This was such a fun book! I didn’t know what to expect going in but the vibes were excellent. The manor was spooky and gothic, Zeb was such a fun character, and the family drama was drama-ing. It was a good time!

Love and Death are the themes KJ Charles, a master of historical intrigue, is famous for. This book revolves around a Gothic settings and mysterious figures, with a healthy splash of male-male romance. I received a free copy of this book as an ARC reader, but I WILL be purchasing it on release in October.

I admit to being a voracious fan of Charles's series, and getting a book in a new setting is always a pleasure. The story dives straight in with Zeb Wyckham's arrival at a cousin's forbidding and remote mansion. Locked in with all the worst people you've ever heard of, Zeb is soon pressured into all the uncomfortable conversations he's been avoiding, and a load of danger he never knew existed.

Despite knowing Charles's works, I expected more of a Northanger Abby type of faux gothic mystery. That is not what this book is. More like the Mysteries of Udolpho, there is real danger and intrigue in this story, along with a (at first) dubious romance rekindling. As with all of Charles's books, I eventually found myself rooting for the good guys and looking forward to the nasty end of the bad guys (and keeping my fingers crossed for a spicy scene).

One thing I really appreciate about Charles is her approach toward evildoers. Every character has a reason for how they behave., or misbehave Some people might call this ambiguity toward eveil, but I have to believe in a character's motives before I can be caught up in the plot. And yes, madness, as well as love and greed, can be motive.

All said and done, I really enjoyed this book. It has one absolutely fatal flaw for me, and that is what felt like an abrupt ending. Without giving anything away, I always look for a status of characters at the end of the story. This book, unlike all other Charles books I can think of, did not satisfy that deeply seated, and admittedly personal, need. Not to say the book isn't resolved at the end. I just wanted my big sigh of relief, but I'm still holding my breath.

(Other Charles fans will know there are sometimes follow-up short stories on her website. I'm hoping there is either another book in this universe or such a short story to give me my last chapter milk and cookies moment.)

I was fully expecting to rate this book 5 stars, but with what feels like a big gap at the end, I have to honestly lower the rating. That said, if I find upon another reading this isn't as fatal a flaw as I feel, I will be revisiting my rating.

Pros: Woah! A KJ Charles novel in a Gothic setting (and does anyone else LOVE the classic Nancy Drew feel of the cover?)
Cons: Ends too soon, like all Charles books, but this time it feels abrupt

KJ Charles' ALL OF US MURDERERS was 100% my cup of tea. Sinister locked room mystery, charming second chance queer romance, increasingly perilous and chaotic goings-on, major Knives Out vibes - Oh I had so much fun!

And can we talk about that gorgeous, vintage Gothic homage cover?

I'm grateful to have received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was expecting to love this story, because I’m a huge fan of both gothic mysteries and KJ Charles, and I wasn’t disappointed. I lit through it in a single sitting, and then had to go back and read it again to catch all the details I flew past on the first read-through.

Non-spoiler thoughts in no particular order:

It’s a bit of a pastiche or sendup of gothic novels. Elements that might otherwise seem over the top - such as an isolated mansion riddled with secret passages - are explained here by the fact that the mansion is less than 100 years old and built by a Gothic novelist. The perspective character, Zeb, is genre savvy because he's read that writer’s oeuvre.

Zeb - despite a few severe bouts of the creeps - never thinks for a moment that there's any supernatural threat. At first that disappointed me - I agreed with Zeb that there was unlikely to be any supernatural goings-on, and I thought I’d be more enjoyably spooked if there were. Then, as the real threat becomes clear, the scare factor ramps up and I ended up feeling like a ghost would be a bit of a relief.

This isn’t one of KJC’s “Heyer-but-gayer” books (the time period is off by about 80 years) but the marry-my-ward-get-my-fortune setup seemed like a nod to Heyer’s classic romantic comedy Cotillion.

I really appreciated the ADHD representation - Zeb may be the character who most represents my experience with the condition. Some characters in past KJC novels have seemed somewhat ADHD-coded to me, but Zeb is explicit, intentional representation. The author’s note references ADHD as it was understood around the turn of the 20th century and thanks ADHD readers.

Slightly more spoiler-y thoughts (stop reading here to avoid spoilers entirely!)

I knew that slavery would be a plot element, and I had some qualms about that going in. More than almost any other fiction author, I trust KJC's politics, and her skillfulness with weaving them into her work. But "the generational moral injury of the Atlantic slave trade" is a particularly thorny topic for a white British author to address. I'd be interested in Black readers' thoughts, but I personally thought it was about as well-handled as it could have been. The throughline was subtle - the wealth acquired through violence, kidnapping, torture, and forced labor was itself corruptive. The love of that money prevented the family who inherited it from confronting their past, and turned them into the kind of people whose misdeeds... come back to haunt them.

