First Lines
There are over 2900 species of snakes in this world. The rough-scaled bush viper is one of the twenty-five percent-ers, poisonous from the moment it’s born. And though it’s true that ability doesn’t infer intent any more than predilection equates with action, the muttered you-can do-it of such creatures always seethes below the surface. Perrault’s Bluebeard made the same bloody choice with each of his seven wives. In the end the secrets behind locked doors are always revealed.