The Vipers

Paperback Published on: 26/03/2026
Price: £9.99
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Bookseller Reviews

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The Vipers
A Real Nest of Vipers in this Crime Readers Dream!
This family drama has all the hallmarks of a runaway success with plotting that is simply outstanding and writing that is so intricate and so captivating I... READ MORE
Steven at Bluewater
The Vipers
A novel to savour.
The Vipers is Katy Hays second novel and what a second novel it is! Set on the island of Capri the holiday retreat of the rich and famous, where secrets a... READ MORE
Jo Morpeth
The Vipers
More twists than a rattlesnake’s tail
I loved The Cloisters, Katy Hays’s debut, so was very happy to receive an early copy of The Vipers to review, anticipating a thoroughly atmospheric and com... READ MORE
Beth at Chesterfield
The Vipers
A gripping and glamorous whodunit.
Katy Hays delivers a gripping and atmospheric psychological thriller in The Vipers. The novel masterfully explores the darker side of ambition, obsession, ... READ MORE
James, Canterbury.
The Vipers
Murder Mystery meets “Eat the rich”
This was a great read! I loved the Cloisters so immediately wanted to pick this up as well and I can now say I was not disappointed at all. The plot tw... READ MORE
Charlotte at Carlisle

Synopsis

The story of an hugely wealthy family whose annual retreat to Italy is shattered when a decades-old murder resurfaces and exposes a nestful of lies and betrayals. Here is an unsettling, electrifying thriller for all who loved Succession and 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.

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
  • ISBN: 9781804994023
  • Number of pages: 336
  • Dimensions: 198 x 130 x 20 mm
  • Weight: 233g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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The Vipers
Packed full of secrets
‘On the glittering island of Capri…. anything can be a mirage. And one thing is true: There’s nothing deadlier than a family with everything to lose... READ MORE
Rachel Hasler
The Vipers
Dazzling murder mystery
The Vipers is a dazzling murder mystery set on Capri during two time periods. A vile family called the Lingates holidays on Capri every year, despite one o... READ MORE
Sam Williams
The Vipers
A family full of secrets
I absolutely adored The Cloisters by Katy Hays, a gripping and summer soaked novel set in a museum full of Renaissance art. The Vipers has a similarly head... READ MORE
Dabarai
The Vipers
A great mystery
Thirty years after her mother's death, the daughter of a rich family revisits the scene. She quickly learns that secrets will be revealed over a sweltering... READ MORE
Jim
The Vipers
Entertaining
Mystery thriller, superbly entertaining. I had read The Cloisters by Katy Hays, so was looking forward to reading this new book. I was not to be disappoint... READ MORE
Peter Thorburn
The Vipers
Vipers
I have never read anything like it a running monologue interspersed with flashbacks of memory or inspiration an unedited proof a meandering of thought a in... READ MORE
Claire Flanagan
The Vipers
An enjoyable read
This seems to also be published under the title ‘Saltwater’. Set on Capri, this ia a mystery with reveals that I was not expecting. It does seem to drag a ... READ MORE
Liz
The Vipers
The Vipers
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. The Vipers is a thrilling murder mystery, that had me hooked from start ... READ MORE
Emma Renshaw
The Vipers
Suspenseful and twisty
‘On the glittering island of Capri…. anything can be a mirage. And one thing is true: There’s nothing deadlier than a family with everything to lose... READ MORE
Rachel Hasler
The Vipers
Four stars!
The Vipers takes us to the glittering yet deceptive island of Capri, where the famous Lingate family returns every year to revisit the site of a tragedy th... READ MORE
The Secret Book Review
The Vipers
Great Read!
Thank you to the publishers for this early review copy. This is an excellent second novel which I am very happy to recommend to all. Katy is a fabulous w... READ MORE
Fiona Sharp
The Vipers
Absolutely riveting
An adventure set on a beautiful island with a wealthy but dysfunctional family. The scene had been set decades earlier for this family; and woven through w... READ MORE
Gillian Frost
The Vipers
Money really can't buy happiness - but it can try
An essay on the many ways that money can't buy happiness. It's a twisty turny tale of a very rich family and their hangers on, as Helen holidays with her f... READ MORE
Sarah Wood
The Vipers
A cracking read!
The Isle of Capri juts jaggedly into the Mediterranean, a playground of the rich and a bustling tourist haunt. Every year it plays host to a nest of monstr... READ MORE
Celia Short
The Vipers
Immersive
What a brilliant twisty story. Gripped from the start and surprised by each unexpected turn that took the plot in a totally different direction. The cover ... READ MORE
Anita Wallas
The Vipers
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 ... READ MORE
K. Bickmore
The Vipers
Perfect twisty turny summer read
A sun soaked mystery set in Capri and dripping with dysfunctional family dynamics, lies and scandal. Written from a multi-person perspective, we try to dis... READ MORE
T Edwards