"An interesting, unconventional espionage thriller with a cast of strong female characters. "
Available in Hardback Paperback and Kindle.
A pacy espionage thriller, with a science fiction twist and a whole squad of strong female characters. ‘Killing Queens’ by Raechel Sands introduces us to Nearby, an MI6 intelligence officer who tells the reader about her connections and experiences with other agents she calls, the Black Queen, the White Queen and the Red queen.
In a world of MI6, spies and modification to make “purple blood” super-assassins, this is the first of the Killing Queens saga. The Irish dialect used by Nearby to tell this story seems authentic although it sometimes seems to seep into the perspectives of the other characters, which I found a little jarring.
I loved the author’s use of imagery throughout, “stopped with the sound of snow coming to rest” was a particular favourite. The author certainly manages to pack a lot into the book, even creating and referencing a playlist that can be listened to in accompaniment. This is a detailed story that combines noir, espionage, adventure and satire; those that enjoy the irreverence of Villanelle in ‘Killing Eve’ will find similar characters here.
The plot switches between past and present in order to include all three of the queens in the story, providing the reader with backstory while also continuing the action. The author has done well to structure the book so that you can follow the characters and the timelines without getting lost. One slight niggle I do have about the structure is the use of footnotes.
I personally prefer any information that’s vital to the plot to be woven through it, not tagged on as a footnote, and would have preferred to not be pulled out of the action to read additional and potentially unnecessary explanations.
‘Killing Queens’ is an interesting story with a cast of strong female characters. This is an entertaining book for someone looking for a slightly unconventional action and espionage thriller with a sci-fi/fantasy twist and filled with dark humour.
Raechel Sands' dangerous love web between women spies, and the women and men who pursue them.
| Primary Genre | Espionage and spy thriller |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
Riveting, racy and dark women-at-MI6 thriller series #1 Best Seller Killing Eve meets The Night Circus with a dash of Stephen King New Irish-British author Spellbinding, offbeat and zany thought-provoking writing Raechel Sands' dangerous love web between women spies, and the women and men who pursue them. “At twenty-six, Kitty thought she had her whole life ahead of her. ‘Not so tough now, are you?’ C said to her corpse. ‘Dead women don’t talk, Kitty White. It’s really nothing like James Bond’.” "The first psychiatrist to understand me gave me a wee tip. ‘Pretend to be normal,’ he said.
Killing Queens features in the following genres: Espionage and spy thriller, Indie Author Books, Humorous Fiction, Magical realism, Crime and mystery: hard-boiled crime, noir fiction, Thriller and Suspense, Fiction, Recommendations, Fantasy, Crime and Mystery
Hardback. Not Available.
Killing Queens was written by Raechel Sands and published by Tiger Romeo