I really appreciate the extent to which I can expect a happy ending from KJC - even outside the romance genre. I trust that the love interests will end up alive and together (or together-ish), and that the worst of the evildoers will get their comeuppance. (If a character EVER threatens to out someone, it's a guaranteed death sentence, which I very much enjoy.) This book was no exception!

On my first read-through I found the ending very abrupt - we go from peril to The End in a matter of paragraphs. I would have appreciated a bit more of a denouement. The epilogue very satisfying and laugh-out-loud funny, but it would have been nice to have a scene with Zeb and Gideon as they recover and move forward with their lives. But on a second read, I appreciated the poetry of having the story come full-circle, beginning and ending outside Lackaday House’s 12-foot gates.

Favorite quotes:
“He was eating his soup with the expression of someone who wasn’t listening and might not have been there at all.”
“I have a man’s natural urges!” “You have a man’s thick head, is what you have.”

My thanks to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press and K.J. Charles for the eARC in exchange for a review of this book.

I'll start by saying this is the first book by K.J. Charles that I have tried to read. I will also be honest that the comparisons to Crimson Peak and Knives Out both had me hooked on trying this book out. I'm happy to report that I LOVED this book. Zebedee Wyckham is wonderful and along with his partner, Gideon Grey, they were sweetness personified and the mystery was intriguing and I'm so glad I saw this cover and thought WAIT, what is this beauty?

First of all, YES, those comparisons definitely work to describe this book. This book reminded me of several other works, movies and books, but I worry about spoiling too much of what comes about in this story, so I won't mention any other titles just yet. I think it's safe to say that if you are a fan of the mystery genre and gothic romances, this is the perfect book to try. It fits right in and yet stands apart thanks to the sweetest, most earnest lead I've had the pleasure to meet in recent memory.

All of Us Murderers follows Zeb Wyckham, a young man recently let go from his job, who has finally decided to accept his cousin's invitation to come to Lackaday House for a visit. Zeb usually avoids his family but after his cousin insisted on Zeb coming to stay for a couple of weeks, Zeb thought it would be okay to go. When he does arrive, Zeb is horrified to find his estranged brother, sister-in-law, a couple of cousins and his ex-boyfriend are all in attendance. Turns out Cousin Wynn has invited everyone to the house for a reason: Wynn has decided to change the terms of who is set to be his heir. He wants to leave his fortune to whoever marries his ward, Jessamine, who is staying in Lackaday House. They all try their best to get her to agree to marrying them, except for Zeb, who wants nothing to do with the Wyckham family money. But as time passes, strange things start happening in Lackaday House. There are phantom footsteps in the halls, strange messages left on the walls, and what appears to be the ghosts of an old monastery scaring the staff and the guests. Zeb has to find a way to avoid the scheming machinations of his family and figure out how to resolve the issues that led to his break-up with a man he still cares for, all while trying to find a way to leave the property. Because the Wyckham family has a lot of skeletons in their closets and with all of them together in one house, tensions between family members is the least of Zeb's worries.

Zeb, my dear sweet Zeb, how I loved you. Honestly, Zeb is an absolute sweetheart, a young man living with ADHD in a time where it was not understood, who has been cast aside by his family and sneered at for so long, the fact that he's being forced to be in their proximity for so long made me want threaten all of them with bodily harm. I also wanted to take Gideon by the ear and give him a good shake because really, how could he believe that Zeb wanted anything to do with the fortune after repeatedly stating that he would have nothing to do with the marriage scheme? Come on, give Zeb some credit, the man is goodness and honesty and genuine compassion all mixed together. All the details given about the way his mind worked, the methods he used to keep himself focused, were all so detailed, that Zeb felt like people I know and I wanted him to get out of that house and go back home and be happy. And fine, after Gideon finally got his head on straight, I could see why Zeb cared for him and their scenes together were so sweet they nearly made my teeth ache. I sighed wistfully and smiled so much with their scenes, it was probably a ridiculous thing to witness.

