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gilberik's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Once again a KJ Charles book that I devour in the speed of light and come out of the experience a changed person.
The characters are organic, the places palpable. The mystery is nice to figure out along with the main character. Their lives are so entangled with one another, it is very rewarding to tag along the story and sort through it all.
I will need a read of Cymbeline and then a reread of Death in the Spires, to actually see how deeply well crafted this book is.
The characters are organic, the places palpable. The mystery is nice to figure out along with the main character. Their lives are so entangled with one another, it is very rewarding to tag along the story and sort through it all.
I will need a read of Cymbeline and then a reread of Death in the Spires, to actually see how deeply well crafted this book is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, Ableism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Rape and Ableism
cleo_reads's review
4.0
Edwardian mystery by KJ Charles, about an unsolved murder that happened at Oxford, 10 years earlier. I enjoyed this, although it wasn’t as immersive as I was hoping for.
I happened to have read Maurice earlier this year, so it was interesting to read another book about queer young men navigating Oxford in Edwardian England. Death in the Spires
I tend to focus on the characters and relationships when I read a mystery, rather than on solving the mystery and this book lends itself to that style of reading.
This is a mystery with a low key romance, but is definitely not a genre romance - the mystery, not the romance is central.
I happened to have read Maurice earlier this year, so it was interesting to read another book about queer young men navigating Oxford in Edwardian England. Death in the Spires
I tend to focus on the characters and relationships when I read a mystery, rather than on solving the mystery and this book lends itself to that style of reading.
This is a mystery with a low key romance, but is definitely not a genre romance - the mystery, not the romance is central.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Homophobia, Racism, and Murder
Minor: Rape
random_shoes's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
You meet Jem on a bad day, he is shown a letter that makes him turn to the past to find answers. On the way you learn who he is, and how he ended up where he is. You meet past friends of his, all of whom were broken in different ways by the murder of one of their own.
Are Jem's memories of his time at Oxford contain more fiction than fact? As Jem meets with his old friends he sees that they are just as followed by the past as he is.
Uncovering who killed Toby requires uncovering all that was happening around Jem and the rest of the "Seven Wonders".
Well written, and hard to put down. Building Jem's past brings all the characters fully into being and the world really finds form in their memories and their present. At some points you feel bad for Jem, other times you can't decide if you should trust him, or his memory.
Are the Seven Wonders what he remembers? And how did it all come crashing down?
Are Jem's memories of his time at Oxford contain more fiction than fact? As Jem meets with his old friends he sees that they are just as followed by the past as he is.
Uncovering who killed Toby requires uncovering all that was happening around Jem and the rest of the "Seven Wonders".
Well written, and hard to put down. Building Jem's past brings all the characters fully into being and the world really finds form in their memories and their present. At some points you feel bad for Jem, other times you can't decide if you should trust him, or his memory.
Are the Seven Wonders what he remembers? And how did it all come crashing down?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and Child death
onthesamepage's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
If you love If We Were Villains, may I recommend this book? I think the two have quite a few things in common, but this one is historical and, if my memory serves me right, more diverse. I loved it more, but this will be down to personal preference. I do think if you liked one, you'll have a good time with the other at least.
What can I even say about K.J. Charles at this point without sounding like a broken record? The writing? Super engaging, as usual. The characters? I was invested within the first couple of pages, also as usual. The relationships? Not just the romances, but all the different dynamics within the Seven Wonders were so good. And for a book that isn't even about a romance, why did the romantic elements still thrill me so much?
As a mystery, it probably could have been a bit tighter, or more effective, but I honestly just didn't care. I wanted to know what had happened, I wanted to see Jem reconnect with these people he once loved so dearly. I was salivating to get to his meeting with Nicky, because so much is made of him in the flashbacks, and it did not disappoint.
I don't know if this is the kind of book where you can predict the twists, or sleuth along with the main character, because as the reader you're missing a lot of information. But I liked how everything unraveled in the end, and if Charles chooses to write more mysteries, I'm there for them all.
If you love If We Were Villains, may I recommend this book? I think the two have quite a few things in common, but this one is historical and, if my memory serves me right, more diverse. I loved it more, but this will be down to personal preference. I do think if you liked one, you'll have a good time with the other at least.
