I wasn't sure what to expect with a mystery novel from KJC, but I was not disappointed. [For those who are used to the romance novels, there is a strong romantic subplot].
The narrator is Jem, a working class man who got into Oxford on a scholarship. He fell in with a group of friends, the 'seven wonders' all of whom were glittering in their own way. Jem was set to do well until tragedy struck and one of the gang was murdered in his rooms. The mystery of who killed Toby was never solved and the death affected each of them in the ten years that followed.
Ten years later, when Jem's work gets an anonymous letter about the murder, he has to leave his job. Now unemployed and unhappy, Jem sets about trying to work out which one of his friends killed their mutual friend, Toby. In doing so, he uncovers a whole host of secrets.
The characters in this book were all wonderfully believable - maybe not always likable, but definitely believable. As the story unfolds you see different facets of the group and the different relationships that wove them together. There was some commentary about social mores at the time and the law vs morality, which I enjoyed.
I found some of it really sad (it's hard to say more without spoilers), but the ending left Jem and his friends looking at a more positive future.
If you're looking for something historical that has something of Saltburn (and maybe a bit of A Secret History) about it, then you'll love this book. I certainly did.
I received an ARC via Netgalley (thank you, Storm!).

KJ Charles is a new author for me to read but I do like mysteries. Death in the Spires is such, being a very complicated one at that. The case at hand is a decade old murder mystery concerning students who were attending Oxford. Lives have been ruined or at the very least put in a holding pattern because of their friend’s death. Jeremy Kite decides to solve the murder of his friend and fellow student, Toby Feynsham.

The story is full of suspicions, angst, drama and guilt. Though it seems that many of the wrong people feel the guilt while others move merrily along in their lives. The times and setting especially the society are clearly portrayed so the reader feels as if they also are experiencing life in early 1900’s. The characters are complex, flawed, often confused with each having their own secrets that they are still protecting. An interesting mystery to say the least, especially the solution and the conclusion.

As a huge fan of all the previous books by this author, it wasn't a big leap to follow them into the historical fiction genre. Jem is part of a group of friends at Oxford when things go horribly wrong, one of their number is dead, and the only one who could have done it is someone from the friend group. I really enjoyed the atmospheric setting, the dual timeline bits, and the slow reveal of clues and surprises leading to the solving of the mystery and an appropriate closure to the story. I hope the author will continue writing historical romances but will be happy to continue reading their historical mysteries as well.

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.

I was overjoyed to receive an ARC for KJ Charles' first historical mystery, and, unsurprisingly to me, it was a delight. Charles has always had a knack for intricately-plotted stories, often with a mystery element, so reading a story where that is the focus was a treat. I immediately connected with Jem, and my heart went out to him in his current experiences, and the dreadful night a decade previously that lead him to where he is. I understood why he'd want to rock the boat in his search for answers, and willed him on, just as I feared for his safety, knowing that there was someone who most certainly did not want him to dig any deeper. Charles writes in a way that immersed me in the historical setting, with an eye for period detail and dialogue. The tension and the action, as Jem slowly starts unravelling secrets, kept me turning the pages, leading me to plead with my family to finish 'just one more chapter' any time I was interrupted.

I know Charles primarily as a romance author, and was unsure whether I'd miss that taking centre stage in this story. There is an element of romance, which I loved, but it was such a joy to see her let rip with a full-blown mystery novel that I was absolutely fine with it taking a supporting role, rather than the spotlight.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and hope it's the first of many KJC mystery stories!

Fantastic page turner! KJ Charles is an excellent writer. She really brings all characters to life and they all have very distinct personalities, secrets and motivations. I was fully invested in the mystery and was surprised at almost every turn. There were very few plot points that I was able to predict. And I loved the romantic subplot, even though it was not the focus of the story, but it was still satisfying to my romance reader heart.

Thoroughly enjoyed this Edwardian-set mystery. Ten years ago, Jeremy (Jem) was part of the Seven Wonders set at Oxford; but then Toby Feynsham died. The murderer was never caught - and Jeremy has been hounded by people who think he did it. After getting yet another poison pen letter and losing his job, he decides to solve the case...

