I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour for The Queen of Cups Murders by GB Williams. But…
I began to read this book and decided I didn’t want to read any more of it, and I want to stress that my decision to stop reading had nothing to do with the quality of the book, which is well-written, well-researched and has an interesting plot.
And yet the more I read the less I wanted to read it. It’s simply too much like the true horrific stories that I’ve heard and read over the past thirteen-and-a-half months since 7th October 2023. I only need to turn on the TV or radio to hear more stories from that dreadful day, or from the time since then, and I don’t want to add to those when reading fiction.
Unlike my latest novels, which fit into the cosy crime genre, this novel includes all the gory details. I have read and enjoyed similar stories in the past, but this is not the right time for me.
So instead of a review, there’s an excerpt for you to read, after this:
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
GB Williams specialises in complex, fast-paced crime novels. Her works include the recently expanded Locked Trilogy, The Elaine Blake Novels and the stand alone, The Chair. GB was shortlisted for the 2014 CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition with the story Last Shakes, now available in Last Cut Casebook. GB is a member of the Crime Writers Association, Crime Cymru, and part of the organising team for Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival, as well as working as a writer and freelance structural editor.
BLURB
He’s determined to draw a better future. But his morning reading didn’t warn him about the muddy ditch of corpses…
South Wales. Detective Sergeant Madoc Palmer struggles to fit in. Committed to his job, the tarot reader hopes his transfer away from a sabotaging superior is a fresh start. Though he downplays his psychic ability as good instincts, the ploy is tested when two murders trigger strange visions.
As his abilities take an inexplicable leap forward, Palmer navigates the tricky task of guiding the sharp-eyed, evidence-following Detective Inspector Ruth Atkins to the identity of the decayed remains. With his suspicious new DI watching every move, the newcomer fears any slip of the tongue could get him laughed off the force.
Can he reveal his truth without destroying his life or letting a killer slip from their grasp?
Excerpt
From chapter 2, introducing Ruth Atkins and some of her situation.
“Ruth!”
Ruth Atkins had barely stepped through the door, her jacket only half off, and DCI Geraint Evans was already bellowing at her. Mind, being a big man, bellowing was his default. She just didn’t know why he was bellowing at her this time.
“Did I actually do it?” she asked.
Geraint frowned, his caterpillar eyebrows meeting in the middle. Those brows were her barometer to his mood.
“Do what?” he asked.
Good question. Oh, for heaven’s sake. I’m a Detective Inspector. Time to stop being a wuss and get a grip. “Whatever you’re shouting at me for, sir?” Her chin rose as she shrugged her leather jacket back on. He couldn’t know what was going on in her head.
“Sir?” The grey caterpillars stretched up towards Geraint’s thick thatch of salt-and-pepper hair, heavy on the salt. “Guilty conscience, Ruth?”
“No.” Maybe. “Sorry for being late?”
“It’s barely one-minute-past, even I’m not that tight.” His scrutiny sent a billion bugs squirming under her skin. The way he stepped closer could intimidate; his ex-prop-forward frame easily overshadowed her. Luckily, she’d known him long enough to be immune. Mostly. Though she’d known him so long the danger was he’d read her like a book. He thrust a buff file towards her. “Get up to the new housing development at Heolgerrig.”
Oh no. A new case was the last thing she needed today.
“Take Jackson,” he added.
“Sorry, Geraint, can’t.”
Geraint reared. His surprise surprised Ruth.
The door behind her opened but she wouldn’t let that, or her boss’s affront, stop her explanation. “Jackson’s due in court later,” she said. “Witness for the prosecution.”
Geraint grunted, then turned his attention to the new entrant as Ruth checked the scant detail in the file. A robbery. Pallets of valuable goods taken, easy-to-fence items. What had been left behind was a whole lot more worrying.
“Ah, good. You’re here at last,” Geraint said to the newcomer.
Ruth focused on the file.
“Everyone,” Geraint called. “This is Detective Sergeant Madoc Palmer. Madoc, this is everyone.” A murmur of welcome rumbled around the room. “Welcome to the Major Crime Investigation Team. Now go with DI Ruth Atkins, here.”
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Miriam Drori, Author 