A review by magneto
All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles

mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

This was a fun locked room (well, technically locked manor) mystery that had me hooked fairly early on. Part of the enjoyment of reading a mystery novel is the balance of not guessing the ending or a twist too quickly but also not having the reveal be something implausible. All Of Us Murderers did a great job maintaining the balance of a believable mystery and I think a future reread will be enjoyable in order to look out for what extra details I may have missed during my first read. I will say, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realise this was set during the Edwardian period rather than more recently - I just assumed I was supposed to believe rich Brits were Like That and it became vastly more enjoyable when it clicked this was a period piece.

I quite enjoyed being in my fellow ADHD king Zeb’s head as the story unfolded as he made for a likeable narrator and the queer ADHD rep (even if that’s not what we’re calling it in the time period) was refreshing. Zeb and Gideon’s interactions kept me hooked as the story unfolded but I felt the ending was a bit rushed. The epilogue felt a bit cheesy and pulled me out of the story as the ending felt a bit too rushed, turning what could’ve been a 4.5* story into a generous 4* read. If Zeb or Gideon had been less endearing, this would have been a 3* from me but I greatly enjoyed the characters. I'll be looking into reading more novels by KJ Charles after enjoying the writing style and characterization here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eArc, all thoughts and opinions are my own.