As for the rest of the family, oh good grief, they were horrible. I wanted to bash brother Bram in the head, I wanted to hit cousin Hawley with a crow bar, and I wasn't sure what cousin Dash's deal was, but the fact that he was in the house too made me wary of what could be hiding behind his reasonable, affable front. Elise was the typical scheming wife, able to control her husband and be cruel at the drop of a hat. Don't get me started on Jessamine and Wynn, who were just questionable enough to keep me guessing about what side they were really on. The writing made the house feel like a separate character, filled with horrible paintings and owned by despicable people, that I felt the tension of being in that space keeping my shoulders hunched as I tried to figure out who the villains were and waited for those deserving to get what was coming to them. If I had to make one quibble, it would be that I feel like one character out of the ensemble seemed to get away with what they wanted and I really hoped that the epilogue would have turned around and given them a grisly end. I also feel like there are still a few loose threads with the character, like were they truly who they claimed they were or just someone roped in to the plot that decided to take advantage of the situation? If it was in the book, I must have missed it because I'm still trying to figure it out. Guess I'll just have to read this all over again and take some notes so I can see everything I might have missed the first time I raced through this book.

The true mystery of the book was a surprise. I enjoyed the tidbits about the original owner of the house being a writer who wrote stories about horrible villains and the heinous things they did. I was not expecting the way it all came together in the end but I will say I loved the motivations behind it. If I was in that position, I would not have taken the path that was revealed BUT I can understand the urge to do what happened in this book. In the end, this is a book about the horrible things people can do and what they decide to do about their pasts and how it affects everyone around them. I enjoyed every reveal and now I'm working out which K.J. Charles book to start next. Thankfully, there is quite a bit to choose from so I'll be a happy reader hoarding new books and adding them to my towering TBR stacks. It's a wonderful feeling to have when you finish a book you really loved, the fact that there is already more to find without waiting years for a new release.

Rating on my scale: 10 Stars for Zeb and Gideon and that plot. I hope the rest of Charles's books are just as good as this one. This one is going to have a place of honor on my favorites shelf, which let's be honest, is starting to get a little cramped, but hey, who cares? Having too many favorite books is a good thing, if you want my honest opinion.

Kj Charles can do no wrong! I loved this gothic suspence historical romance. I especially loved how apt and current the themes were: ADHD rep, the lack of justice for victims of sexual assault, and the recognition of slavery in British estates history. And, of course, happy birthday KJ Charles!
Zeb was a wonderful character to follow, not only for his ADHD rep, (which makes me, once again, consider getting tested for it!), but for his heart and humour, for his love and regret, for his witty one-liners and loathing of spiders! A true kindred spirit!
I haven't read a lot of gothic novels, so this was a treat. I loved the atmosphere and was genuinely uncomfortable reading many scenes. Obviously this is a five star read. It's a KJ Charles, it should go without saying!
I will be buying this on release day!

Well this was creepy.

Picture it: A family of Evil, gathered at a creepy gothic mansion, fighting over their inheritance while cut off from civilization due to evil creepy fog...

What follows is the one decent family member who is unfortunately related to the rest stuck and trying to find a way out with the help of his ex trying to find out just what is going on amd why this is all happening.

I really liked the mystery and the atmosphere (if you have a problem with spiders, beware chapter 13!!!). Zeb's ADHD was handled really well, and his second-chance romance was really sweet.

If you feel like reading bad things happening to bad people in a claustrophobic setting, look no further!

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in October. This wasn't bad, just not for me. I wanted queer gothic but this book reads more like those commercials for those new drama reel apps. Although the story in its core is interesting, the writing and especially the conversations are clunky and not really realistic in anyway.

This book was somehow both terrifying and sweet. As always, KJ Charles has a detailed, impeccable historic setting. The Gothic atmosphere and escalating deadly antics build a vivid story that's complemented by the gentleness of Zeb and Gideon's relationship unfolding. The pacing and plot were compelling. I did not expect to be on the edge of my seat, reading (with all the lights on) until the wee hours of the morning and yet... I understand the appeal of horror-romance genre mix now. I was (nearly) positive Zeb and Gideon would get a HEA, but had no clue how they'd get there through all the twists and turns of the plot.

I also loved the representation of Zeb's ADHD that, while not named directly, was still very clear in a way that felt authentic to the character and the time period. (As someone who didn't have the language to describe my own ADHD until I was even older than Zeb, I really enjoyed the way it was portrayed.)

Overall, a great read. Definitely darker and more suspenseful than much of KJ Charles' other work, but with the same level of compelling characters and beautifully detailed historic settings as can be found across her books.

To say I've been excited to read All of Us Murderers is a serious understatement. I've loved every book I've read by KJ Charles, and I love closed-circle mysteries. This quickly jumped to the very top of my most anticipated releases as soon as I learned about it.

