Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I was very excited to receive this gifted copy - the blurb of a multiPOV locked room mystery sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, I found the pacing very uneven, the world building is more of an info dump at the beginning, and - probably because of the pacing issues with two authors - the narrative didn’t flow as well as it could have. The final 30% moves extremely fast compared to the rest of the story, but at that pint, the writing had that raw hollow feel that we get when the reader is asked to feel the deep emotions of characters that we just don’t know or trust enough. Ex. We’re told so many times of Ellion’s and Vesryn’s great love but we don’t see it until the very end so it’s really hard to be emotionally invested in their interactions and sacrifices. Same with the princess and Gabriel.

I Killed the King by Rebecca Mix and Andrea Hannah is a dark, atmospheric fantasy about betrayal, power, and survival. It follows three women—each with their own dangerous secrets—whose lives intertwine after the sudden death of a king. As political tensions rise and hidden agendas come to light, the women must navigate court intrigue, shifting alliances, and the threat of war, all while confronting the truth about themselves and their pasts. With lush, moody writing and a steady build of tension, the story blends mystery and fantasy in a way that keeps the stakes high. While the pacing is slower in places, its layered characters and morally gray themes make it a compelling, character-driven read.

THOUGHTS

This fantasy novel is... uninspiring. I wanted to like it. I kept wanting to like it. But it consistently fell flat to me. I feel like there are good ideas here, but the execution is lackluster. I was utterly unimpressed and uninvested.


PROS
Ticking Clock: I liked the locked-room and ticking-clock aspects to this fantasy. It's not often you see a murder mystery wrapped up in a fantasy setting. Though the nature of the locked room itself does keep expanding as one and then all of these characters leave the actual locked room, they're still very much trapped due to an unnatural snowstorm that has descended. And with a very important treaty to sign at dawn, there's a very pressing sense of time running out.

Slow Unravelling: There's a definite feeling right from the start that there's something just off screen, slithering behind each turn this plot takes. Strings are being pulled, and nobody knows the whole picture even if they think that they do. And I really like that we take our time to let the pieces land where they may, to let that sinister reality come to its fruition. It's a nice unraveling, a nice locking into place. Wherever else this plot falls flat, I did like the overall sense of sinister conspiracy.

Winter Blues: This is the perfect winter read! It's got a cold and blustery setting in a drafty old castle at the scene of a murder. What could be better than that? And as the night goes on, everything gets more and more dire. People are dropping left and right. Secrets are unveiled that unraveled everything we know. The snow is piling up, and nobody can leave... Yeah, like I said: the perfect winter night read.


CONS
Not Memorable: I don't know. There are a lot of people in this cast, and even as I'm writing this review, I don't really remember any of them. They felt pretty generic, so... I think you see the problem.

Blending Together: With so many lead characters, all the narrative voices blend together. There's just too much of a cast, and their voices didn't stand out enough to make them worth switching perspective, to be honest. It could have been third person omniscient to, I believe, much better effect (though I know that third-omniscient has gone out of style, so maybe that's why we didn't go that route). So many chapters, it doesn't really matter who the perspective character is, and that's unfortunate.

Inconsistent: Every co-author pair works differently. Some write so seamlessly that you wouldn't even know it was two authorial voices rather than one. In this book, that really isn't the case. The characters don't come across as consistent enough to have been written by one mind (or two in perfect harmony). There's a lot of "establishing a fact" that happens in this book that feels like... notes that should have been sent over to the co-author instead of actual, hard-copy writing. (Bearing in mind, of course, that I did read an early edition, so perhaps that will change by final publication.) It felt like the authors were working remotely and leaving key characterization notes within the chapters themselves so that their co-author could follow along and pick right up where they left off. And that... doesn't work well. Sorry. It feels like a conversation between two co-workers still in the messy-drafting phase instead of a beautiful, woven tapestry of a literary piece. It doesn't feel polished. These characters aren't known backwards and forwards by either author, and the book suffers for it.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/10
Fans of Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth will like this locked-room-style murder fantasy. Those who loved the ruthlessly cunning cast of Christine Lynn Herman & Amanda Foody's All of Us Villains will like this cast of characters up to no good.

