SNAKES OF ST. AUGUSTINE

Pinholster presents a literary novel about troubled people and stolen reptiles in Florida.

When some snakes are stolen from 60-year-old Trina Leigh Dean’s St. Augustine serpentarium, she has a pretty good idea that her sister, Chelsea, was involved. Chelsea has a history of hard drug use, and it’s likely that she would sell the creatures for quick cash. Gethin Jacobs is a snake aficionado who’s “a little off the drumbeat”; for example, when Gethin’s girlfriend, Rocky, insisted he get rid of his pet snakes, he was so upset he locked himself in his room for three days. He also has his own history of addiction. When Gethin goes missing from his fitness influencer sister Serena’s home, she becomes concerned and eventually learns that Gethin and Chelsea have run off together. Enter Jaswinder “Jazz” McGinness, a likable but strange fellow who currently resides in the local park. He's infatuated with Serena and believes that he can help her find Gethin; he often rambles on about nothing in particular and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which he refuses to treat. Serena doesn’t particularly trust Jazz, but desperate times call for desperate measures. As it turns out, tracking down Gethin is only the beginning of the story; Pinholster’s novel is populated by many other memorable characters; they include a policeman nearing retirement and drug addicts with penchants for jester hats. They’re frequently kooky but nuanced and very much a part of an immersive world of Floridian humidity and desperation. Everyone is shown to have their own difficulties, but they often have clear goals in life. Some elements prove repetitive, however; for example, readers are unnecessarily told more than once about what happened to Serena’s father and that Chelsea had a difficult upbringing. Ultimately, though, the deep characterization will keep readers invested. It’s intriguing to find out who, despite life’s pitfalls, experiences what Jazz defines as an “arc of light that leads to heaven and knows no end.”

An often endearing, character-driven tale set in a strange, swampy, yet familiar world.