characters, and the twists it takes. The characters jumped to life for me and the story didn't disappoint. ( )

A page-turner for sure, but with a plausibility issue: a Master-Mind Obsessive Bad Guy a la Hannibal Lector. Too bad because the rest of the book including the other characters are definitely up to Parker standard. Still an excellent cheeseburger read. ( )

A vicious child molester called The Horridus is on the loose. The serpents of the title are real, as is the terror Parker manages to evoke with the intense power of his writing. A 9- year-old girl sold for sex by her parents. This, among much more intense writing is in store for the reader of this novel. ( )