The Honest Folk Of Guadeloupe

(Paperback)

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Description

April 1990, Guadeloupe: French-Algerian judge Anne Marie Laveaud has been living and working in the French Caribbean department of Guadeloupe for more than a decade, but her days are still full of surprises - for example, the fact that every witness Anne Marie interviews grills her about when she's going to get remarried. She is only just starting to investigate an increasingly suspicious supposed suicide of a high-profile environmental activist and media personality when she is pulled off the case. Is it because she was getting too close to the truth

Reviews

Praise for The Honest Folk of Guadeloupe

Fascinating . . . The Guadeloupe of 1990 is no egalitarian paradise. Although the islands that make up the French colonies may be lush and blessed with pristine beaches, they are a racial, cultural, and political quagmire only the brave and nimble-footed can successfully navigate. Fortunately for the hurting souls seeking her help, Anne Marie Laveaud is up to the task.
Mystery Scene

Laveaud is an accomplished juggler, dealing with the joint responsibilities of keeping a family and a career in balance and navigating the murky waters of sexism, cronyism and racism in a society where she is very much an outsider. As much social commentary as mystery, this is a crackerjack whodunit from start to finish, as well as a compelling look into one of the last bastions of colonialism in a shrinking world.
Bookpage

"A unique setting and some poignant social issues about cultural tourism and whitewashing in crime reportage."
Litreactor

[Laveaud] is smart, stubborn, principled, and vested with enough human frailties to make her someone with whom readers can easily identify.
Reviewing the Evidence

A glimpse into the complex life of the citizens of a post-colonial, conflicted culture . . . Highly recommended!
International Noir Fiction

Anne Marie's second appearance, courtesy of the author of the Piero Trotti crime novels, boasts an elegantly incisive narrative and a fascinating heroine.
Kirkus Reviews

Absorbing . . . laden with insights about the legacies of colonialism, such as nuanced racism, official corruption, and troubled interactions between men and women.
Publishers Weekly

Sharp-witted, French-Algerian Anne Marie is an investigator worthy of a following, and Williams has craftily created her story as a microcosm of Guadeloupes social situation, where alienation battles dependence and racial stratification rules. Williams digs deep below the exotic settings surface in this nuanced mystery.
Booklist

[Timothy Williams] is an award winning author well worth discovering.
Murder By the Book

[A] close look at the folk of Guadeloupe and the West Indian culture in general, with its mix of races and lingering colonial resentment of Mother France.
Gumshoe Review


Praise forAnother Sun

Timothy Williams takes us on a tour of an island we think we know something about, but goes deep into the true Guadeloupe as only someone intimately familiar with the place can truly go. Anne Marie Laveaud is a woman of sharp smarts and tenacity, and the storyline offers fresh surprises throughout."
Sarah Weinman, editor ofTroubled Daughters, Twisted Wives

Another Sunevokes an atmospheric Guadeloupe layered by witchcraft, vestiges of French colonialism,and domestic terrorist movements, yet grounded by the heart.An intriguing novel with a unique main character in Judge Anne Marie Laveaud."
Cara Black, national bestselling author ofMurder in Pigalle

Fans of Williamss other books and readers who enjoy their crime fiction set in exotic locations will welcome Anne Marie with open arms.
Library Journal

Williams delivers a saga of dying French colonialism in 1980 Guadeloupea story as convoluted as the racial strains afflicting he islands diverse, contentious population . . . Laveaud, despite a strong sense of justice, is buffeted endlessly by the strong winds of change that engulf one mere murder . . . [A] tapestry of colonial misrule.
Publishers Weekly

Another Sunis a complex, atmospheric novel, made all the more fascinating by Williamss painstaking attention to sensory, sociopolitical, and historical detail, and by the authors obvious passion for the written word.
Mystery Scene Magazine

Another Sunis a distinct, involving, and entertaining addition to the top rank of crime fiction."
International Noir Fiction

InAnother SunWilliams provides an interesting view into the politics and race relations of a small island under colonial rule . . . Not everyone welcomes the ruling power and intrigue abounds."
Crimespree Magazine

Atale of envy and greed and sex envenomed by the inevitable racism of colonial politics."
The Advocate

Williams captured the essence and spirit of Guadeloupe and its people beautifully. His story telling style is notably subtle, often requiring his audience to come to conclusions about crucial plot markers of their own accord.
Booklover Book Reviews

Dark, gritty. This one is really interesting."
Good Morning Texas

The writing here reveals a veterans confidence and at the same time features an enthusiasm you might expect from an author much earlier in his career. The complex interactions between the characters are handled delicately and their feelings and intentions are conveyed in language both subtle and plain. This novel has restored my faith in the possibility of finding something new in a sea of the familiar. Highly recommended."
HorrorWorld

You may think you know where this well plotted novel is going but Timothy Williams has some major and even unsettling surprises in store for you . . . and the issues this story raises will linger long after you finish it."
Book Loons


Praise for the Commissario Piero Trotti series

Subtle, tense and gripping."
Val McDermid

A chilling education, a scalpel-sharp exploration of Italy's body politic. Timothy Williams knows the ABC of corruptionAndreotti, Berlusconi, Craxiand is a convincing and compelling voice."
Ian Rankin

Stylish and excellent. Those who like Dibdin will eat it up."
Lionel Davidson

A delight."
The Observer, "10 Best Modern European Crime Writers"

The ageing moody Trotti is a subtle and convincing creation; the other characters are portrayed with depth and sensitivity, and the Italian atmosphere is authentically beguiling. First-rate in every way."
The Times

Williams points to specific and specifically Italian corruption. His indirect style is particularly suited to the frequently indirect patterns of life and crime in Italy, without falling back on the more picturesque or charming qualities of life there for solace.
International Noir Fiction

Williams' pared-down descriptions and staccato dialogue are a constant pleasure."
Financial Times

Superb."
TheScotsman

Breathtakingly good."
Evening Standard

Stupendous."
Publishers Weekly

Simple but stylish . . . convincingly Continental . . . [Williams's] plotting [is] impeccable."
Time Out

Big themes, lots of cynicism and the overall impression of powerlessness when faced with corruption . . . Timothy Williams is a major contender."
Tangled Web UK

Author Bio

In addition to Another Sun, his first Anne Marie Laveaud novel set in Guadeloupe, CWA award-winning author Timothy Williams has written five crime novels set in Italy featuring Commissario Piero Trotti- Converging Parallels, The Puppeteer, Persona Non Grata, Black August and Big Italy. In 2011, The Observer named him one of the ten best modern European crime novelists. Born in London and educated at St. Andrews, Williams has taught at the universities of Poitiers in France, Bari and Pavia in Italy, and at Jassy in Romania. He has lived in the French West Indies, where he teaches, since 1980. From the Hardcover edition.