A true murder mystery from an author whose wonderful romances often contain many elements of the genre. I've been looking forward to this since she first announced it, and it didn't disappoint.

Ten years ago someone murdered Toby Feynsham. The killer was never found. Today, someone is sending anonymous letters accusing those who were his closest friends at Oxford, the so-called Seven Wonders, of the murder. Jeremy Kite loses his job because of this and sets out to finally discover what really happened all those years ago.

The setting is wonderfully crafted and the characters are fascinatingly drawn - features of this author's books I have always enjoyed. The plot develops intriguingly, twisting and turning as you'd expect from a murder mystery (and from such a talented author), and the denouement was genuinely satisfying. The pace was swift but smooth, and allowed for moments of rest and connection along the way. I devoured the whole thing in less than a day, and resented having to put it down to go to work. I'd very happily read more in this genre from KJ Charles if she wished to write them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC of this book.

Everything I expected in a KJ Charles murder mystery. It had me spinning the whole time figuring out who did it, and the pay out was high. What an excellent job. Charles says it's not a romance, and that's true, it isn't, but I did think the potential of a romance within it was fascinating and added a great bit to the story and the mystery. Well worth picking up if you're a fan of mysteries, and particularly so if you love them with a queer bent.

(vague content notes and spoilers below this)



I would advise some readers that there is an element of sexual assault that, while off page, is important to the story

I had missed reading murder mysteries and this one was definitely interesting enough as to keep me reading at record speed.
Here are a few things that I appreciated, without disclosing too much about the plot:
- Jem playing the detective although he clearly doesn´t have much idea on how things are done without risking one´s live (we love him anyway; it´s more credible this way actually, given he never did the detective work before).
- The classic troupe of the close group of friends... who weren´t that close, actually, and of course one of them is a murderer.
- The social critic inherent in the entire plotline (and this is something that I like in all KJ Charles´ books; there is always a way to tell the injustices of the time but, at the same time, judge it from a XXI century perspective that somehow fits quite well with the story).
I don´t think there´s a single thing I didn´t like about this book. The crime was solved without plot holes and the ending looked satisfactory. My only complain, if you may call it that, is that I´ll now be thirsty for more murder mysteries by the same author.

I've been looking forward to this book for quite some time, and it definitely delivered. You can always count on KJ Charles for good plotting and characterization, and with romance very much pushed to the background (though delightfully present), the rest of the story shone.

This wasn't perfect, and I tend to agree with another reviewer who would have liked more depth/detail throughout—but then, I tend to think the longer the better when it comes to good stories. 4.5 stars from me, rounded up and definitely hoping for more in this vein.

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

KJ Charles ventures into the dark academia genre with "Death in the Spires" and it is a triumph!

Set in the late Victorian era, the story revolves around the murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham in 1895. Ten years later, Toby's friend Jeremy "Jem" Kite receives a letter accusing him of the crime, prompting him to investigate. Jem realizes that the murderer must be one of his friends, once known as the Seven Wonders. As the investigation unfolds, he discovers that each of the other five friends had a motive for killing Toby.

KJ Charles delivers a gripping murder mystery that skillfully reveals the next pieces of the puzzle to the reader. What is always crucial in this type of book is to create convincing, multi-dimensional characters that do not blend into one, and Charles excels in this aspect. All of the characters are well developed, each with their own backgrounds, goals, and life experiences. I especially appreciated how the resolution of this murder mystery shows the complicated nature of every decision, even the most tragic. The book fits seamlessly into the dark academia genre, depicting the darker aspects of studying at an elite university in the 19th century. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I wholeheartedly recommend KJ Charles' new book to fans of murder mysteries, dark academia, and also those familiar with her previous work in other genres. It is so worth it!

This book was so compelling that I read it in one evening, by which I mean it's past 4am and I've just finished reading it. I loved this book so much! The plot, characters and revelations were all so well done - of course, we'd expect nothing less from KJ Charles. I'm already a big fan of her romance writing, and if she ever puts out more murder mysteries after this one, I will happily read them all.

