K.J. Charles has always been somewhat hit or miss for me and this one leaned more towards "miss" than her last two books; I felt like it had a lot of similar elements to A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel that worked better for me there, although at the end of the day a new KJ Charles is still a new KJ Charles and that's an auto-buy, and there's still a lot to enjoy here despite any of my quibbles (which other reviewers have basically covered already).

All of Us Murderers is said to be a gothic mix of Crimson Peak and Knives Out, so I had to see for myself if it lived up to that high praise.

Right from the opening of our story this felt like quite a gothic mystery in location and atmosphere. Zeb arrives at this manor home surrounded by shadow and fog not knowing exactly what he is there for. He soon finds out that his ex, who he still feels responsible for the bad break up with, is also there. There isn't a lot of romance but the little we are given is enough to root for the second chance to succeed.

There are so many horrible family members I couldn't keep track of who I disliked more or who was who in a few situations and that made it difficult to solve the lingering questions you try to answer by the end of a great locked room/gothic mystery. So if you pick this up, and I recommend you do, I would just suggest going along for the ride without trying to figure too much out ahead of the characters.

This book was such a fun mix of gothic atmosphere, family drama, and sharp-edged romance. From the moment Zeb walks into Lackaday House, you can feel the tension, resentful relatives, a twisted inheritance scheme, and his bitter ex-lover Gideon trapped in the same house with him. Add in Dartmoor mists, locked gates, and whispers of something otherworldly in the shadows, and you’ve got the perfect setup for a claustrophobic, gothic murder-mystery.

The romance was honestly my favorite part. Zeb and Gideon’s history added so much emotional weight, and watching them circle back toward each other in the middle of all that fear and paranoia gave the story a beating heart beneath the darkness. It’s not overly sweet… there’s bitterness, regret, and a lot of tension, but that made the eventual connection feel earned.

If I had one quibble, it’s that the middle dragged just a touch with some repetitive family scheming. I found myself wanting the mystery to push forward a little faster. But once the pieces started falling into place, it was deliciously tense and hard to put down.

Overall, this is gothic drama done right, moody, romantic, and just the right amount of sinister. Perfect if you like Crimson Peak vibes with a murder mystery twist.

A terrific homage to 1920’s and 30’s British gothic stories….i.e. sinister, set in a remote, countryside location in a large old house with secret passages and dim lighting. Zeb Wyckham is the youngest son in the line of Wyckhan heirs and part of the very dysfunctional, possibly sociopathic family whose wealth stems from the slave trade run by an ancestor who also wrote bad, sadistic salacious novels. The current heir, Wynn Wyckahm invites Zeb, his older brother Bram and sister-in-law Elsie, cousins Hawley Wyckham and Col. Wyckham Dash to visit him at the family estate. Also part of this group is Zeb former lover Gideon Grey who is Wynn’s private secretary and Jessamine, Wynn’s illegitimate grand niece (or something….the connection is tenuous). With the exception of Zeb and Gideon, the rest of the “house party” attendees are despicable and have greatly wrong others. Everyone is trapped in the house which is surrounded by a high stone wall, impressive gate and socked in with “pea soup” fog from the surrounding Dartmoor. Wynn is orchestrating a bizarre game…ostensibly to have one of the 3 Wyckham bachelors marry waif-like Jessamine and become the heir to the Wyckham fortune and property….something he’s already promised to Bram…the oldest. There are vengeful ghosts, flickering lights, disappearing messages on walls and many other odd things...all from the original Wyckham’s bizarre books. Zeb and Gideon had a bad breakup the last time they saw each other but it’s clear they have unresolved feelings for each other. Can they overcome their past and work together to escape Wynn’s trap? Will they reconcile and acknowledge their love for each other?? It’s a twisty gothic tale with a potential high body count.

All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles opens with the main character, Zeb, along with several other family members, being invited to stay with a distant relative at a creepy and isolated gothic mansion in the English countryside. Upon arriving, he learns that the relative plans to leave his fortune to whomever marries his young ward. Zeb wants no part of the deal and, to make matters worse, his ex-partner, Gideon, is employed at the house and is not happy to see him.

Unfortunately, due to poor weather conditions and 12 foot high walls, Zeb and his greedy family members are stuck at the house. Things start to deteriorate as family secrets are revealed and Zeb finds himself increasingly desperate to leave the property.

I really liked Zeb and thought it was interesting to see how different people perceived him, as he dealt with ADHD characteristics in a time before neurodivergence was acknowledged or understood. The plot was appropriately unhinged and I enjoyed all of the twists and turns that come with Gothic-style thrillers. Overall, I liked how the story came together and I’ve definitely learned my lesson to always have an exit strategy when visiting distant relatives in potentially haunted mansions.