When a King is murdered, in the presence of 5 unlikely witnesses, and none of them saw who struck the killing blow, what happens next?
This was a cool endeavor of the relationships between people formed in chaos and stress. I loved the play on time throughout the book and all the twists and turns with peeks into each of the characters. I can honestly say that the reveals were not what I was thinking and while this is fantasy, it was not high fantasy. Some characters had magical abilities, but we didn’t see a heavy use of those powers in the book.
Rebecca and Andrea have done such an amazing job of making you fall in love with every single character, hoping none of them were killers and forgiving them when they were (no spoilers!)
I am so invested in this story; it has such interesting world-building - the gods, the magic system, the royal families and kingdoms, everything!

An intriguing whodunnit in a fantasy setting full of magic and mayhem.

Always love a whodunnit and I was really excited to find one in a fantasy setting. I loved trying to figure out who the killer was. I was actually surprised when that part wrapped up and there was still more to the story. This book is a lot more than just a whodunnit! I will say the last half got a little crazy, it felt like we were going off the rails a bit, and I found myself really confused on what was going on. But in the end the pay off was there and I found myself completely immersed! Also, Ellion was my favorite character and I looked forward to any part of the book he was in. Sweet little tortured soul he is.

"One of Us Is Lying meets Knives Out - with beasts, murder, and magic - in this first book in a thrilling locked-room whodunnit YA fantasy duology by Andrea Hannah and New York Times bestseller Rebecca Mix.

After a decade of war, the kingdoms of Avendell and Istellia have finally agreed to peace. As nobles and magic wielders from both countries arrive at remote Castle Avendell for a historic all-night masquerade to celebrate, King Costis summons an unlikely group to his chambers: the crown prince, his Istellian bride-to-be, his personal guard, a wild beast tamer, and the palace's questionable new healer. But before Costis can reveal why he has gathered them, the castle goes dark.

When the lights come back, the king is dead - murdered with the princess's knife, in a weak spot only his guard knew of, and with venom from one of the beast tamer's monsters lacing the blade.

With no clear killer - and everyone a suspect - they make a risky pact: Tell no one until the treaty is signed. But when a winter storm seals everyone inside and someone aware of the king's untimely death begins to pick off guests one by one, the six suspects must work together to discover who killed the king...before one of them is next."

Snowbound AND a seemingly impossible death? Yes and yes!

Thank you, NetGalley, Rebecca Mix, Andrea Hannah, and HarperCollins, for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Final Verdict 4.0

I have to say that I wasn't really sure what to think of this novel; it is equal parts fantasy, whodunnit, and thriller. However, when I was able to sit down uninterrupted, I couldn't put this down! This is one of those books you simply have to read; NOTHING I say here will prepare you for the twists and turns! Give it a go, you will not regret it!

Thank you again for a copy of this ARC!

This was so fun! I haven't read many fantasy-mysteries but I want to read more after this. I loved the cast of characters and the shifting alliance, really didn't anticipate many of the twists or reveals, which is the best type of mystery to me. Definite recommend!

From the opening chapter, the book throws you into a high-stakes game of suspicion, alliances, and shifting truths. Each of the six suspects harbors secrets, motives, and magical abilities, and the story cycles through their perspectives in quick, sharp bursts. I really enjoyed the quick pace that creates plenty of tension to keep the pages turning. The downfall was character development, with six characters to follow, at times they blurred together. Overall I really enjoyed this unique story and would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced who-done-it!