What can I even say about K.J. Charles at this point without sounding like a broken record? The writing? Super engaging, as usual. The characters? I was invested within the first couple of pages, also as usual. The relationships? Not just the romances, but all the different dynamics within the Seven Wonders were so good. And for a book that isn't even about a romance, why did the romantic elements still thrill me so much?
As a mystery, it probably could have been a bit tighter, or more effective, but I honestly just didn't care. I wanted to know what had happened, I wanted to see Jem reconnect with these people he once loved so dearly. I was salivating to get to his meeting with Nicky, because so much is made of him in the flashbacks, and it did not disappoint.
I don't know if this is the kind of book where you can predict the twists, or sleuth along with the main character, because as the reader you're missing a lot of information. But I liked how everything unraveled in the end, and if Charles chooses to write more mysteries, I'm there for them all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Ableism, Racism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Murder and Rape
rainbow_grace's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Abortion and Rape
jadesarah's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Homophobia, Murder, and Ableism
srm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Given that Charles's Romance novels often have wonderfully constructed mystery plots, I had no doubts that she could pull of a straight Mystery, and I was right. I love the dual timeline between the present and 10 years earlier when Jem and all his friends were at Oxford and one of them committed murder. Fantastic characters and twists and just an all around delight.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Alcohol, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Racism, Grief, Homophobia, and Abortion
_isabel_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've no words. "Death in the Spires" was freaking amazing. Absolutely, wholly, ridiculously good. I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to say in this review other than: KJ Charles, the writer you are.
Full desclaimer, this book is not a romance. It's a mystery, with a queer protagonist, but it's not a romance, although there IS love. Unrequited love, obsessive love, pining love, familial love, platonic love; it has all the spectrum of the emotions you can expect from a cast of seven brilliant, and brilliantly doomed, Oxford students who end inseperable friends thanks to the charisma of their leading man, the uniting force behind their group, one Toby Feynsham, who, like in all mysteries of the dark academia genre, ends murdered in dark, mysterious circumstances on a fateful night their final year at Oxford.
Ten years later, Jeremy Kite, OUR leading man, with his prospects and ambitions ruined, once again adrift because of the repercussions of that fateful night, finally embarks on a journey to discover what went down with Toby, and who's to blame for everything that went wrong after that.
"Death in the Spires" is a quitessential dark academia mystery, and with the added early 20th century setting, it instantly becomes an unforgettable work, maybe even a classic, of the genre: it's clever and brilliant, and KJ Charles writing, with her dry snark, her magical way with words, the sheer beauty of it, makes it even more so.
The Seven Wonders' story is unforgettable: I was literally sucked into their world, and I was so wholly immersed in what was going I managed to reach that end, that painful, bittersweet, yet hopeful (and immensely satisfying) end, without even realising it.
Seeing their life, slowly but surely, splinter and shatter around them from the brilliant first few years together, all of them kings and queens of their little kingdom, to that doomed last year, was like watching a trainwreck in slow motion: the build-up to the disaster, although told through flashbacks and brief timelines shifts, had me on the edge of my seat the whole damned time. Seeing how they went from being inseperable, loyal companions, this gang of seven ready to take on the whole world, to brutal murder and violence, backstabbing vileness and obsessive, possessive love turned sour, had me my heart it overdrive from start to finish.
I won't spoil anything else, but god. I don't think I've ever encountered a character quite like Toby: his character arc was literally the thing of dreams; the way KJ Charles built him, the way she showed the cracks inside him? You can feel the end of the Seven Wonders' golden age coming, yet you're powerless to stop anything; the only thing you can do is read with the same dread and the same bitter, powerless disillusionment Jem and the others go through. I think I mourned alongside them, Jem especially, and it left me feeling both hollowed out and absolutely in awe with what KJ Charles is capable of doing, of writing, in just under 300 pages.
I feel like I've lived through a whole lifetime with Jem.