All of Us Murderers is about Zeebadee Wyckham. He is invited to Lackaday House, a gothic manor that has been in the Wyckham family for many years. Unbeknownst to him, his estranged brother, sister-in-law, and a few cousins are also invited at the same time. Even more surprising, Zeb's ex-lover, Gideon Grey, is also working at the house. Once the Wyckhams learn they've all been invited to compete for the family inheritance, tensions skyrocket, and they're all soon trapped together by bad weather. When threats begin to reveal themselves, Zeb and Gideon realize that they must work together to figure out what is really going on.

Zeb is a great main character. He's queer and has ADHD in the Edwardian era, and he's not often treated with kindness or understanding by his family. Still, he wants to be a good person and do the right thing. His breakup with Gideon haunts him, and their relationship has a rocky start once they meet again. There's a lot of longing in their early dynamic, and I loved seeing their relationship slowly redevelop.

The mystery in this is top-notch. It's layered and involves a web of family secrets, betrayals, and lies. There is some great gothic atmosphere to this story, and I genuinely got creeped out a few times. There are some truly shocking twists and reveals, too!

Both the romance and the mystery were paced perfectly. This was the first book I've read in a while that I had trouble putting down, and I always felt eager to get back to it as soon as possible.

I've read and loved a lot of queer mysteries and gothic novels this year, and All of Us Murderers is my favorite of the bunch. It balances the mystery with the romance masterfully, with neither aspect suffering from too little or too much focus. It's wonderfully romantic and delightfully dark and spooky at the same time. This is my new favorite KJ Charles novel, and I highly recommend it to any fan of queer romances and mysteries. This is a great one!




My Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 (5/5 stars).
Pages: 352
Tropes/Tags: Gothic, Queer, Achillean, Historical Romance, Mystery, Second Chance Romance, Closed-Circle Mystery
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5. There are some descriptive, spicy scenes.
Contains Depictions of: Period-typical homophobia, ableism, and misogyny. Mentions of sexual assault and abuse. Others may spoil the story; see the author's website for more detailed warnings.

I liked the whole idea it being set in a gothic haunted house.

It was a bit slow at times but the ending was interesting especially the last page but that's all I will say because spoilers !

The adhd part was interesting. The main character Zed had a lot of baggage bless him.

It was an ok read and the author is a good writer just it was missing something.

The romance feels very much like an afterthought here, but I liked the Gothic influence and House of Usher-style family drama. Zeb is a really likeable protagonist, but characterization is pretty thin on the ground for everyone else.

“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙟𝙤𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚, 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤.”

“All of Us Murderers” takes place around the early 1900s and is essentially a family reunion gone wrong (but of course an entertaining read). The story is written from Zeb’s POV and begins with Zeb heading to the family mansion to meet with his estranged cousin. Little does he know that more of his family is there, as well as his ex-lover, Gideon, who now works for his cousin. When the family learns of their cousin’s true intentions of the reunion, all hell breaks loose….literally. Not only is there a battle between relatives, but strange phenomena has been happening that’s eerily similar to the writings of their late grandfather. Like I said, it’s a wild ride. As Zeb and Gideon begin looking into the secrets of the manor, so do their feelings reignite. But with secrets, hauntings, and even murder happening around them, will their love conquer all?

For all my fellow Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys readers and computer gamers, this one’s for you! This one had me guessing until the end and was a fun ride while reading. This was a great book to read for a mix of romance and mystery. Just what I needed for a break from what I usually read. I’ve never read this author, however, I very much enjoyed this read. It did take a hot minute for it to pick up, but I couldn’t put it down once it got going. All of the characters are unique and the story makes you question what’s truly happening as you read. A perfect read for Summerween!

I didn't quite know what to expect going into this one. I only requested it because the cover drew me in and I recognized the author. While I didn't love it, I think the author did a phenomenal job at setting the tension and keeping up an air of unease and anxiety that had me setting the book down on more than one occasion to take a breath.

Zeb, the protagonist, owns my heart and soul and I love him dearly. He's such a kind soul, even to his family who don't deserve it in the slightest. His emotional journey punched me in the gut multiple times. I also really felt seen in the certain ADHD behaviors he exhibited, though the way his family treated him because of it was painful and could honestly be very triggering if you're not expecting it or have lived through something similar.

