Book Review
Title: Four Dead Queens
Author: Astrid Scholte
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Dark
Rating: **
Review: I have read The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte and it was one of my favourite books the year I read it, so I finally decided it was time to pick up her first book, Four Dead Queens but I didn’t know anything about it going into it. We learn that the world, Quadara, is split into four segments, each rule by a different Queen and values different things. There is Archia which value agriculture and is ruled by Iris, Eonia which values technology and is ruled by Corra, Toria values intelligence and is ruled by Marguerite and finally, Ludia value pleasure and is ruled by Stessa. As we are introduced to our protagonist, Keralie, a talented thief I became aware this book was told from multiple perspective which is a love/hate thing for me. Keralie “Kera” is the best dipper employed by Mackiel, her childhood friend and when she steals a comm case from a messenger she knows she is going to get a good payday offsetting the guilt she feels after hearing her father is dying. We know he was involved in an accident before Kera joined Mackiel and that Kera is to blame for it in some way, but we don’t get much more than that. At the auction however, things get a little dicey as the messenger has turned up presumably to buy back the comm case and deliver his message. In between these events we get a chapter from Iris, the Queen of Archia as she refuses her people’s plea for electricity but wants to change the Queenly Law she must follow to have more for herself as Queen’s aren’t permitted to love, marry, or return to their homelands but she doesn’t get the chance as she is murdered in her private garden.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we get Corra’s perspective as she is the Queen of Eonia where all the technology comes from although extraordinarily little moves between quadrants. We see the other Queens in the aftermath of Iris’ death as they need to find her successor since she didn’t have a female heir which means it would go to closest female relative, but Corra is also concerned in catching the killer that might or might not be still in the palace and they call an inspector from outside the palace to investigate. Kera is cornered by the messenger wanting the comm case back and she appears to help him waiting for Mackiel to return only when he does he turns on her and threatens to kill her, so to take the option away from him, Kera puts the chips into her mouth, witnessing the memories for herself which will anger Mackiel but possibly ensure her survival but there she witnesses the memory of Iris’ murder as well as the murders of the other Queens. In the aftermath, she gets herself and the messenger away, but he makes her an offer, where she will come with him so he can re-record the memories as they are in her mind and she agrees. We then gets Stessa’s perspective as the investigation into Iris’ murder begins and the inspector believes that an assassin is involved but there are many secrets hiding in the palace including Stessa’s relationship with her advisor Lyker but everyone is going to be questioned and news of the Queen’s death is going to be postponed until the killer is found.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Kera and the messenger who we now know is called Varin are heading to his apartment in Eonia to record the memories stored in Kera’s mind but Kera is worried about what will happen to her after Varin has what he wants and the memories she witnessed are beginning to haunt her. Back in the castle, the investigation is underway and they know the assassin is trapped inside the palace, they just have to figure out who it is but right now the Queens themselves are the top suspects since they have the power and influence to hire an assassin and all have secrets they don’t want to share and I have a feeling they are going to come out at some point. Despite being 30% into this book I was a little bored and nothing really seems to have happened apart from the murder of Queen Iris and I really don’t want to DNF this book as I loved Scholte’s other book, The Vanishing Deep. Once Kera and Varin arrive in Eonia, he sets up a device to record the memories and he is going to view them with her which I think is going to spark the events in this book. However, we learn more about Varin who doesn’t have any friends or family because of the Eonia system works but he collects memories from other people so he can experience the world around him and Kera offers to give him some memories of her own childhood. It turns out that Corra and Iris were lovers and the reason Iris wanted to change Queenly Law was to be allowed to have an open relationship with Corra which is the most probably reason Iris turned away her suitors. However, we learn through Corra the night before Iris’ death, she mentioned one of the other Queen’s having a similar issue with Rule Eight and we know this to be Stessa who is in a relationship with her advisor and Corra is making it her mission to find out what Iris uncovered and whether it was worth killing for.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Kera finally makes sense of the memories witnessing Queen Iris’ death but also Stessa being drowned, Corra being burned alive and Marguerite being poisoned but only one of these murders has taken place meaning Varin and Kera have the power to save the other Queens especially Corra since she shouldn’t be a Queen in the first place as she wasn’t raised in Eonia as the Law demands but she was kept at her mother’s side via a wet burse in complete secret and the only person who knew that secret was Iris. After witnessing the memories both Kera and Varin know turning the information over to the palace is the right thing to do and Kera knows she might be able to get a dose of HIDRA for her father in return. However, Kera knows the memories aren’t enough as they only show how the Queens die not who committed the murders but they know Varin’s boss, the one he is supposed to deliver the memories too is involved as is Mackiel and that’s the beginning of their journey is finding out who wanted these memories to begin