(Thanks to KJ Charles, Storm Publishing, and Netgalley. I was provided a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

When disabled, working-class Jem won a scholarship to Oxford, he was drawn into a circle of brilliant, talented, intense friends, with the privileged and charismatic Toby Feynsham at its center. We meet Jem ten years after all of that vanished - he left Oxford with shattered nerves and no degree, after Toby was brutally murdered. Jem is now friendless, poor, in pain, and grieving everything he lost when Toby died and his circle of friends broke apart. When his boss gets a letter calling Jem the murderer and it turns out that there's still more he can lose, Jem starts recklessly investigating old friends and old secrets. The book alternates between past and present; we see the golden buildup and painful breakdown of the Seven Wonders, alternating with Jem's present investigation of them.

I've been a fan of KJ Charles' historical romances for years, and Death in the Spires has everything I love about her writing: vivid characters, intense emotions, themes of difference and belonging, keenly observed and period-appropriate political analysis, and masterfully-built tension. I became a little desperate and teary halfway through the book when I was forcibly reminded that Death in the Spires is NOT a genre romance and that I could NOT expect it to follow romance genre conventions (in particular, a happy ending involving an emotionally satisfying relationship). I started considering, with dismay, the conventions of the mystery genre: would societal order be restored? Even after that societal order had been thoroughly established as rotten? Or maybe the book was a noir mystery, in which case the ending would be whatever destroyed our poor main character the most? (Apologies to my family, who had to listen to my anxious mid-book rants about genre.)

Fear not: the conclusion of Death in the Spires is both narratively and emotionally satisfying. Highly recommended, both to old KJ Charles fans and to people who aren't romance novel readers.

Carefully Plotted..
1905 and the appalling death, the murder, ten years prior of an Oxford student still haunts and still remains unsolved. As the best friend of this victim becomes obsessed with solving the case, his investigation leads him into a vipers nest. Carefully plotted and keenly observed historical mystery with a deftly crafted cast, an atmospheric and well imagined backdrop and an immersive storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this advance copy of Death in the Spires. I must be honest and say that at the beginning I was ready to put this book aside and not finish it. However, I felt I owed it to NetGalley to complete the read and give it an honest review.

I found the book to be very repetitive; in Jem's pursuit of Toby's killer the retelling of last week, last evening together was overdone. Enough already! The readers are not fools....

It was only at the conclusion did the book pick up speed and add some additional information about each. of the Seven Wonders.

In every reader’s life, there’s at least one author one will follow almost without question. If one is very lucky, there will be more than one. K.J. Charles is one such author for me. ("almost" only because I don't read horror.)

The novel is narrated in third person, past tense, from the deep point of view of one Jeremy Kite, formerly a bright star at Oxford, and now literally a nobody who wants to remain a nobody. But of course, there is always someone unwilling to let scandals die, and there are always those who will gleefully join in mudracking of the basest sort.

As Jeremy is forced to remember the unsolved murder of one of his closest university friends, and to confront the certainty that the murderer must have been one of their small circle, the reader follows him through a maze of memories and feelings, the story is effectively told in two timelines: Jem’s 1905 present, and his early-1890s past.

Beware: racism, ableism, classism, homophobia/queerphobia, all of the time; rape; loss of a child.

Jeremy Kite is an outsider at Oxford, in every possible way. Not only is he “the scholarship boy”, thereby lacking the connections, class and privilege of the vast majority of the student body, but he’s also poor, very small in stature, and has a clubfoot. He also has the brains and the determination to make more of himself than what his cirumstances dictate; though merit and grit, he has secured his place at the oldest, most prestigious university in the empire, and that will be the making of his future.

He expects insults at best and abuse at worst, while hoping for indifference, as ostracism would at least allow him peace to work. When instead he is immediatelt drawn into Toby Feynsham’s inner circle, his entire world opens up; Jem is no longer the crippled charity case, and therefore an obvious target, but a close personal friend of Toby, the golden boy who everyone else admires; Toby, who’s in line to inherit a maquisate and its attendant fortune.

For three years, Jem’s life exceeds even his wildest imaginings. He has not only managed to excel at Oxford, with a bright professional future just a few short weeks away; he’s not only one of the Seven Wonders and a sought-after member of various clubs; he also has made the best friends a man could ever want.

And then, Toby is murdered, and Jem’s entire world collapses; his future is gone, and his friends become hostile strangers. For ten years, as the crime remains unsolved, Jem exists in limbo; his dreams out of reach, his future gone.

