Speaking Daggers

by Lloyd Rees

A crime detective novel. There’s a killer on the loose on the streets of Swansea and he is leaving clues. Detective Inspector Gus Reid and his team have a gruesome murder on their hands but no suspects and no obvious motive. All they have to go on is a series of literary quotations that appear like graffiti on walls throughout the city.

331 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2022

About the author

Lloyd Rees is a Senior Lecturer in English and Education in Swansea.

Reviews

[Fay Flude · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just not for me which makes me want to apologise to the author and to Pigeonhole who selected this book and made it available for me to read.
It is a police procedural/thriller but without much tension, with a police team who mostly seem like cardboard cutouts from a comedy/cartoon, rather than useful, intelligent officers and the final nail in the coffin, a Shakespeare obsessed killer who loves the sound of his own voice. Soliloquy after soliloquy of unhinged play on words, and reference after reference to the bard's numerous plays just left me annoyed and wishing for the end.
Careful what you wish for though, the end was unsurprising, predictable and left me feeling dissatisfied and disappointed with the reading experience.
I have been generous with my star rating because it is almost Christmas. I really cannot recommend this book at all.

[Pheadra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this through my online book club, Pigeonhole. It is the story of Gus a detective on the heels of a killer who uses words to suggest he is of a higher cerebral disposition than others. Some of the banter between Gus's daughter, Josie,  a lecturer, and the Head of the English department were very clever and funny but the constant musings of the killer became tedious and off-putting.3 and a half stars

[Gail Danks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed parts of this book but it definitely needs editing to take out errors and sections where it rambles on too much.
I was waiting for a twist at the end but it was missing and the ending was too predictable.

[Veronika Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a massive Shakespeare fan all my life (honestly) I loved the ‘messages’ left by the killer. It was one of the most exciting parts of the book.

A body is found in a rubbish bin, the young woman having been murdered and her face smashed in beyond recognition. Who would do such a thing? These kinds of crimes don’t happen in Swansea. It’s not that type of place.

Detective Inspector Gus Reid and his team have very little to go on. The victim needs to be identified, but there are no dental records or any kind of ID. And until she can be identified there is no motive or sign of sexual assault. Only the graffiti on the wall behind the bin. A Shakespeare quote.

Gus has never had much of a relationship with his daughter Josie since his divorce from her mother, but he needs her help now to decipher the message. She’s a lecturer in literature at the university. Could this be an opportunity to rebuild their relationship?

I really enjoyed this book. Maybe a bit overlong, I did however love the ‘ramblings’ of the killer as he tries to prove how clever and witty he is, never missing an opportunity to refer to the police as a bunch of thickos (though in far more literary language).

We are also introduced to journalist Andrea Linney, always looking for the next sensational story. But will her interest put her in danger?

This was a book that sometimes split my fellow readers with the Pigeonhole book club. Some of us loved the ramblings and the references, while others thought they slowed down the pace of the story. I was in the ‘loved them’ camp. I hope there is a follow up.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author, and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.

[Mags Schofield · Rating 2 out of 5]

Late reading this via Pigeonhole, but found the story very disappointing. I was hoping for a clever killer pitted against some wiley detectives. What I actually got was a stupid, egotistical madman and some very pedestrian police officers who needed a rooky journalist to point them in remotely the right direction.
This is a police procedural without any procedure - loose lips and slip ups abound, leading to a distinct lack of tension. Just to make matters worse, we have the ramblings of the killer interspersed with the story. This could have been so cleverly written, using the quotes, but instead lack of editing and attention to detail leaves holes in the timescale, totally confusing the reader. Add to that the lack of character development and we have the most underwhelming book I've read this year.
Thanks to Pigeonhole and Lloyd Rees.

[Bodies in the Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fell behind on the Pigeonhole readalong, and ended up reading this over the festive season - the least Christmassy novel imaginable!

If you like a no-nonsense police procedural, and don’t mind a sprinkling of first person narrative throughout from the murderer, then you’ll probably enjoy this book.

I liked the setting - Swansea is a city I know a little - but I wasn’t too interested in the lead detective, Gus Reid, or the journalist we followed around for much of the action, so I liked rather loved it.

Glad to have read it, though. Thanks, Pigeonhole.

Three Word Review: Swansea murder investigation.

[Kim Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This morning, I finished reading Speaking Daggers by Lloyd Rees, stave by stave with The Pigeonhole. I was drawn in by the description of the book and reviews that stated that it was a ‘highly intelligent and satisfying story’. I agree that I enjoyed Lloyd Rees’s ‘sharp eye and subtle characterisation’ and that his portrait of Swansea does justice to its ‘edgy drabness’. While parts were quite gripping and frightening, the killer’s long-winded ramblings, as well as the errors in grammar and punctuation due to insufficient proof-reading or editing, and the anti-climax, left me disappointed.

[Sarah Truckell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The summary really grabbed me and made me want to read. However, this book really wasn’t for me. The murder itself and police investigation were intriguing. I didn’t like the ramblings of the killer or the literary quotations - they were too much for me and maybe above my level of understanding. I was expecting a twist towards the end but that didn’t come. I liked the police officer characters and how they worked together as a team. Could easily picture a television series

[Laura Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the blurb I was excited to read this as the plot seemed like it would be very interesting.
Sadly the way it was written made things a bit on the tedious side, especially the sections that were the rambling diary entries of the killer. Giving 3 stars for the plot idea, perhaps with some careful editing this would be a more gripping read.
With thanks to the author and the Pigeonhole for the opportunity.

[Christine Rennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Speaking Daggers by Lloyd Rees is a police story about two nasty murders of two young women in a university town. The storyline about the policeman, Gus and Andrea, the journalist were quite an interesting read. It was the pages about the diatribe from the murderer that made the book stumble and lose the readers interest.
It wasn’t one of my favourite Pigeonhole reads.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather disappointed in this novel : even though I liked the main characters, the plot was not very original with a serial killer whose past and psychological development felt very cliché. I would have enjoyed more tension overall. The conclusion was definitely too predictable for me.
I read this book on my online reading club, Pigeonhole, and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with Pigeonhole and for the first maybe half of the book I was fascinated by the premise that there was a literary trait to more than one of the characters. However, for me, it became somewhat tedious and I began to feel maybe the author was overdoing the quotes and literary references. I'm sure though that this plot device will work better for other readers!

[Roslyn Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started off well but I am afraid it didn't fulfil its potential.
It is a crime/police procedural book but became bogged down in a rather formulaic writing style. Sorry Lloyd Rees!
The monologues from the killer had me skipping pages which I hate doing.
I hate leaving poor reviews but this book was definitely underwhelming.
#Pigeonhole

[Nicola Mackenzie-Smaller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A murder mystery set against an academic background in Swansea. I enjoyed the premise of this, and the characters but the plot could have benefitted from a bit more tension and perhaps a twist or two. Read with The Pigeonhole

[Jeanne M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the book quite formulaic and boring. It's a very old fashioned book to be released currently.

[The Breakneck Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a somewhat tough read. It was interesting in parts but was difficult to pick up the book in others.The ending was a little flat and considering the build up I was expecting a twist but it seemed the killer was found about half way through the book and it was more of an inevitability. I would read the authors future work, I feel there is the beginning of something there but it just needs development. There are some very sweeping generalisations here made by the characters that did not sit well with me. Also the descriptions of characters seemed to be more biased to female characters than male. Overall 3/5 thank you to the pigeon hole and the author for allowing me to read this book