The Head of the Snake throws you right back into the action again with the intrepid Sarah Black. Her strength and sometime naivety are at the forefront again as she gets to grips with the harsh reality of Sierra Leone.
Dark and full of violence, the whole atmosphere of this book is tense and dramatic and I was gripped again from the very beginning.
As with the first in the series, I’ve loved the links with the game of chess - how Sarah aligns all the pieces of the puzzle on the board to help her work through the conundrum in front of her.

Well written novel with a clever, well-crafted plot. I can see that Lucy has put hours of research into this, and I could feel, see, taste, touch, and smell the locations while reading, despite never having been there! The characters are three-dimensional and Sarah's dad is a personal favourite. The adventure and true-to-life risks involved kept me reading, and even though I'm by no means an expert of the genre, it was one of those novels that you don't want to put down because 'I need to know what happens next, right now!' Thoroughly enjoyed this, and will be going back to read 'The King's Pawn.'

Fast-paced, interesting, and with a perfect ending, definitely recommended

Thank you to Lucy Hooft, NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book.

this was a great sequel in the Sarah Black series, it was what I was hoping for. It worked as a sequel to the first book and as a mystery novel. I enjoyed the way Lucy Hooft wrote this and enjoyed the way the plot was written and the characters within. I thought it was well-done and enjoyed the characters, I can't wait to read more from the author and this series.

“He was arguing against the High Commissioner’s calls for military engagement, doing his best to discredit the Foreign Office on all their recommendations.” Her neck clenches tighter. “And did he mention uranium?” Sarah hopes the encrypted phone line is really as secure as it claims to be. “In Sierra Leone? “Apparently there’s been a find, but no one seems to know much about it.”