Obviously, I adored our steadfast, righteous protagonist: quiet, stubborn, bitter, broken, but still wonderful and wonderfully relatable. I was rooting for him from the start, even when he took needlessly stupid risks, even when he was being so pig-headed I wanted to jump into the book and shake him (quitessential amateur sleth behaviour eh?). I kinda guessed where the mystery was leading to, but I think it added to the whole experience: I just sat there with my mounting dread and the slow realisation of what had really happended that fateful, horrible year. Some things still took me by surprise though. So, I sat there both in dread and in awe. I had the time of my life, okay?
Anyway, I won't forget this book anytime soon; I think I might end up re-reading it as soon as my heart settles and I can stop feeling so many feelings. I loved that ending: like I said, it's hopeful but also, immesely bittersweet. Satisfyingly bittersweet though; an end of a painful, horrible era, and the start of something new, something better, something true.
Go and read this book: PLEASE. I need someone to shout and scream at, because wow. Dark academia, a stubborn queer man as a lead, a gripping mystery, an unforgettable cast of characters that will stay with you for a long time: what more can you ask for?
Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC. This is my honest review.
Full desclaimer, this book is not a romance. It's a mystery, with a queer protagonist, but it's not a romance, although there IS love. Unrequited love, obsessive love, pining love, familial love, platonic love; it has all the spectrum of the emotions you can expect from a cast of seven brilliant, and brilliantly doomed, Oxford students who end inseperable friends thanks to the charisma of their leading man, the uniting force behind their group, one Toby Feynsham, who, like in all mysteries of the dark academia genre, ends murdered in dark, mysterious circumstances on a fateful night their final year at Oxford.
Ten years later, Jeremy Kite, OUR leading man, with his prospects and ambitions ruined, once again adrift because of the repercussions of that fateful night, finally embarks on a journey to discover what went down with Toby, and who's to blame for everything that went wrong after that.
"Death in the Spires" is a quitessential dark academia mystery, and with the added early 20th century setting, it instantly becomes an unforgettable work, maybe even a classic, of the genre: it's clever and brilliant, and KJ Charles writing, with her dry snark, her magical way with words, the sheer beauty of it, makes it even more so.
The Seven Wonders' story is unforgettable: I was literally sucked into their world, and I was so wholly immersed in what was going I managed to reach that end, that painful, bittersweet, yet hopeful (and immensely satisfying) end, without even realising it.
Seeing their life, slowly but surely, splinter and shatter around them from the brilliant first few years together, all of them kings and queens of their little kingdom, to that doomed last year, was like watching a trainwreck in slow motion: the build-up to the disaster, although told through flashbacks and brief timelines shifts, had me on the edge of my seat the whole damned time. Seeing how they went from being inseperable, loyal companions, this gang of seven ready to take on the whole world, to brutal murder and violence, backstabbing vileness and obsessive, possessive love turned sour, had me my heart it overdrive from start to finish.
I won't spoil anything else, but god. I don't think I've ever encountered a character quite like Toby: his character arc was literally the thing of dreams; the way KJ Charles built him, the way she showed the cracks inside him? You can feel the end of the Seven Wonders' golden age coming, yet you're powerless to stop anything; the only thing you can do is read with the same dread and the same bitter, powerless disillusionment Jem and the others go through. I think I mourned alongside them, Jem especially, and it left me feeling both hollowed out and absolutely in awe with what KJ Charles is capable of doing, of writing, in just under 300 pages.
I feel like I've lived through a whole lifetime with Jem.
Obviously, I adored our steadfast, righteous protagonist: quiet, stubborn, bitter, broken, but still wonderful and wonderfully relatable. I was rooting for him from the start, even when he took needlessly stupid risks, even when he was being so pig-headed I wanted to jump into the book and shake him (quitessential amateur sleth behaviour eh?). I kinda guessed where the mystery was leading to, but I think it added to the whole experience: I just sat there with my mounting dread and the slow realisation of what had really happended that fateful, horrible year. Some things still took me by surprise though. So, I sat there both in dread and in awe. I had the time of my life, okay?
Anyway, I won't forget this book anytime soon; I think I might end up re-reading it as soon as my heart settles and I can stop feeling so many feelings. I loved that ending: like I said, it's hopeful but also, immesely bittersweet. Satisfyingly bittersweet though; an end of a painful, horrible era, and the start of something new, something better, something true.