This was my first KJ Charles book, but it won't be my last. I love a good whodunit and this was a really good one. It kept me guessing until the very end. It has all the things you want out of a whodunit....an obvious villain, no wait, now there's another obvious villain, oooh wait, now there's another person who definitely did it, nooooo, it's the first guy again for sure. Is that just me? I liked the main character and I empathized with him for having a crazy family who has dragged him into the middle of some drama that he wants nothing to do with. Lackady House is creepy. The people who live there are creepy. The fog is creepy. I can't blame Zeb for wanting to leave the moment he sets foot on the property. I enjoyed this book from start to finish.

I have been a long-time reader of KJ Charles's works, so perhaps that tainted my experience of this book, considering there are others of her works that I cannot get enough of. This one I would say is overall Fine but was not as good as I wanted it to be.

All of Us Murderers is, as it says on the tin, a historical murder mystery/queer romance set in a Gothic manor. The entire atmosphere is downright creepy, there are creepy ghost monk scares, there's a creepy stone circle with the question of blood sacrifice at it, there's Mists on the Moor, and a whole cast of Terrible People leading you to wonder who might be the most terriblest person of them all.

I did enjoy Zeb and Gideon as characters but I wish their romance was more seen and not told. Much of what happened between the two of them had already happened and we learned it after the fact. I wasn't very invested in their reunion considering I had no idea why they had broken up in the first place.

KJ's writing style is still very good and that's what gave this book the rating that it has, but I was left wanting more from the characters and less from the scenery, if that makes any sense? Will I pick up the next KJ Charles book that comes out and give it a go? You better believe it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! This comes out on October 7th.

When Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative Wynn's remote Gothic manor, he is horrified to find all the people he least wants to see there: his estranged brother, his brother’s wife, his sneering cousin, and his bitter ex-lover Gideon. Then, Wynn announces the true purpose of the gathering: he intends to leave the vast family fortune to whoever marries his young ward Jessamine, setting off a violent scramble for her hand. Zeb wants no part in this, morally against the idea. Then mysterious events begin to occur - from ghost sightings to a missing person. When he tries to leave, Zeb finds himself trapped. With the help of Gideon, will Zeb escape and live to tell the tale?

I thought All Of Us Murderers was a mess to be honest.

The novel feels very, very repetitive. The same arguments are had over and over again and Zeb tries to leave and finds something stopping him over and over again. I think there is a way to have certain events repeat - like Zeb finding himself trapped more than once - without it feeling needlessly repetitive but KJ Charles didn’t accomplish that in my opinion. You could say it’s on purpose to make the reader feel just as trapped as Zeb which I think is a solid enough argument. It just really bothered me.

As for the characters, I hated every character except for Zeb and Gideon which was definitely intentional but, god, was it exhausting. I didn’t even particularly like Zeb or Gideon either. Honestly, I just found them tolerable. Neither of them have much in ways of characterization, especially not Gideon. We learn about Zeb’s personality through what Gideon says about him. I definitely prefer learning about a character through their actions and words rather than being told what they’re like. Gideon even says that Zeb is a great person for not being like his family members which I think is a very low bar given how awful they are. Yes, Zeb thinks the plot to marry off Jessamine is wrong, but that’s the bare minimum in my opinion (though I realize it was a different time period). Because of how neutral I felt towards Zeb and Gideon, it was hard to root for their romance. I find that I only like second chance romance occasionally and, unfortunately, this was one of the times where it didn’t work for me.

As for the mystery’s solution, I thought there were far too many reveals. It felt incredibly convoluted. I couldn’t explain everything that happens in the book and I genuinely don’t know if that’s because there were plot holes or if certain answers were given but as one of many in an endless list of reveals so it went over my head. I think a mystery novel can absolutely have more than one reveal - oftentimes they should - but I think they should be spaced out so as not to leave the reader so overwhelmed by the ending. There’s a lot of page time where not much is happening and I think if some of the events happened sooner we could have gotten some earlier reveals as well.

Finally, I didn’t love the treatment of women in this novel. I’m aware that the author is female herself but the only redeemable characters in the book are Gideon and Zeb. Yes, there are awful men too, but it felt glaring to me that we don’t get a single redeemable female character. There was definitely the opportunity to have at least one but it wasn’t pursued.

This is my third time trying to read a novel by Charles - I DNF’d one romance and one mystery - but I do still find myself hoping to find a book by her that I love. Surely with such a big backlog and loyal following there’s something that works for me! This just wasn’t it. At all.

It's a great story, combining elements of locked room murder mystery, gothic horror and some romance.
i really enjoying this book. KJ Charles is one of my favourite authors

My first KJ Charles, but it won’t be my last!

As someone whose favorite game is Clue, I had the best time with this gothic murder mystery. Charles’ writing is deeply atmospheric and immersive, and what begins as a family reunion, quickly evolves into an inheritance game and a fight to stay alive. There is no shortage of backstabbing and brawling as these characters try to prove themselves willing to do whatever it takes to secure the family fortune.

