I LOVE standalone novels. This was such a great story. There were a couple plot twists that I had already suspected but definitely not all. The book was divided into four parts which I thought was fun keeping with the theme.
Told by alternating POVs between Keralie and the four queens leading up to their deaths. Quadara is a nation divided into four quadrants each run by a queen separately but together. Queenly Law is a list of rules that the queens secretly have issues with even though they all wants what is best to serve their quadrant. The time line isn't linear but for the most part we get some insight in palace life which leads to four dead queens as well as Keralie's accidental involvement and the aftermath.
Keralie lives in the Torian quadrant as a successful thief. Spotting a new mark, crime lord Mackiel encourages Keralie to steal comm chips from an Eonist messenger. Comm chips are ingestible memory discs used for secure communication. The messenger, Varin, just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only way to keep his job is to get the chips back and complete the delivery but Keralie swallows them first and witnesses how the queens of Quadara are each murdered. Varin and Keralie team up to solve the unannounced murder mystery.
Told by alternating POVs between Keralie and the four queens leading up to their deaths. Quadara is a nation divided into four quadrants each run by a queen separately but together. Queenly Law is a list of rules that the queens secretly have issues with even though they all wants what is best to serve their quadrant. The time line isn't linear but for the most part we get some insight in palace life which leads to four dead queens as well as Keralie's accidental involvement and the aftermath.
Keralie lives in the Torian quadrant as a successful thief. Spotting a new mark, crime lord Mackiel encourages Keralie to steal comm chips from an Eonist messenger. Comm chips are ingestible memory discs used for secure communication. The messenger, Varin, just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only way to keep his job is to get the chips back and complete the delivery but Keralie swallows them first and witnesses how the queens of Quadara are each murdered. Varin and Keralie team up to solve the unannounced murder mystery.