This story caught me in the first few pages. A suspenseful murder within a group of friends. A perfect who-done-it story that deserves five stars.

KJ Charles is excellent at both character development and plot, so it's no surprise at all that her first straight up mystery (as opposed to the romantic suspense, or suspenseful romance, she's written heretofore) would be absolutely marvelous.

The Oxford University setting is well crafted and is important to the novel, and the timeline slips back and forth between 1895, when the friends are all students and the murder happens, and 1905, when one of the friends decides to finally figure out which of the friends was the murderer.

From that description, this might sound like an example of "dark academia" (a genre I don't care for) so I hasten to add that it's not. It's genuinely smart, as are all KJ Charles books, but it's not intellectually pretentious.

One of the things that I love about Charles is that she is historically accurate about her settings, including the prejudices of the times, while bringing a modern, critical sensibility to those prejudices, all without being anachronistic or winking at the reader. It's a real feat, one that most authors can't pull off. In this novel, it is clear that the Edwardian era was racist, sexist, homophobic, and classist, as well as demographically and politically diverse.

This was so, so good that I read it in 24 hours, letting everything else slide. Like, book hangover good, such that I won't be able to read fiction for a few days. I will be recommending it to all of my mystery-loving friends.

Five young men and two young women arrive to study at Oxford in the mid 1890s. Although very varied characters and backgrounds they soon become known as the "Seven Wonders". Toby is the focus, good looing, out-going, waiting upon an inheritance from his grandfather so spending unwisely, loves himself; Ella his twin, brilliant chemist, in love with Aaron, Nicky brilliant Anglo-Saxon scholar, rich, loves Toby; Hugo heading for politics, rich and very conventional; Prue, hard working, quiet, middle-class, in love with Toby, and the two real outsiders drawn in by Toby - Jem, club-footed working class lad from Manchester on a scholarship due to his brilliance at maths, unknowingly in love with Nicky and Aaron, well-off family but African, reading medicine and in love with Ella. Lots of drinking, partying but there must have been reasonable amounts of studying as several ended with Firsts. Toby is murdered, never solved. Time passes and it's 1905. Jem is working in Somerset House as a clerk, having dropped out after Toby's murder from mental stress. He receives an anonymous letter accusing him of murdering Toby which awakens his stress and, with his superior feeling uncomfortable, he loses his job. He decides to search out the others and get to the bottom of the murder. A whole can, or several, of worms is opened and there are plenty of twists, turns, He solidly pursues justice but there are too many secrets for him to remain safe. Well-written and devised. My main complaint is that chapters can be noted as being "Oxford 1895" but the next chapter moves to 1905 and, at times, it takes a few paragraphs to realise this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

I adored the general atmosphere of the story; it captured the haunting, gothic smokiness of Oxford perfectly,
somewhat reminiscent of Babel. It was a perfectly suspenseful, intricate, trailing story, and definitely a good Halloween night story to curl up with! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

An excellent murder mystery. Jem gets a scholarship to Oxford and on arrival he gets drawn into a group of friends. Their friendship is strong and carries them through the years. Then one of them is murdered and the culprit never found. This destoys the remaining members of the group and they go their separate ways. However, over the years, they all receive threatening letters regarding the murder until eventually, 10 years later, Jem decides to find out who the murderer was. What then follows is a rollercoaster ride of clues and accusations until the final showdown. Well plotted and great characters.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jem, Nicky, Aaron, Hugh, Toby, Ella and Prue - The Seven Wonders, or at the start "Feynsham's set" - Toby's curated collection of fellow students who met their first year in Oxford, becoming fast friends, until Toby's murder in the spring of their third year, 1895. Ten years after, Jem loses his lowly clerk job because of a note sent to his employer:

Jeremy Kite is a murderer.
He killed Toby Feynsham.
Ask him why.

Following Toby's death, they never told the police what really happened earlier that horrid evening and they went on with their lives, with varying degrees of success. Jem, who fell perhaps the lowest in the aftermath, decides once and for all to uncover who murdered Toby ... and why.

