Dr. Kate Pomeroy is recovering from the events of the past summer and has converted Stormview into a state of the art medical clinic. Her friend Steve from Memorial has joined her to work as the clinic nurse, and a former trafficking victim, Nadia, is the office assistant with a talent for computers.

Kate and Jeremy are engaged as well, and the clinic’s opening party, on Halloween eve, promises to be a smashing success. That is, until the withered and wheelchair-bound grandfather of one of the manor families, Ian Morrison, causes a scene by thumping his cane on the floor and staring daggers at Kate. The elderly Mr. Morrison has an ancient grudge against the good doctor, for which he plans to cruelly punish her, in part by targeting Jeremy to execute his macabre plan.

And just to keep matters interesting, Kate receives a call from the FBI to let her know that Vladimir Sokolov, who swore vengeance against her when her testimony sent him to federal prison, has escaped.

What follows is a harrowing and nightmarish journey through the past and present, drenched in the relentless sadism of unrepentant souls. Ms. Watkins writes horror novels as well as mysteries, and Tao of the Viper is packed with spine-chilling terror from every direction of the compass, just like the position of the manor houses on the island. Like Storm Island, Linda Watkins has written another well-constructed mystery, but Tao will leave readers frightened as much as entertained.