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annathesockaholic's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
bear_ridge_tarot's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s 1905. A decade after the unsolved murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham. The newspapers called the friends the Seven Wonders, but for Jermey Kite it was more than just the lost of his best friend. It was the end of his whole life. So when a mysterious anonymous letter lands on his boss’s desk, Jem sets out to discover what actually happened that night. The pursuit might be more than he can handle when Toby’s killer escalated their attempts to silence Jem. Is it worth it, or is this a secret better kept buried?
As Jem digs into the murder mystery, it becomes clear that only one of the Seven Wonders had any opportunity to commit the crime. Each of them are broken and changed, longing for things that they’ll never have now. And yet, only one was so filled with jealous rage that they killed their friend. The story is told in a series of interlocking flashbacks and present day events that lend the overall story a feel of nostalgia. It’s not quite a dark academia, since the school is just part of the setting, but it is a good read for anyone who likes the genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, and Rape
Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Abortion
sarajaynereads's review
dark
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
5.0
aahlvers's review against another edition
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
4.0
cellular_cosmogony's review against another edition
5.0
CW: past rape, depictions of ableism, homophobia, racism and misogyny, abusive interpersonal relationships
This is the first book KJ Charles has published that doesn't fall in the romance genre. It is a mystery, first and foremost, and while there is a amorous relationship in here, it is a subplot, rather than the main plot. Not writing the book as romance also allows the book to be freer with how it develops this relationship, without the constraint of a mandatory HEA.
Synopsis: Jem is a working class man who's trying to live his life but is chased by the ghost of his past - a whole decade before one of his friends at Oxford was murdered and the case remained unsolved. Jem and Toby's other friends were questioned about the murder but nobody found why. When an anonymous letter arrives at his workplace accusing him of killing Toby, Jem is forced to resign from his job, which sends him off on a journey to find the truth.
My thoughtsI wouldn't say I was surprised that the book was good - I've loved the author's romantic mysteries before, so I knew she could pull one off. I was constantly changing who I thought the killer was and the reveal was so satisfying.
I also love how as we start to learn more and more of Toby, we begin to question whether he didn't have it coming (he did). Him surrounding himself with the less desirable members of his cohort - two women, a black man, an obviously queer man and a disabled working class boy - might seem generous at first but there is something off about it. Slowly it becomes obvious that he never valued them as people but as his possessions that would make him look better.
This book is perfect for people who read Babel and wanted more of the characters and their interpresonal drama and less of the etymology. I wouldn't necessarily call it dark academia because the story is about the mystery and academia is merely the setting, rather than the focus, but it's still a great book for fans of the genre.
This is the first book KJ Charles has published that doesn't fall in the romance genre. It is a mystery, first and foremost, and while there is a amorous relationship in here, it is a subplot, rather than the main plot. Not writing the book as romance also allows the book to be freer with how it develops this relationship, without the constraint of a mandatory HEA.
Synopsis: Jem is a working class man who's trying to live his life but is chased by the ghost of his past - a whole decade before one of his friends at Oxford was murdered and the case remained unsolved. Jem and Toby's other friends were questioned about the murder but nobody found why. When an anonymous letter arrives at his workplace accusing him of killing Toby, Jem is forced to resign from his job, which sends him off on a journey to find the truth.
My thoughtsI wouldn't say I was surprised that the book was good - I've loved the author's romantic mysteries before, so I knew she could pull one off. I was constantly changing who I thought the killer was and the reveal was so satisfying.
Spoiler
I kept thinking it couldn't possibly be Nick because it's never the love interest, unless they have femme fatale vibe, and then he confessed.I also love how as we start to learn more and more of Toby, we begin to question whether he didn't have it coming (he did). Him surrounding himself with the less desirable members of his cohort - two women, a black man, an obviously queer man and a disabled working class boy - might seem generous at first but there is something off about it. Slowly it becomes obvious that he never valued them as people but as his possessions that would make him look better.
This book is perfect for people who read Babel and wanted more of the characters and their interpresonal drama and less of the etymology. I wouldn't necessarily call it dark academia because the story is about the mystery and academia is merely the setting, rather than the focus, but it's still a great book for fans of the genre.
booglelooreads's review against another edition
5.0
MM Historical Mystery set in England 1905 in which a man who's life's been haunted by his best friend's grisly murder a decade ago becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth.
5/5 stars: This is a MM Historical Mystery stand-alone by Charles that takes place in England 1905 and features a man who's life has been destroyed by the unsolved murder of his best friend at Oxford a decade ago. After receiving another anonymous letter accusing him of the murder, he's determined to solve the crime only to find his former university friends as tormented and broken as himself. Could one of them be the killer and will his pursuit of the truth be the death of him? With plenty of twists and turns, Charles has masterfully crafted a mystery that deftly balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. Charles employs flashbacks to 1892 to give us the backstory of the “Seven Wonders” dynamic and the events that lead up to the grisly murder. Charles' writing and character work is stellar; the characters are well-rounded and complex while remaining incredibly likable. Jem's lead a tough life and I really liked seeing him take on the task of the murder investigation. The surviving members of the “Seven Wonders” all have unique voices and I especially liked seeing Jem reestablish his friendships with Nicky, Aaron and Ella. This does feature an MM relationship but doesn't have any OPS scenes. Additionally, Charles tackles some heavy topics, so take care and check the CWs. Highly recommend!