KJ Charles gives us the world of Oxford seen in a hundred movies ("The world was before them, a great sunlit path through pleasant meadows with a glittering city at its end ready for them to conquer.") - Hugh Grantesque boys in long robes on the quad, friends arm in arm walking down the hallowed paths, student theatricals, etc.:

"They were facing south, looking over Front Quad and Broad Street and toward the main spread of Oxford, and the setting sun turned everything before him to glowing rose gold. The domes and spires rose like masts from the sea, like prayers to heaven, a glory of human brilliance in stone ..."

But it's also a world where while there is love and friendship, there is more. "Ah, British friendship ... Tolerance as long as everyone knows his place, but God forbid your subjects should declare themselves your equals." As Nicky says "So: all of us could have, none of us would have, one of us did." And while we ponder Toby's murder, we are lead to ask if murder can ever be justified and if worse crimes have gone unpunished.

It's all deep, heady stuff and KJ Charles shepherds us through the discoveries, the abject sadness, the philosophical and the practical, all the while giving us a small M/M romance (with absolutely no hint of a HFN or HEA). I found this book deeply moving, completely engrossing and 5+ stars and a Recommended Read if you have the heart for it.

When Jeremy White receives the letter accusing him of murdering his best friend 10 years prior, it sets off a chain of events he could never have foreseen. Tired of being accused, tired of living in the shadows of an unspeakable act that happened a decade ago, he sets out to find the truth once and for all. What then unfolds is a reunion like no other, secrets that no one wants revealed and confrontations long avoided, finally coming to ahead.
I devoured this book in a few short hours, I was enthralled from beginning to end. This book reminded me of If We Were Villains, it read like a dark academia with a murder mystery twist. The setting (England) and time period it occurred in (Victorian era). Made for a cozy and atmospheric read. The pacing was spot on, and the writing was beautiful and very quotable. The author does a really good job incorporating modern day issues with this period piece read but does it in a way that it added to the plot and didn't take away from anything.
I love the way the characters were written; you will root for some and absolutely despise others but that's another reason I loved this book so much.
Nothing dragged with this one and everything flowed seamlessly, the ending was very satisfying with no stone left unturned. I loved this little group of seven and all the secrets that came spilling out in Jeremy's search for truth.
I highly recommend this one to fans of dark academia and murder mystery.
.
.
.
.
Thank you to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and the author for my eARC of this book. All opinions are 100% my own and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I love historical mysteries. This one was written really well. Jem was a scholarship student at Oxford, where he met 6 people who became best friends. In their final year, one was murdered and it tore them apart. 10 years later, he is released from his low paying job as a clerk because his boss has received a letter saying he is a killer. The case was never solved, and Jem has lived under a cloud of suspicion for the past 20 years. He decides he has had enough, and decides to investigate the crime by reaching out to his former friends.

The story is told in the past (1892), and the present (1905). The author tells the story effortlessly in the dual timelines, and we see connections, growth and the bonds between the friends. There are a lot of secrets and intrigue, that in that time was considered immoral. But I was frantically reading and turning the pages because I was hooked!

I liked the character of Jem. His struggles and doubts were very relatable. I understood why he felt so honored to be Toby’s friend, and why this death had such an impact on him.

At the conclusion, it was all tied up. Some might not agree with the author’s choice, but since this was in 1900’s England- I felt it made sense and was a very good conclusion!
Highly recommend if you enjoy historical mysteries!

This is the first book that I have read by this author. Although there are a few cliches in this it is still an intriguing read. Set in 1905 , it references events from 10 years previously when the group were all at Oxford. So there is the token black man, poor man, rich snob, talented woman, poor woman and foppish gay who are collected by the charismatic Toby. However, the story goes deeper than that, and it is really interesting to work out what went on then, and who is hiding what secret. The usual class issues arise, but it is very clever the way things come out in the end. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advance copy to freely review.