Another Sun

February 25, 2013
After Big Italy (1996) and four earlier mysteries featuring Italian policeman Piero Trotti, Williams delivers a saga of dying French colonialism in 1980 Guadeloupe—a story as convoluted as the racial strains afflicting the island’s diverse, contentious population. French-Algerian judge Anne Marie Laveaud must evaluate the evidence against 83-year-old Hégésippe Bray in the shooting death of Raymond Calais, a wealthy “Béké” (a descendant of the original French colonists). Laveaud, who resists temptation and pressure to close her investigation, finds herself caught up in the welter of relations among the island’s “negros, mulattos, Indians, whites,” particularly the Békés, who make up the bulk of the business people and landowners. At issue are lucrative French subsidies and the potentially violent actions of the Guadeloupe independence movement. Laveaud, despite a strong sense of justice, is buffeted endlessly by the strong winds of change that engulf one mere murder, in this drawn-out tapestry of colonial misrule.

February 1, 2013

The CWA award-winning author of the Italy-set Commissario Piero Trotti mysteries (Persona Non Grata) returns with a new series set on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe in 1980. Algerian-born judge Anne Marie Laveaud has recently relocated to the island with her husband and seven-year-old son. She is assigned to investigate the murder of a wealthy landowner in which the chief suspect is an elderly convicted felon. Though there is a great deal of circumstantial evidence against him, Anne Marie believes the man when he tells her he is innocent. She is aided in the case by her clerk, Trousseau, who helps her navigate the complicated social and political structure of Guadeloupe. VERDICT Williams, who lives on Guadeloupe, captures its climate and atmosphere in a very convincing way and leaves his sleuth facing challenges in her personal and professional life. Fans of Williams's other books and readers who enjoy their crime fiction set in exotic locations will welcome Anne Marie with open arms. [Prepub Alert, 11/4/12.]--Jean King, West Hempstead P.L., NY

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