**Features:**

- Locked room murder mystery in a fantasy setting
- Pantheon of meddling Gods who are a source of magical power
- Prince and bodyguard love interests
- Political intrigue

**Synopsis:**

King Costis is dead. In a matter of moments, he went from preparing to end a ten year war to a corpse on the floor with the five people he was with wondering what happened. Though each has their own reasons for wanting the king dead, who among them was the one to follow through? With evidence of all five individuals being involved and a vital treaty on the line, all agree to keep the King’s death a secret until the treaty is finalized. But when a winter storm traps everyone who came to celebrate the treaty in the castle, keeping the murder a secret becomes nearly impossible; especially when more people start showing up dead.

**Thoughts:**

A locked room mystery in a fantasy setting? I just had to pick this one up! This book definitely delivered on its promises and was a fresh approach to a fantasy tale with meddling gods and political intrigue. It is important to know going in that this book is formatted like a mystery with multiple POVs and a focus on the characters, their motives, and the situation as a whole. However, this is accompanied by fascinating world building, magic, and high stakes political maneuvering. Though this didn’t end up being a perfect five stars for me, this was still a fun and fascinating read with a lot of potential moving forward.

The first chapter of this book is told from the perspective of King Costis himself and then bounces between all of the characters who were witness to his murder or, as the story continues, others who might have played a role in this and other murders in the castle. Though each character was unique and flawed, none of them really ‘spoke’ with a distinct voice. I couldn’t help but feel that the number of POVs got in the way of these characters meeting their full potential. Despite that, the longing between Prince Kellam and Oak and their dynamic made their POVs stand for me. We never get too deep into this ‘forbidden’ romance, but their relationship was really sweet.

If you are paying close attention, it is not too hard to figure out who murdered Costis. However, there are still some crazy twists and King Costis’s death feels like only a small piece to a much bigger puzzle. The central mystery resolves relatively early in this book, but there is still so much to unravel after the fact and the story sets itself up for a sequel. Despite all of these wider implications, the ‘locked room’ nature of this book made it difficult to really explore the world more in-depth. The authors still managed to accomplish an impressive amount within these confines, but the magic system in particular could use a little bit more room to grow and solidify.

I am left with a lot of questions about the gods, their role, and some of the broader implications of these events. Inspired by the concept of “sleeping gods”, I hope this turns into a Letters of Enchantment situation where the second book shifts its focus and really digs into the world itself now that the main players and situation have been established.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Storytide for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the description, I was expecting a locked room whodunit.

The story starts with 6 people in a room, lights go out, and then the king is dead. Each character was summoned to the king's chambers and it's a motley crew of people, most of whom want the king dead for one reason or another - so far, so good. Everyone suspects everyone else and they're all trying to figure out whodunit - perfect. We get some secret passages and every character is hiding something - great.

But then the story goes in a different direction. We find out who killed the king about halfway through but it stops being the central part of the story. Instead we get political conspiracy and the supernatural becomes heavily involved (I'm trying not to give anything away). I think if the book was described differently, I would be less bothered. I went in expecting a fantasy Agatha Christie book and it wasn't that at all.

The book also felt longer than it was. It dragged and it felt like things were reiterated more than they needed to be. It has the skeleton of a good story but needs more fleshing out (and a different book description).

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

actual rating: 1.5. for a book called I Killed the King, i very reasonably thought that the whole book would be about finding out who killed the king. instead, i got the killer being revealed in about 60% of the way through with the rest of the novel being full of unnecessary nonsense. the gays couldn’t even make this a two star book for me 😔🏳️‍🌈 SPOILER 🚨: the killer ends up being none of the six main characters. bitch, then what was the point of this novel?!?! having the evil deity (named Chaos btw) being the killer is such a cop out oh my god 🙄 bring back unreliable and evil narrators I BEG!!!!!!!!!!

I Killed the King by Rebecca Mix and Andrea Hannah starts out as the title describes. The lights went out and someone killed the king. Who was it? There were 5 people nearby. The princess who was at the palace to sign a treaty after 10 years of war was missing her knife and it was in the king’s side. Did she kill him? Why would she do that? If not, who did?