with. The story is finally beginning to pick up some pace as we move towards the halfway mark in the novel, so I am hoping that Kera and Varin come into contact with the Queens soon. It seems that Marguerite also has secrets like the other Queens as she gave birth to a daughter but told people she lost the child so she would never become Queen and have to bear the weight of the palace and why do I get the feeling that Keralie is her daughter. As Kera and Varin meet the buyer of the memories, she is hiding in an incinerator in order to listen to the conversation, but tensions are rising in the palace after Corra finds out about Lyker and Stessa and Stessa threatens Corra as she knew about Iris. Keralie and Varin are trying to find out who orders the murders of the Queens but Mackiel is there are recognises Varin and he knows Keralie won’t be far away so that is causing an issue but back at the palace, Stessa has been murdered and for a moment I thought it was Corra but I doubt it as she could never hurt Iris. However, I do believe it is someone close to the Queens as the killer knew Iris would be alone in her garden and that Stessa couldn’t swim.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Corra and Marguerite are no longer suspected of killing the other two Queens, but the inspector believes that the assassin might have been part of the palace all along which could spell their doom. After escaping from Mackiel again, Keralie and Varin decide it is finally time to go to the palace with their information and I am hoping that they can save the remaining two Queens. This isn’t the case as both Corra and Marguerite are killed in quick succession, however, as she lies dying Marguerite gives up the location of her daughter as none of the other Queens had children or female relatives so her daughter is the only hope for saving their land and I am 100% sure that this daughter is Keralie. As they enter the palace Kera finds all of the Queens still alive and I realised that this meeting is taking place before Iris’ murder as both Varin and Kera are detained and she spreads word of Iris’ death in order to get into the palace and find the assassin before the other Queens are killed. This making me question whether everything that happened after Iris’ death that we have already seen was part of the memories or whether it will come to pass. A twist like this so far into the novel, I honestly had no idea what was going to happen now, but I can only hope that Kera can save Stessa, Corra and Marguerite before it’s too late. I still have no idea who the assassin is as there haven’t been any clues although Kera suspects it is Mackiel pulling the strings behind the plot and that he might even be the assassin.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Varin and Kera begin trying to find the assassin and save the Queens but the only person who wasn’t registered as coming into the palace after Queen Iris death is the inspector and they begin to trying to find out more about him and evidence on him before taking him to the Queens. While the pair are resting Queen Stessa is killed and they decide to split up, Varin will talk with the inspector as he is sure he isn’t involved and see if he can get more information will Kera will warn Queen Corra and Queen Marguerite and hopefully prevent their deaths. We learn that the mastermind is Arebella Carolona, Queen Marguerite’s daughter and she has been scheming with someone from the underbelly most likely Mackiel to kill the Queens and become the sole ruler of the land in order to remove the walls dividing the nations. However, back in the palace Kera finds the fire that is going to kill Queen Corra. Arebella is working with Mackiel but the assassin’s identity still hasn’t been revealed but Queen Corra has died but Arebella and Mackiel are also in a relationship, I have a sinking feeling that the assassin might be Varin as he has much to gain like a dose of HIDRA that would extend his life beyond the 30 years he was allocated at birth but I don’t want to believe that. As Kera and Varin share their first kiss we realises that Arebella’s plan has succeeded as she is called to the palace meaning Queen Marguerite has also died, meaning Varin and Kera have accomplished nothing. We are getting chapters from Arebella but I didn’t like her so I just skimmed those chapters and I was wondering where this book could possibly go. Even if Kera uncovers that Arebella is behind the murders how could she overthrow the Queen, not only of Toria but the whole land.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Arebella comes to the palace to rule all the quadrants as her plan has gone perfectly even done to the detail where Keralie is revealed to be the murderer. The elaborate plot is revealed but in the nick of time, Keralie is saved as the inspector managed to save Queen Marguerite with a dose of HIDRA and in the end they get their happily ever after as Queen Marguerite offers Keralie a job as an advisor, she prompts reversing genetic issues after birth for Varin and even gives Kera’s father a dose of HIDRA. However, I had some major issues with Four Dead Queens, the first was the pacing, honestly it was all over the shop and the duel timelines don’t come together well at all. The actual murder mystery is poor at best as you don’t find out anything until the last 100 pages and even then, it has been hinted at all which makes it seem weak. If Keralie has been the mysterious daughter or Mackiel had been the assassin, then things would have made a lot more sense but Arebella isn’t even seen until the end of the book. The other issue I had was also with the timelines but when they learn that the Queens are still alive, it would have been much more entertaining for Kera to have warned the Queens and worked with Varin to keep them alive and have Arebella’s plan fail that way. But the biggest problem I had with this book was that over half of it is extremely boring as there is nothing driving the plot forward until very convenient things happen. While I loved The Vanishing Deep, Four Dead Queens was a major let down for me.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Also see: The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
Comments