When a letter arrives, once again destroying the insignificant measure of safety Jem has managed to build for himself, he’s finally had enough.

But of course, one cannot go kicking over hornets nests and not expect to be stung.

Ms Charles took pains to make it very clear to her readers that this is not genre romance, but a murder mystery; however, the identity of the killer can only be ascertained by studying the relationships and feelings (revealed or not, requited or not) between this once-tight group of friends.

And so, as Jeremy revisits his past, by interviewing his erstwhile friend on by one, and as he remembers those golden years a decade prior, the reader comes to see each of these seven bright young persons as complex people, and their apparently easy friendships as tangled ties that both bind and stiffle.

And the pining, goodness gracious me, the pining is off the charts.

“Nicky watched Toby, and Jem knew it because Jem watched Nicky. …he watched Nicky all the same, and Nicky watched Toby, just as hopelessly. …as Aaron watched Ella–with a longing that was entirely permissible if it was understood to be impossible.” (Chapter 5)

“Jem had never believed he could supplant Toby in Nicky’s affections, so he didn’t let himself think thought to which he wasn’t entitled.” (Chapter 9)

Bit by bit, memory by memory, Jem deconstructs his original interpretation of events, and realizes how much had been hidden from his understanding, and how his perceptions of the people around him was colored by his feelings for them. He had been young, sheltered, and an outsider, ignorant of the many subtler rules of the society in which he now moved. A decade later, with the eyes of a man past thirty, he sees and understands many more of the undercurrents swirling behind the relationships between the group of former friends, now all strangers far removed from those heady golden days.

“He was frightened, and, once he recognized that, he realized he’d been frightened for a very long time, at a level so deep he hadn’t known it. One of the people he most loved had become a murderer, and he’d never trusted anyone again.” (Chapter 11)

The structure of the novel is brilliant; as Jem remembers the past and doggedly looks into the present, everything is laid out for the reader to put together. And then, the climax, the twist, and the almost painful hope of the denouement.

I inhaled this book–who needs sleep?–; the ending is absolutely perfect; the characterizations are so rounded, the plotting so tight, it’s glorious, just glorious.

And because past is invariably prologue–given humanity seems incapable of learning–several of the themes and issues the characters deal with are as timely today as they were at the dawn of the Twentieth Century.

Death in the Spires gets a 9.50 out of 10.

This book will be released on April 11, 2024.

Death in the Spires is excellent historical fiction and an enjoyable murder mystery. It takes place in the early 1890s Oxford and London in 1905, and follows Jeremy Kite, a government clerk who loses his job when an anonymous letter accuses him of a murder that took place in Oxford ten years earlier. Incensed, he decides to investigate once and for all.

Jem is a son of a factory worker, who with the help of a scholarship manages to get to Oxford to study mathematics, an achievement that was out of grasp of most working class people at the time. He’s short, clubfooted and doesn’t know the rules and manners of the place that is mostly populated by upper class white men who do not tolerate difference. He doesn’t have great expectations for his time there, but on his first day, he meets Toby Feynsham, a grandson of a marquis who takes him and other unusual people—for the era—under his wing, like a black man studying to become a doctor, two women (one of whom is Toby’s sister) and an (almost) openly gay man.

Against all odds, Jem has magical time in Oxford with his group of friends. He excels in his studies and even participates in activities like the rowing team. And then, three years later, right before the finals, Toby is murdered. It happens after a huge row between the group, and in a manner that the friends know that only one of them could’ve done it. But they keep their mouths shut and the murder goes unsolved. It breaks the group and they never meet again.

Jem’s life is destroyed by it. He has a breakdown and can’t graduate. He works for pittance at jobs he hates, and every now and then gets fired when rumours about the murder surface. So he starts to investigate, even though everyone he contacts tells him to leave be. To his surprise and sorrow, while the rest of the group seem successful, the murder has ruined their lives too, one way or another. And no one wants to talk.

Jem returns to Oxford, reluctantly, and connects with his old love, which somehow makes things worse, as Nick is among the suspects too. Little by little, he forms a picture of what took place. It turns out, Toby wasn’t the wonderful person he believed and may even have brought the death on himself, and all his friends had secrets that could’ve made them the killer. But no matter the reasons, Jem knows only truth will release their group from the limbo their lives have become. Not everyone agrees, and Jem’s life is suddenly in danger.