I Killed the King is a search for who actually killed the king, but so much more. The healer, who was more of a necromancer or someone who follows souls into the afterlife, tried to find out who killed him. The king was not interested and he moved on. They got no answer there. It was kind of surprising because there had been a war between Avendell and Istellia which should have been solved the following morning. How does the king’s death affect the treaty? The five decide to hide the king until the treaty is signed, which may be harder than it sounds because of the ball happening during the evening to celebrate the treaty.

There is a lot going during a very short time, it is exciting and also necessary to pay attention to understand what is happening. It is worth the effort, the story is about the past and there are things that seem to appeal to the present as well. It is a fantasy about making adjustments to circumstances. There may be a moral to the story if you choose to see it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this one.

So as per usual, I both read and listened to chapters of this book. There is a single narrator and many POVs. The single narrator didn’t bother me because its third person narration so it works that it’s only one voice. BUT, I am not a fan of male narrators who do cringey female voices and that definitely happened a bit here.

I enjoyed the story quite a bit. There is a lot of information and as I mentioned, many POVs (possibly too many) but it was an intricately woven story and I would definitely continue the series.

As for what medium I’d continue in, I can’t say for sure. For continuity, I’d probably go for the audiobook but I wouldn’t say it’s better than the ebook.

This was my first book by either of these authors. I’d read more from them and I’d read the sequel to this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is voluntarily given,
and my opinions are my own.

Yes, I know the book hasn't even been released yet, but with that ending, please, I need the next book right now! Seriously! What? There were so many twists and turns during the book, that I had absolutely no idea who the murderer was. Then that ending. Ugh. But it was sooo good. I really can't wait for the next one. Will be putting a reminder on my calendar to check for a sequel.

If you can't tell, I would definitely recommend this book!

A good old fashion whodunnit with fantasy elements. This book had a lot of things I liked, the atmosphere was great and the writing was great. I just thought there were too many POV's and found myself getting lost a few times, but overall it was a fun read.

I am going to start this review backwards, starting with my main critique of this book. I thought this book was too fast paced, which is very rare for me say. I love a fast, twisty, action packed plot. And this book delivered that. But it did so through six different perspectives, which I found overwhelming with all the action. I loved the characters and the fact we got all their points of view, so I wish the plot had been a bit slower to allow for me to know the characters better. I especially wanted more quiet moments for Kellam and Oak, and Ellion and Vesryn. That said, each character was so complex with an important backstory, and so well written with their hopes and fears and beliefs. I also loved the world building with the pantheon and magic, and wish more time had been spent on that lore. I suspect the second book will deliver that. And I can’t wait for the sequel. While this book had a strong resolution plot wise, it was open ended for the characters and left some strings untied. So overall this was a wild, fun read that I recommend.

Big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC! I actually heard about this book on instagram and immediately knew this would be a book that is right up my alley, and it definitely was! This is marketed as “One of us is Lying” meets “Knives Out” with added fantasy and this is definitely what is delivered. The authors deliver a fast paced murder mystery told through multiple POVs and with a progressive timeline to the deadline the killer must be revealed. My biggest let down here is the lack of fantasy elements, I wanted more world building and knowledge of the God system that plays a large role in the plot and we only get a little more towards the end. That being said, I don’t think this detracts from the overall mystery and plot, it just could have enhanced it knowing more. I will definitely be picking up the second book in the duology when it comes out and a copy of this one for my classroom.

A dark, empowering fantasy about reclaiming agency and unraveling the truth behind a throne. The dual authorship brings a sharp edge to the narrative, blending action and introspection with a bold voice.

Thank you Storytide Publishing for giving me access to an ARC of I Killed the King!

This was a solid fantasy/thriller, with a fun mythology element as well. I feel like the writing was a bit scattered and unpolished in places, but I can definitely see this being a strong favorite for young adult readers or people looking for a unique “escape the night” type book!