'Suspense is more or less guaranteed' - The Observer
Midwinter in London's plush Eaton Square, and Philip, a sickly ten-year-old boy is left in the charge of the house staff. But danger lurks, as the staff - a chauffeur and a maid - have their own plans for Philip now his mother is gone. With the help of a former French paramilitary terrorist of the Algerian War, they intend to kidnap the boy and hold him for ransom.
In an unforeseen twist, however, Philip takes his own little adventure, and unwittingly brings home a black mamba, one of the world's most venomous snakes... Dr Marion Stowe, a researcher at the Institute for Toxicology, knows there's been a mistake when she finds a house snake in place of a mamba among her latest deliveries. Tracking it down, she alerts the police to the odd events taking place inside the house on Eaton Square.
It's a job for London's toughest hostage-negotiator and infamous siege-breaker, Detective Chief Superintendent William Bulloch. But even his methods might not save Philip and Dick from the reptilian terror inside the house.
Venom is the thrilling and suspenseful tale of a hostage situation with a deadly twist.
'The characters are warm and real, the gritty, ironic drama is genuinely earned (no coincidences, no melodrama), and the place and time come alive.' - Kirkus Reviews
Alan Scholefield was born in 1931 in Cape Town, South Africa. After leaving university he became a journalist and travelled widely in southern and central Africa, Europe, and America. He now lives in Hampshire with his wife and has three daughters. Most famous for his Macrae and Silver series. Venom was made into a film in 1981.
Genre: Mystery
Midwinter in London's plush Eaton Square, and Philip, a sickly ten-year-old boy is left in the charge of the house staff. But danger lurks, as the staff - a chauffeur and a maid - have their own plans for Philip now his mother is gone. With the help of a former French paramilitary terrorist of the Algerian War, they intend to kidnap the boy and hold him for ransom.
In an unforeseen twist, however, Philip takes his own little adventure, and unwittingly brings home a black mamba, one of the world's most venomous snakes... Dr Marion Stowe, a researcher at the Institute for Toxicology, knows there's been a mistake when she finds a house snake in place of a mamba among her latest deliveries. Tracking it down, she alerts the police to the odd events taking place inside the house on Eaton Square.
It's a job for London's toughest hostage-negotiator and infamous siege-breaker, Detective Chief Superintendent William Bulloch. But even his methods might not save Philip and Dick from the reptilian terror inside the house.
Venom is the thrilling and suspenseful tale of a hostage situation with a deadly twist.
'The characters are warm and real, the gritty, ironic drama is genuinely earned (no coincidences, no melodrama), and the place and time come alive.' - Kirkus Reviews
Alan Scholefield was born in 1931 in Cape Town, South Africa. After leaving university he became a journalist and travelled widely in southern and central Africa, Europe, and America. He now lives in Hampshire with his wife and has three daughters. Most famous for his Macrae and Silver series. Venom was made into a film in 1981.
Genre: Mystery
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for Alan Scholefield's Venom