Title: The Stone Serpent (Dr. Laura Powell #2)

Author: Nicholas Kaufmann

Release date: November 29th, 2022

Firstly, huge thanks to David at Crossroads Press and Nicholas for sending me a digital ARC of this one.

This is a sequel to 2021’s ‘The Hungry Earth’ which I read and really enjoyed earlier this year, and while it is a ‘sequel’ in the sense it continues on with Dr. Laura Powell and the aftermath of what happened, it has moved onto a different plotline. So, if you’ve not read ‘The Hungry Earth’ you’ll be good to dive in here, although you will miss a bit of some of what they discuss surrounding those who didn’t survive book one.

I was curious to see where Kaufmann went with this one. I knew it involved the discovery of a strange, petrified person, but that was about it. So, I dove in head first, not completely sure how deep the water was.

What I liked: Funny enough, it wasn’t until I started this one, that I really understood how enjoyable a character Laura is. She was the star of book one and now, with book two, her and her boyfriend, Booker, become a solid and dependable team, especially after the opening sequence where a young man dies and when his body is found it is solid as a rock.

The story within here is a told at break-neck pacing and Kaufmann does a great job of leaving a few potential possibilities lingering that give us a trail and then diverted as needed. Unlike book one, where we know it’s this crazy fungus infecting everyone, we are not 100% certain of what is going on until finally the reveal occurs and the book shifts into yet another gear.

Much like book one, ‘The Stone Serpent’ has a ton of really intriguing and fantastic research crammed in, with so much of it forcing you to put down the book and head to Google. I guarantee that will happen when you hear the true story of a dog and a discovery involving petrification. Kaufmann has really made sure he’s done his due diligence and the reader is all the better for it.

As for the characters within, we get some really solid new ones, some vile despicable ones and it all works to keep the plot moving along until we get to the bonkers, everything thrown at us ending.

What I didn’t like:  There’s two subplots that push the reader regarding the ‘what is going on’ aspect of the story. I actually found the religious storyline to be fairly formulaic at times – crazy leader, someone challenging them, faith is tested, etc etc. There was the underlying bit about biotech and big company that had me far more intrigued, so I wish we would’ve gotten more in that realm than the religious realm, although it was necessary for the family backstory aspect for Laura.

Why you should buy this: I actually loved this one, while I only liked the first one. Both are great, but if I had to choose, this one would win. We get crazy people, insane attacks and a slithery creature-feature aspect that also leaves the door open for things to continue on in a book three. I for one would love to see more of what Dr. Laura Powell and Booker get up to!

This was a blast!

5/5