Beautifully written and very evocative - you really feel as if you're at Oxford. It's a dual timeline (so you see things from Jem's point of view as a student, and also when he's older and trying to work out what really happened). The characters are all well drawn, the plot works nicely, there's definitely a sense of menace. This book really makes you think about forgiveness, about morality, about what it means to fit in, and the nature of love (in general, though there's also a lovely M/M romance in here).

Bonus points for the Old English (which made me very happy indeed).

Very solid five stars. I loved it.

Death In The Spires is a thrilling, immersive story.

Jeremy's life is still in shumble ten years after the murder of his college friend, Toby, but now he wants to finally find out who among his friends has done it.

I've followed Jem journey toward the truth with baited breath. I really liked this broken character, it wasn't easy for him to investigate his five estranged friends, and at times it was also risking, but he never gave up.

The author has skillfully written a murder mystery with a rich cast of characters, giving all of them a good reason to commit the crime. These characters are unforgettable, they are dark and pitiful, and everyone have some secrets to hide. The gothic setting adds to the charm of the story.

If you are a fan of historical mystery, and you want to know more I highly recommend to read this novel yourself.

It is November 1905 and Jeremy ‘Jem’ Kite’s boss at work has received an anonymous letter stating that Jeremy is a murderer. Whilst Jem knows who was murdered he knows it wasn’t him but despite protesting his innocence he is sacked. Jobless and embittered he sets out to discover who indeed the murderer was and why his friend Toby Feynsham was killed. This was quite a slow burn but incredibly well researched and written and a compelling read.

Briefly, the incident itself occurred some 10 years earlier whilst Jeremy was at Oxford University. At the time he was one of a group of 7 known collectively as the Seven Wonders. Nobody was charged with the murder. As part of his search Jem meets up with the remaining 5 and piece by piece the secrets and lies start to be unearthed. Can he solve the murder before there is another one?

Told in the present but with flashbacks to Oxford university days in 1895 this is quite a quick read and I finished it in one sitting. The mystery behind the murder was well hidden and the queer representation well done. I loved the Oxford setting and the rather dark nature of the story with each of the remaining students having a reason for killing Toby. An entertaining read.

Ten years ago at Oxford there were seven best friends known as The Seven Wonders, they were on top of the world and truly believed no one could take that away from them. Until one morning six of them awoke to discover Toby, the man who had brought them together, the sun which they orbited around was murdered and they all knew one of them did it. And ten years later Jem, whose life was ruined by this single event is determined to find out which one. Even if it means he ruins them all.

This was excellent. Truly, excellent. Every single one of this group of friends had a valid and after finishing the book I'd even go so far as to say justifiable reason to murder Toby. And let me tell you all I've hated characters in my time but Toby is right up there with Joffery Baratheon, he's basically a walking definition of a narcissist. And that's what truly makes this book stand out among the genre, the victim is so unlikable its hard to understand why the hell Jem is so hell bent on finding his killer. Honestly, it's a damn shame the man was dead already because quite frankly I think the way he went out was far too kind.

That all being said by the end of the book you realize why Jem had to have an answer to who killed him. It wasn't so much about punishing the person who did it, it was about giving those still alive a chance to actually live. A chance to maybe have a friendship between each other that was pure and not full of Toby's poison and I loved that. I even teared up a bit at the end to see these people who had lost so much not because of Toby's murder but because of the way he had manipulated them have something resembling not just hope in a better future but one that allowed them to trust freely once Toby's machinations had been exposed. It was beautiful.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys the St. Cyr series, the Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles, and just murder mysteries period.

And as always thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the eArc!

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.

Gripping and fun murder mystery novel featuring a group of friends and top notes of dark academia. Queer, compeling and utterly enjoyable. Highly recommend.

Death in the Spires is an intriguing mystery about a group of college friends, and the unsolved murder of one of their own. I truly enjoyed this engaging story, and it is proof that I adore anything KJ Charles writes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s 1905 when Jeremy Kite receives another anonymous threatening note about his friend Toby’s murder at Oxford 10 years earlier. When Jem’s out of a job yet again, he decides that it’s time to solve this crime once and for all. But as he searches for the truth, old, ugly facts come to light. What will people do to keep those facts hidden?