I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.
5/5 stars: This is a MM Historical Mystery stand-alone by Charles that takes place in England 1905 and features a man who's life has been destroyed by the unsolved murder of his best friend at Oxford a decade ago. After receiving another anonymous letter accusing him of the murder, he's determined to solve the crime only to find his former university friends as tormented and broken as himself. Could one of them be the killer and will his pursuit of the truth be the death of him? With plenty of twists and turns, Charles has masterfully crafted a mystery that deftly balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. Charles employs flashbacks to 1892 to give us the backstory of the “Seven Wonders” dynamic and the events that lead up to the grisly murder. Charles' writing and character work is stellar; the characters are well-rounded and complex while remaining incredibly likable. Jem's lead a tough life and I really liked seeing him take on the task of the murder investigation. The surviving members of the “Seven Wonders” all have unique voices and I especially liked seeing Jem reestablish his friendships with Nicky, Aaron and Ella. This does feature an MM relationship but doesn't have any OPS scenes. Additionally, Charles tackles some heavy topics, so take care and check the CWs. Highly recommend!
I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.
saajones's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.25
eleart's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.5
am_paro's review against another edition
5.0
I devoured this, absolutely love a good mystery. This particular sub-genre of mystery is "group of people reminisce about a person murdered a long time ago who was actually an asshole and on second thought nobody feels terribly bad about it."
The story just worked really well. KJ Charles kept it short and relatively tight, but still included several twists and turns. I especially appreciate the amount of research that goes into Charles's books and that was apparent here, setting the story firmly in Oxford/surrounding area/a bit of London in the 1890s and 19-aughts. Charles is adept at letting the historical facts underpinning the setting, characters, and story come through very naturally, without beating everyone over the head with exhaustive details. Yeah, if I had to pick between Death in the Spires and that one Lord John Something mystery by Diana Gabaldon I read a while back...I would pick Death in the Spires.
If I could convince Charles to do a rewrite of this already excellent and thoroughly enjoyable mystery, I would ask for
- Make it longer. It's short, and it works, but if it was longer, there would be more space to explore...
- Deeper looks at each of the characters. It felt very like an Agatha Christie short story at points, with characters deftly and quickly sketched out, but so much of the tension in the book relied on an emotional connection between characters that I found myself wishing for more.
- Flesh out the romances more. Both the Jem-Nicky and Aaron-Ella romances needed more to satisfy me. I took them at face value and it worked, of course, but sometimes I didn't really know how these lovebirds felt about each other. I really wanted more 1890s interactions between Aaron and Ella. For Nicky and Jem, the difficulty was that they were rekindling their romance DURING the story and I still wasn't sure that Nicky liked Jem. And vice versa, honestly. Maybe it's an inscrutable historical English male emotional suppression thing?? I have no idea. But I needed at some point for Nicky and Jem to just SAY it, because it was so ambiguous until, like, the last page.
And maybe add a glossary of Oxford University-specific things like tutorials and porters? In my defense I DID try to google things. Like, it seems "Hall" is basically a cafeteria and sometimes the professors will eat there too.
The story just worked really well. KJ Charles kept it short and relatively tight, but still included several twists and turns. I especially appreciate the amount of research that goes into Charles's books and that was apparent here, setting the story firmly in Oxford/surrounding area/a bit of London in the 1890s and 19-aughts. Charles is adept at letting the historical facts underpinning the setting, characters, and story come through very naturally, without beating everyone over the head with exhaustive details. Yeah, if I had to pick between Death in the Spires and that one Lord John Something mystery by Diana Gabaldon I read a while back...I would pick Death in the Spires.
If I could convince Charles to do a rewrite of this already excellent and thoroughly enjoyable mystery, I would ask for
- Make it longer. It's short, and it works, but if it was longer, there would be more space to explore...
- Deeper looks at each of the characters. It felt very like an Agatha Christie short story at points, with characters deftly and quickly sketched out, but so much of the tension in the book relied on an emotional connection between characters that I found myself wishing for more.
- Flesh out the romances more. Both the Jem-Nicky and Aaron-Ella romances needed more to satisfy me. I took them at face value and it worked, of course, but sometimes I didn't really know how these lovebirds felt about each other. I really wanted more 1890s interactions between Aaron and Ella. For Nicky and Jem, the difficulty was that they were rekindling their romance DURING the story and I still wasn't sure that Nicky liked Jem. And vice versa, honestly. Maybe it's an inscrutable historical English male emotional suppression thing?? I have no idea. But I needed at some point for Nicky and Jem to just SAY it, because it was so ambiguous until, like, the last page.
And maybe add a glossary of Oxford University-specific things like tutorials and porters? In my defense I DID try to google things. Like, it seems "Hall" is basically a cafeteria and sometimes the professors will eat there too.