Shadow in the Pines

Danielle Jones loved the scent of the tall pines that surrounded her new home – a log home, nestled in a remote area in East Texas. It seemed the other end of the world from the high society life as a doctor’s wife she’d tried to live in Austin. When her marriage disintegrated just after her mom died, Dani grieved for the time she’d lost, then applied for a fellowship at a university in Tyler and picked up the plans she’d set aside to work while her ex-husband finished medical school. Nearly ten years older, and certainly wiser, she was excited about finishing her own schooling and getting her life back on track.

Not many women would be excited about a job in a Biology lab, or more precisely a reptile lab. But for Dani, it was part of the package. She wasn’t crazy about snakes, but it put her on the fast track to finishing her degree in Zoology. It didn’t seem bad until snakes started turning up in places they weren’t supposed to be. As Dani gave in to her naturally inquisitive nature, she learned that several years ago her new home had been owned by the man in charge of the Ophidian lab. Worse, some students disappeared out there one day when they were scouting the surrounding area for snakes. Suddenly Dani’s new life seemed more filled with dread than with promise. What happened to those students who were never found? And why did Dani have the strange feeling that someone out there was watching her?