I love this pseudo locked room mystery. It’s told in the 1905 present, with flashback to Jem’s student days in 1895. The vivid images of both the students seemingly blissful rise in Oxford contrasts with Jem’s current dismal existence. The relationships between the friends ring true, along with their clear class differences and individual struggles. The mystery is a challenge to puzzle out too. And, to the surprise of no one who has read a KJ Charles book before, the queer representation is outstanding.

If you are a fan of KJ Charles’s historical romances, you’ll enjoy this mystery too. I had a blast reading Death in the Spires. If you are a fan of historical mysteries with interesting characters, a great puzzle and wonderful queer rep, read this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm sorry, but did KJ Charles jump out of her genre and still absolutely slay it? Yes she did.

It won't surprise anyone to know I love queer books, and here's the thing, while I love romances, I really bloody love casually queer characters. So, a murder mystery which just happens to have two queer characters, and their sexuality isn't just weirdly pasted on? Excellent.

Some books you read and it's a trudge through them, constantly checking how much is left. Some are a little better, they drag in places but mostly they're fine. This book slipped down so quickly and deliciously that I couldn't believe it was over! It had enough tension to keep you reading, the characters were believable and very distinct (although a brief moment at the beginning where the seven were a little hard to keep straight in my head!), and the pacing was, quite frankly, fantastic.

The only snaggle I can really think of is that I felt the 'why' could perhaps have been seeded a tiny bit more through the book, or at least perhaps a little earlier, overall it was an excellent mystery. The book felt perfectly researched, and true to the era, and although for a moment I was a little worried that Prue, Ella and Aaron weren't going to be as involved or as well rounded as they were, they felt delightfully so by the end of the book.

Honestly, I enjoyed reading it and can't wait for it to be published so I can buy a copy!

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: 1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, but it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth.

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: I think that the strongest aspect of this book was definitely its setting - late Victorian Oxford lends itself really well to the dark academia genre. The style of writing was quite immersive too and a certain unexpected romance was a pleasant surprise!

The mystery itself was pretty intriguing: this group of misfits all know that one of them killed their friend, but no one wants to uncover exactly who it was. I really liked Jem and thought he was definitely my favourite character; he was quite relatable and I was truly rooting for him to find the murderer!

However, I think this book was a little too short to really live up to its full potential. At only 270 pages, I felt that the story felt quite rushed and I didn’t really get to know any of the characters that well. I think that a bit more breathing room would have really benefitted the book as, although it made the story pretty quick to get through, I just felt a little uninvested in the mystery of it all. I won’t give any spoilers, but the reveal at the end also felt rather anticlimactic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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.

When I first heard the premise of this book I thought of the Agatha Christie novel Five Little Pigs, which I love. And the two stories certainly have similarities; a group of friends where one is murdered, everyone had a motive, and the more you scratch the surface the more ugliness you will find.

One of the highlights in this book is the characters and the character voices are very strong and clear. I usually don’t “hear” voices when I read but in this book I did. Everyone’s emotional state was so strongly communicated and the characters were really well crafted so I felt I could predict what they were feeling at any given time.

The story also dealt with many interesting themes, the foremost being intersectional perspectives on privilege. It made me think and draw parallels to current society and politics, what has changed and what hasn’t in the last 100+ years.

In summary, this book made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me feel lots of feelings. I really loved this, and I think it will be a great read for anyone who like old school mystery novels. I highly recommend it.

I quite liked this book. It wasn’t a loud book, in the sense that it didn’t move very fast or have a know it all detective or a twist you couldn’t see coming. But it needed none of those things to tell a really compelling mystery story. I liked the author’s writing and the way the story was told. We learned information as the main character did, following his journey and his thoughts as he stumbled his way to finding the truth. It all felt plausible and that leant a really engaging quality to the tale. I really liked all of the characters who were flawed, dynamic, and painfully human. At its heart, this was not just a mystery, but a story about people and the impact that they can have on one another. I thought the end was fitting and just. I don’t read a great deal of historical fiction but this book makes me want to start.