As someone who has a weak stomach and is rather squeamish when it comes to gore, I was grateful this was not overly graphic and isn’t going to have me hiding under the covers to stay safe from the monsters.

Alongside the murder and backstabbing, there was a beautiful second chance romance that had me swooning.

This book will be the most perfect read to break out on a crisp fall day!

This book has it all. Queer historical romance, a haunted house, a family full of horrible people in forced proximity, a multi-layered mystery, great writing for a character with ADHD…the list goes on. At times I felt like like I was in a gay(er) Scooby-Doo, a gay(er) Clue, or an Agatha Christie story that didn’t shy away from some realities of how wealth is built. I loved this and it was the perfect cozy, spooky, queer fall read.

Thanks very much to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. Really liked it at the beginning and appreciated the old school gothic atmosphere but that was about it. The mystery wasn’t exciting, the romance was boring and the dialogue was stilted. The story was also really weirdly paced. Really wanted to love this but was mostly just bored and/or annoyed.

Perfect story for the spooky season, including a haunted castle, a bunch of unhinged and deplorable relatives, hostile environment, dirty secrets and shameful past of one family, mysterious deaths, an underdog hero and a beautifully written second chance romance. By the way, I don't want to see or hear about another spider again.

Sincere thanks to Netgalley and the Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC of this book.

Twisted family secrets, a haunted house, and a second-chance romance—this mystery had me hooked until the very last reveal.
Zebedee thinks he’s just spending a quiet fortnight with his brother, sister-in-law, and cousin at a distant relative’s estate. But the moment they arrive, it’s clear something is deeply wrong. The dying host has a bizarre agenda: marry off his ward and name an heir before his final breath. And the house itself? It practically breathes with dread.
As guests begin to vanish and bodies turn up, Zeb realizes he’s trapped in a nightmare—surrounded by family members who are manipulative, cruel, or worse. The only person he can trust is the one he thought he’d lost forever: Gideon, his ex-boyfriend. Their reunion is slow-burning and tense, but when they finally talk, it’s electric. In a house full of secrets and lies, their rekindled bond becomes the only thing that feels real. Every other character is a masterclass in dysfunction, but Zeb and Gideon shine through the darkness. Their love story isn’t just a subplot—it’s the emotional anchor of the entire book. And when they finally earn their happy ending, it feels so deserved.
If you love mysteries with gothic vibes, morally gray characters, and a romance that makes you root with your whole heart—this one’s for you.

Creepy haunted faux-gothic mansion and a family that absolutely hates each other fighting over an inheritance. The vibes are perfectly crafted!!! Misty, cold, unsettling weather; a giant house that's fucking weird; the feeling of being trapped in the middle of nowhere; so much tension!!! This is such a great book for fall. The characters and their relationships are also excellent. Zeb is a delightful stray cat who does NOT want to be involved in all this. The plot was absolutely riveting and I didn't want to put the book down. The author does such an excellent job laying down little details early on that come back later to tie everything together. Absolutely recommend!

This book is proof that everything I haven’t read yet by KJ Charles needs to be bumped to the top of my TBR!!! I didn’t know I needed a second chance murder mystery in my life, but I most certainly did. I know for a fact I’d be too scared to survive, Lackaday House, but I had a blast reading about it!

I love KJ Charles and everything she does, and this book is no exception. I love that her characters have their values fixed even in the midst of evil and chaos, and Zeb and Gideon's romance is extremely satisfying, especially for those who are missing the caustic romance of the Will Darling books.

A spooky house, a group of awful people, and a second chance romance. It's knives out atmosphere with romance within.

I need to start off by saying that KJ Charles is always a must read author of mine! I simply love all her books and this one did not disappoint.

I was in love with Zeb 4% in when he exclaimed “sweet baby Jesus!”. This book was so great! The balance between character development and mystery/intrigue was perfection.

KJ Charles is an expert at the historical novel. This representation of a gothic novel had me at the edge of my seat. The twists and turns were perfection. But the real standout was the MC Zeb. The ADHD rep was so well done. He was truly the shining star in a sea of muck.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and KJ Charles for the advanced copy. I am voluntarily leaving this review.

4.5⭐️

It's been a while since I sunk my teeth into a Charles novel and while her new releases aren't always a new favourite, or a guaranteed win, I certainly expected better than this. But alas all I'm likely to remember about this one, if I'm lucky, are two of the more interesting and rare themes one finds in a historical : reparations and retribution slash revenge (not related to each other).

Outside of this, the main driver of the plot? Bonkers, and not in a fun way. The romance? Fairly unremarkable.

Instead, this was kind of a slog. And when it wasn't a slog I spent my time being so annoyed by how everyone treated our main character; which we're supposed to be, so, great job, I guess? But ultimately, while I wish this had lived up to the Crimson Peak meets Knives Out vibes, for me, it just didn't. But I do think this release is perfectly timed for the spooky season and I'm sure it'll find it's audience -- and I'm bummed I'm not among them.