Book Review :: Four Dead Queens, by Astrid Scholte

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
ISBN: 1760524417
Published by Allen & Unwin
on 2019-03-01
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 432
Source: Allen & Unwin NZ
Find at Allen & Unwin NZ
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Four Queens. A divided nation. A ruthless pickpocket. A noble messenger. And the murders that unite them.
Keralie Corrington is a talented pickpocket. She steals for the black market in her quadrant. Her nation is divided into four regions, each strictly separated from the other. Four queens, one from each quadrant, rule as one.

When Keralie steals a particularly valuable item from a messenger, she discovers she's intercepted instructions to murder the queens. Hoping to find the culprit, Keralie teams up with Varin Bollt. But with Keralie and Varin each keeping secrets - and the lives of the queens hanging in the balance - everything is at stake. And no one can be trusted in a world full of ruthless thieves, black markets, a golden palace, daring heists, royal intrigue, noble messengers, forbidden love, four queens - each with a secret, and, of course, murder.

Last updated on 14 October 2023

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My thoughts on Four Dead Queens

Ever since Four Dead Queens was announced, I’ve been looking forward to reading it. Thanks to the wonderful team at Allen and Unwin NZ, I got my hands on a copy shortly after it was released, and managed to devour it in a little over 2 days (had life not intervened it may have been a 1 or 2 sitting kind of book!).

Four Dead Queens had everything a good Young Adult Fantasy book should have: action, mystery, interesting and well-rounded characters (my English teacher would be so proud of me for using the term ‘well rounded’), a beautiful and intricate world which had been thought out on so many levels, and even that little bit of romance to keep the feels alive and well.

Plot

The plot of Four Dead Queens is nicely laid out for us in that synopsis so I won’t say too much more for fear of spoilers. But what I will say is that I never tired of the plot or the flow of the story. There was always something on the go, always something happening; the story takes place over the course of just a few days, and in that time there’s murder, there’s accusations, there’s henchmen and baddies, there’s royal subjects and commoners, there’s the interweaving of the four sections of Quadara, the land, there’s mystery.

While the little bit of romance I just mentioned was, indeed, limited to that small time frame (one of the reasons I dropped it half a star), it didn’t take up much of the book at all, which was refreshing and kept the story on track.

“Be patient, child. Be calm. Be selfless. Wait for the right moment. Wait for your time. Rule with a steady hand. A steady heart.”

Characters

It’s rare for me to love a main character, but I really enjoyed Keralie. Schotle created a female lead who was strong, and kick-ass, not afraid to be flirty, and wanted more than anything to right some of her wrongs. Mackiel, her boss in the thieving game, gave me Kaz from Six of Crows vibes, as leader of the underground criminal network, but that was where the similarities ended. I won’t say anything more, because spoilers, but still an excellently formed character. Varin, the messenger mentioned in the synopsis, is an upstanding citizen who just needed to do his job when he gets sucked into Keralie’s world and the two tumble into this conspiracy and ‘ah the queens are murdered!’ tangle of disasters.

Setting

The world of Quadara is broken up in four sections (quad…four…make sense): Eonia, Toria, Archia, and Ludia. Each district has it’s own speciality, and works hard to better themselves in that one area. There’s trading between each land, and there’s a Queen ruling on the throne in the common area of the Palace. While the name ‘Quadara’ is a little too easy, I really liked the concept of the four ruling nationals and the fact that they were each different.

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Overall thoughts on Four Dead Queens

In case you can’t tell already, I really enjoyed this book by Astrid Scholte, and considering it’s her debut novel, that’s incredible. I can’t wait to read whatever else she may have in the pipeline. I’ve bumped it down from a 5-star to a 4.5 simply because of the love-in-such-a-short-time issue, and the naming of Quadara. But other than that, a highly enjoyable book. If you enjoy books with a mystery, a murder (or four!), and some highly advanced scheming, then you really must pick up Four Dead Queens. 

Have you read Four Dead Queens yet? What did you think?

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Thank you to Allen & Unwin NZ, who provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. This in no way affects my thoughts, and all opinions are my own.