This is the dark academia book I have wanted to read for a while, all the while without realizing I wanted to read more dark academia. But this, this, hit that unaware spot so fully and satisfyingly.

The author and publishers are trying to make it very clear that, unlike almost all her previous works, this is not a romance. And it is not - though there are, in the background two love stories where I was invested and rooting for the characters, particularly the very relatable main character. (It is not not-a-romance either, if this makes sense) Death in the Spires is being shelved as a mystery and I can't argue with that, Dark Academia is not even a "real" genre, but Dark Academia is how I will mentally shelf it: a story of university and how it opens mental doors to people, of friend making, personality clashes and eventually growing up, out of school and academia.

Set around 1900 Oxford (and Oxford University, ah, an extra, very charismatic, character), a former student feels the need to revisit the murder of one of his friends, whose unknown murderer was probably one of their mutual friends. I was always going to fall for these themes, university, friendship, changing. I loved it. As expected the writing is just great, the descriptions, the characters defining themselves, the rhythm of the flashbacks so no tension is lost and it is all just so incredibly vivid.

My main criticism is that this left me wanting more - literally. It's a relatively short book, at 273 pages and I do not usually complain about books being too short, but it was short for those characters and their stories. I wanted more about about their school days (like figuring out exactly what triggered Nicky's behaviour on the final night of Cymbeline..), or seeing more of their relationships and personalities change (Toby particularly), rather than just some main scenes. The final scene did provide closure on the important details and hope (for the good people) but I wanted an epilogue! It left me wanting to see those characters moving on with their lives and healing... (This is maybe a romance reader´s instinct, wanting a good clear explicit HEA to wallow in. It was a good hopeful ending for the good people though...)

One of my usually very rare Netgalley requests, thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read it. No strings attached to the review.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

Death in the Spires follows the aftereffects of the murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham on his close knit group of friends and the search by Jem, one of those former friends, for answers ten years later.

This is a tense and gripping murder mystery by KJ Charles, a foray into a different genre for the author, who has previously written romances with mystery and crime elements but typically focused on the romance aspect of a story. In this book the mystery takes center stage. This has a dark academia feel, historical fiction with a twisting, turning tale of mystery and murder, buried secrets. and unexpected revelations. Fans of The Secret History or If We Were Villains will enjoy this book.

The story starts with Jem, outed at work as a member of the Seven Wonders--a brilliant group of university friends shattered by the murder of their friend Toby--when letters start to arrive questioning his role in Toby's death. This turn of events, 10 years after the murder, leads him to search out his former friends and try to piece together what happened to Toby and what happened to them. The story starts slowly and builds momentum as Jem initiates contact and flashes back to memories of their shared pasts.

The cast is engaging and diverse and Jem is a sympathetic lead character. The friend group comes together through Toby but their diversity and mutual care shines through. It's a cohesive group made up of women, POC, varied social status and class distinctions, spanning wealth and poverty, disability and sexual orientation. There is no shying away from issues of discrimination, hypocrisy, women's rights, social injustice, abortion access, and racism. These issues imbued the plot in a very organic, believable and important way.

The characters, even when not directly on page, have a life and three dimensionality to them. I was invested in their stories and very determined in not wanting any of them to be the perpetrator of Toby's murder.

I loved the way the story skipped back and forth in time, giving us Jem's memories and experiences bit by bit, building the tension, the reveals and the story itself.

I made predictions along the way, some right, some wrong, sometimes wishing I was wrong, sometimes vindicated that I was right. It was hard to put this book down and I admit I stayed up far too late when I saw I had only 40 pages left--I couldn't wait until morning to find resolution.

This is a very engaging and satisfying murder mystery in an academic setting and has enough romantic elements to be able to call the romance an elegant subplot. I found this an entertaining and enjoyable read, with a good mystery and plenty of twists and turns, and a romance that gave me hope for an HEA for these characters.

Highly recommend. Great read. This is a wonderful genre for Charles.