Despite all that I liked, I felt like the plot kind of went off the rails for me in a way that I didn't like. It just felt a little convoluted at times and I don't know if I'm entirely satisfied with the ending. Definitely not a bad read by any means; it just didn't quite hit for me. If you're at all interested, give it a go, but make sure to read the trigger warnings first.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rep : ADHD, M/M Relationship
CW: Ableism, Homophobia

🔎Queer Historical Mystery (Early 1900s)
🏘️Gothic Mansion
🥀Exes in Force Proximity
💰Fight Over Inheritance
👪Complicated Family Dynamics
✍🏻Grandfather was a Famous Author

What I Loved
1) The way Zeb's ADHD is written has helped me understand someone in my life who has ADHD and recognise my own ableism and how I can rectify that so this book truly means a lot to me (I do not have ADHD so please look at reviewers who do to see whether they think the portrayal is accurate). "He'd been sitting as close to still as he could, which was to say fidgeting relentlessly and hoping it wasn't annoying his driver too much." Throughout the book Zeb deals with ableism from his family and it is truly heart-breaking. "It's always stop fidgeting and pay attention, as if that wasn't what fidgeting is for."

2) The atmosphere was so well built. I rarely find myself so completely immersed that I feel the time period coming to life but with this book I did. So if you are looking for a historical mystery that doesn't actually gloss over the historical element, definitely check this out.

3) The dry humorous moments in this book really worked for me.
"I didn't hear you come in. Will you please cough or something?" "I did cough" "Cough louder."

4) I did love the relationship between Gideon and Zeb. They had miscommunications at the beginning but they talked about their problems and the following quote truly sums them up perfectly.
"You are excessively chaotic," Gideon said. "I'm excessively orderly. On average, we could work."

5) The epilogue was too fucking funny. The quote about Goodreads had me actually laughing.

Summary
Please read this book when it is released it was so good! The mystery genre often lacks queer diversity and I will be reading more of K.J. Charles' work because the writing was great.

Thank you to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press and K.J. Charles for this eARC. This review is all my honest opinons.

I always know a KJ Charles book will be a great read, with a satisfying romance and plenty of drama. I also knew I’ll like it even better on subsequent reads, as I pick up on the little clues I missed the first time. This is no exception. It’s the house party from hell, and there are clearly things going on behind the scenes that don’t make sense. And doesn’t love a remote, Gothic setting with footsteps echoing in empty corridors and looming thugs for servants?
As for the romance, the point of view character and his love interest are such opposites that it’s almost – but not quite – impossible to believe they’ll make it work. Seeing them communicate better over the course of the book, so they understand what went wrong the first time and appreciate each other’s strengths and weaknesses, is so satisfying.
I’m confident this will become a favorite reread.

J Charles can do no wrong in my eyes and being in such a bad reading slump all July it was ace to have a book I could not put down.

All of Us Murderers Is a Gothic Retelling in the heart of Dartmore. I went in to this blind and I'm so glad I did the plot is spectacular and I adored the relationship between Gideon and Zeb

so so good!

This was so much fun! I love the gothic renaissance we’ve been experiencing with all the beautiful, awful stories, but I love gothic romances and penny dreadfuls, too, and that’s what we’re channeling here.

We begin with a late arrival to a family dinner that devolves immediately into delicious backbiting drama that had me pausing exactly long enough to pop a bowl of popcorn.

Zeb’s situation devolves from there, dealing with awful relatives, gothic tropes straight out of his grandfather’s garish books, and a struggle he wants no part of.

In addition to a country manor murder filled with family infighting and apparent hauntings, we get a lovely queer relationship. Zeb is great ADHD representation, which is relatively rare, and he gets a supportive relationship that accepts his neurodivergence as a part of him, rather than loving him in spite of it.

This is one of my favorite books so far this year, and I want to reread it immediately.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was transfixed by the cover art of this book. It's giving classic Nancy Drew. I saw the cover and read the description and I just had to read it.

In the actual reading, I was less moved. The characters aren't really all that compelling. I was hoping for more grey antagonists than outright villains, but they just all sucked. There wasn't any complexity, just greed and self-enrichment.

The main couple was fine by virtue of being the only non-villains in the book. I didn't really ship them, though. Zeb was painfully naive. I like a big-hearted protagonist, but this guy was Pollyanna with plot armor. It was frustrating.

Long story short, I admire this book very much but I cannot say Ioved it. It was missing something in terms of characterization. It wanted for complexity.

Three stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

I really enjoy Charles’ writing but this was not my favorite showing of theirs. It took me a while to orient myself at the beginning of the novel as I was trying to parse the time and place of the novel. That started me off a bit on the wrong foot. I enjoyed Zeb as a character but wish the romance with Gideon was more prominent in the story. It took a backseat to the machinations of family members and inheritance game.

The sense of place was very distinct and heightened the gothic vibe of the story.

Rating: 3.5 rounded up