Go and read this book: PLEASE. I need someone to shout and scream at, because wow. Dark academia, a stubborn queer man as a lead, a gripping mystery, an unforgettable cast of characters that will stay with you for a long time: what more can you ask for?
Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC. This is my honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Misogyny, Bullying, Rape, Racism, and Murder
Minor: Abortion and Suicidal thoughts
marmaladereads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An absolutely thrilling "who done it" set in 19th century Oxford, I could not put this book down and found myself speculating on the murderer all throughout my work day as I was forced to pause between reading periods due to *blegh* adult responsibilities. Set in 1905 with frequent flashbacks to 10 years prior, the story follows a group of 7 close friends who had studied at Oxford together. They had been all drawn together, or "collected" by the charismatic Toby, golden boy and heir to a marquess who liked to surround himself with odd characters - a scholarship kid, two women scholars, one of the first Black men to study at Oxford, the son of a rich shipping magnate. Somehow, this odd group works and forms a close bond. However, their friendship and indeed many of their promising futures are ended abruptly when Toby is suddenly murdered in their final year.
Ten years later, Jem (the narrator) is suddenly dismissed from his post following an anonymous and scandalous letter bringing up this old murder. Having nothing else left to lose, he decides to solve Toby's murder once and for all, finding all of his remaining friends and digging up all of their old secrets from university. Each of the six remaining friends has a lot of secrets to hide, and the tale unraveling the knot is absolutely gripping. At any point I suspected each of the friends individually, and ultimately was wrong in most of my guesses, but this tale kept me hooked from beginning to end. A fast paced unraveling with plenty of social commentary and lots of the historical tidbits that KJ is known for.
It also features a fairly solid romantic subplot. The romance is certainly not a focus in this book and does not carry the same emotional weight as other KJ works, as well as being a closed door affair, but it underpins many of the motivations of the characters and the emotions are hinted at throughout. An incredibly satisfying read.
Ten years later, Jem (the narrator) is suddenly dismissed from his post following an anonymous and scandalous letter bringing up this old murder. Having nothing else left to lose, he decides to solve Toby's murder once and for all, finding all of his remaining friends and digging up all of their old secrets from university. Each of the six remaining friends has a lot of secrets to hide, and the tale unraveling the knot is absolutely gripping. At any point I suspected each of the friends individually, and ultimately was wrong in most of my guesses, but this tale kept me hooked from beginning to end. A fast paced unraveling with plenty of social commentary and lots of the historical tidbits that KJ is known for.
It also features a fairly solid romantic subplot. The romance is certainly not a focus in this book and does not carry the same emotional weight as other KJ works, as well as being a closed door affair, but it underpins many of the motivations of the characters and the emotions are hinted at throughout. An incredibly satisfying read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Pregnancy
crothe77's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Death in the Spires by K. J. Charles is a historical mystery set in Oxford in 1905. When Jem, a closeted gay man, is removed from his job because of a letter accusing him of murder, he returns to Oxford to find out who the real killer is. His former friends, the Seven Wonders, are all under suspicion as he uncovers more motives than he suspected.
What I liked was how the novel included conversations around women's rights, particularly on abortion, and how K. J. Charles includes the realities of Queerness, racism, and ableism for the time period. Aaron Oyede, a Black medical student, and Ella, the sister of Toby, the murdered man, had a chance at marriage and happiness before Toby’s murder tore them apart. Meanwhile, Prue, who was in love with Toby, left Oxford and lost her husband and child before seeing Jem again. Nicky, Jem’s former paramour, is back at Oxford as a tutor and Hugo, the last of the Seven, is in the government.
Jem is deeply invested in the mystery despite the decade that has passed since it happened. As he uncovers more, we learn more about the dynamics between the Seven Wonders and how Toby, despite being the one poised to have the most as an heir to the marquess, was actually the most mediocre of the bunch. Classism and sexism play a part in where each member went after the murder and how society looked at the group while at Oxford.
Content warning for period typical racism, homophobia, ableism, sexism, and mentions of deceased children
I would recommend this to readers looking for a mystery set at Oxford, fans of mysteries exploring social issues, and those looking for Queer disabled protagonists in their mysteries.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Ableism, and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual assault