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dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
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 soon 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 develop.
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Murder
Minor: Incest, Rape, Slavery
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Impeccable atmosphere. If you're in the mood for a group of genuinely horrible people stuck with each other in a spooky isolated manor due to The Mists(TM) and scheming relatives, with steadily mounting tension and a creeping sense of danger as past misdeeds return to haunt them, this one is for you.
I really enjoyed the energy of Zeb and Gideon being so grounded in reality despite the way everyone else around them is getting swept up in the Gothic Novel Tropes of it all. It lends the story an air of dark comedy, that Zeb is behaving and speaking like a person at a normal family gathering while his relatives tremble and turn pale and insist upon the existence of ghosts and curses and the Dangers Of The Mist.
Darker than expected, with real peril, but that's not a complaint! Genuinely difficult to put down, and kept me up too late. That'll teach me to take my ereader to bed.
I really enjoyed the energy of Zeb and Gideon being so grounded in reality despite the way everyone else around them is getting swept up in the Gothic Novel Tropes of it all. It lends the story an air of dark comedy, that Zeb is behaving and speaking like a person at a normal family gathering while his relatives tremble and turn pale and insist upon the existence of ghosts and curses and the Dangers Of The Mist.
Darker than expected, with real peril, but that's not a complaint! Genuinely difficult to put down, and kept me up too late. That'll teach me to take my ereader to bed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Murder
Minor: Incest, Rape, Slavery
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Sexual harassment, Colonisation
Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, Slavery, Suicide
This book is excellently done, but is an exploration of a family made up of individuals who have committed horrific acts, save for our protagonist, who modern readers would recognize as having ADHD but who is treated by his contemporaries as lazy/selfish/unreliable/clumsy (and so on). The second chance love story is sweet and their reconciliation is believable. There are also a few scenes with spiders or where the main character (who has a phobia) is afraid there will be spiders.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The House of Usher meets (2002 live-action) Scooby Doo
Right off the bat, the most notable thing about All of Us Murderers is the excellent ADHD rep in our main character Zeb. Even without relying on modern language, it's clear what's going on and it's well-executed. His constant internal monologue hits all the right notes.
Overall, I would say that this book is "jack of all trades, master of none." It's a fun little romp across the three genres of romance, gothic horror, and whodunit.
I personally think it would have been stronger if there had been a bit more focus on one out of the three. For my taste, I would have liked a more robust Gothic atmosphere.
Above all else, I really enjoyed the messy family dynamics and the slow reveal of the character's histories with eachother. The Wyckhams are a tangled mess, and they deserve eachother.
A second-chance romance with a fumbling neurodivetgent. Gothic-lite backdrop and a twisty ghosty whodunit. Wraps up nicely. This is an effortless read that you'll finish in one or two sittings. Easy to reccomend.
ARC provided by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.
Right off the bat, the most notable thing about All of Us Murderers is the excellent ADHD rep in our main character Zeb. Even without relying on modern language, it's clear what's going on and it's well-executed. His constant internal monologue hits all the right notes.
Overall, I would say that this book is "jack of all trades, master of none." It's a fun little romp across the three genres of romance, gothic horror, and whodunit.
I personally think it would have been stronger if there had been a bit more focus on one out of the three. For my taste, I would have liked a more robust Gothic atmosphere.
Above all else, I really enjoyed the messy family dynamics and the slow reveal of the character's histories with eachother. The Wyckhams are a tangled mess, and they deserve eachother.
A second-chance romance with a fumbling neurodivetgent. Gothic-lite backdrop and a twisty ghosty whodunit. Wraps up nicely. This is an effortless read that you'll finish in one or two sittings. Easy to reccomend.
ARC provided by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Homophobia, Murder
Minor: Incest, Rape, Slavery, Abortion
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my god, where to begin? This was a mystery and a romance and a Gothic nightmare all rolled into one and I read it in a day because I couldn’t put it down.
If there’s one thing KJ Charles knows how to do, it’s write about good people who happen to come from extremely hideous families and this is no exception. Imagine you get an invite from an estranged relative and it turns out he’s brought you to a house filled with your non-estranged but completely horrible family, a stranger he wants you to marry, and your ex. That’s where this book starts, and it only gets more deranged from there. I fear saying anything more might spoil it so you’ll have to trust me.
(Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review)
If there’s one thing KJ Charles knows how to do, it’s write about good people who happen to come from extremely hideous families and this is no exception. Imagine you get an invite from an estranged relative and it turns out he’s brought you to a house filled with your non-estranged but completely horrible family, a stranger he wants you to marry, and your ex. That’s where this book starts, and it only gets more deranged from there. I fear saying anything more might spoil it so you’ll have to trust me.
(Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood
Minor: Incest, Slavery, Suicide, Abortion