Book Shelf: Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

A divided nation. Four Queens. A ruthless pickpocket. A noble messenger. And the murders that unite them.
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These are the words Keralie Corrington lives by as the preeminent dipper in the Concord, the central area uniting the four quadrants of Quadara. She steals under the guidance of her mentor Mackiel, who runs a black market selling their bounty to buyers desperate for what they can’t get in their own quarter. For in the nation of Quadara, each quarter is strictly divided from the other. Four queens rule together, one from each region:

Toria: the intellectual quarter that values education and ambition
Ludia: the pleasure quarter that values celebration, passion, and entertainment
Archia: the agricultural quarter that values simplicity and nature
Eonia: the futurist quarter that values technology, stoicism and harmonious community

When Keralie intercepts a comm disk coming from the House of Concord, what seems like a standard job goes horribly wrong. Upon watching the comm disks, Keralie sees all four queens murdered in four brutal ways. Hoping that discovering the intended recipient will reveal the culprit – information that is bound to be valuable bartering material with the palace – Keralie teams up with Varin Bollt, the Eonist messenger she stole from, to complete Varin’s original job and see where it takes them.

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Review:

Four Dead Queen’s is Astrid Scholte’s debut novel and is an enticing fantasy novel full of mystery, intrigue and plenty of twists and turns to keep readers intrigued until the final page.

Keralie Corrington is a talented pickpocket and steals from unsuspecting victims for the black market in the quadrant where she lives. The nation of Quadara where she lives is divided into four quadrants, Archia, Luudia, Toria and Eonia with each quadrant overseen by a ruling queen. It’s a system that has worked for centuries, until Keralie steals a particular valuable item from a messenger and stumbles upon a secret….the four queens have been murdered! Wanting to find the culprit, Keralie teams up with Varin Bollt, the messenger she initially stole from. Raised in different quadrants and with opposing beliefs, working together will not be easy for Keralie and Varin, but with the stakes so high and lives on the line, they will need to trust one another if they hope to determine who wants to kill the queens.

As far as debut novels are concerned Astrid Scholte’s Four Dead Queens is well thought out and enjoyable reading. Given that it is also a standalone novel (something rare in today’s age) Four Dead Queens offers readers a well-paced and well plotted murder mystery that mixes elements of fantasy, romance and surprise into the storyline. The world building was spot on, with Quadara’s history and backstory explored with purpose and precision to explain why it is ruled by four queens the way it is.

Though written primarily through the eyes of protagonist Keralie, Four Dead Queens also offers a few chapters from the perspective of the four aforementioned queens. I felt this was a really smart move on Scholte’s part as it gave readers the opportunity to not only get to know the queens but see the whole picture surrounding their lives and deaths in authentic context.

Keralie is a likable main character and easy to follow. Her voice is strong and she's a capable, daring young woman who knows her way around the streets and how to get both into trouble and out of it in equal measure. Throughout Four Dead Queens Keralie makes a dedicated effort to do the right thing and alongside Eonist Varin attempts to find out who is behind assassination of the queens.

Forward moving with a complex who-done-it murder mystery Four Dead Queens features romance, danger and an ending you won't expect at all. Astrid Scholte concludes the story with promise and proves she is a voice to watch out for in YA fiction. I'll be keeping an eye out to see what she releases next.

Rating:
Source: Sent for review by publisher (Thank you guys!)
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Format: Paperback
Australian RRP: $19.99
Release Date: March 1st 2019
Buy: Angus & Robertson | Booktopia | The Book Depository | Amazon
Final Thoughts: Enjoyable and a solid YA fantasy. Definitely worth a read.