This was a wonderful, melancholy story of friendship, lost loves and missed chances. Like in Brideshead Revisited, the reader gets a vivid glimpse into a lost world of aristocratic academia, and the contrast with Jem’s dreary later life is great. Jem with his health issues is a lovely, dignified character who carries the story perfectly. His friends, flawed and all, are people who matter to him greatly. The reader doesn’t really want anyone to be the killer, to see them hang, and neither does Jem.

Luckily, this is a story where truth and justice aren’t the same thing. We get both. The ending is absolutely satisfying, and it leaves the reader with a hope that from now on, Jem’s life will improve and everyone will live happily ever after—whatever that may mean for them.

I can easily give this book a 5-star rating. Just finished it and i cannot be happier about the ending. So wholesome and lovely 🥹❤️ i genuinely loved it from start to finish. Thank you for this book😭❤️ I loved the author's style of writing for this and will definitely start reading more of her books

With every book, KJ Charles gets better and better and she is already one of the best writers of gay fiction period. In this tome she seamlessly blends one man’s unrequited love for another with a search for a killer of a school friend which Jem knows must be found among a group of close friends who became immediately estranged upon the murder. As always she blends a strong empathetic approach to her characters with taut plotting and realistic understanding of how people really are in the world. This is one of the best portrayals of a citizen unaffiliated with police or investigation setting out to right an injustice to himself resulting from police failure to identify the killer a decade earlier. Along the way, trust lost between friends is regained through twists and turns both realistic and unexpected. This is a book to bolt through, then reread repeatedly just to savor the excellence of this writer’s craft.

Dark academia is alive and so, so back. Death In The Spires is a historical murder mystery with dual timelines, both told from the perspective of Jem, the main character, with a bittersweet ending after the cast follows the trail of their friend’s murder.

Such immersive writing that tackles heavy themes with careful nuance. It’s furious and gentle at the same time, furthering both the plot and character development, and the kind of writing that just pulls you into the story. This is my first book from KJ Charles and I have to say it’s a great introduction to her catalogue.

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC! :>

'Death in the Spires' was a thoroughly enjoyable read - a real page-turner! From the intriguing setting of Oxford's dark academia to the unresolved mystery at its heart, I found myself fully immersed in Jeremy Kite's quest for truth. Jem's character, with his relatable flaws and compelling journey, kept me engaged from start to finish.

K.J. Charles's storytelling skill shines through, with just the right balance of suspense and authenticity. Overall, 'Death in the Spire' was a captivating read that I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but getting through the first part (before Jem goes to Nicky) was a little bit of a slog. Once Jem and Nicky were in the same place, the book really picked up. The conclusion was pretty satisfying as well.

This book is a must-read for fans of historical mysteries and those who appreciate stories that explore the complexities of the human psyche. With its compelling plot, richly drawn characters, and haunting atmosphere, Death in the Spires is a masterful tale that lingers long after the last page is turned.

Brilliant as always, successful at selling a dream, showing the tarnish and flaws beneath, and then examining what's worth salvaging. I guessed half of the mystery but the rest took me by surprise!

This takes place (mostly) in Edwardian England, at the turn of the century. After losing his job due to an anonymous letter that claims Jem is a murderer, Jem decides he's had enough of living in the shadow of a tragedy ten years past, and goes on the hunt to find out what actually happened.

This was a fantastic, well crafted mystery, the kind I have come to expect from KJ Charles. The book truly goes through so many twists and turns as Jem starts turning over stones. We also get flashbacks to Jem getting to Oxford as a student, getting accepted into a group of friends who we all come to know pretty well. It's fascinating watching Jem peel back layers to people he thought he knew, and who he thought were his friends.

This is a captivating historical mystery. I was guessing along with Jem as to who the murderer was and where this book was going, but it left me totally surprised. The conclusion is so good and so satisfying here. I really highly, highly recommend this for a historical murder mystery, that's relatively light on the romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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 one of his best friends, it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his supervisor’s desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth. Jem begins to track down the people who were there the night Toby died – a close circle of friends once known as the ‘Seven Wonders’ for their charm and talent – only to find them as tormented and broken as himself. As Jem grows closer to uncovering what happened that night, his pursuer grows bolder, making increasingly terrifying attempts to silence him for good.
This is s different genre for the author but it was SO good, I couldn’t put it down & read it in two sittings. Toby was the centre of the Seven Wonders until things went pear shaped just before finals & he was stabbed with his letter opener. Jem realises one of his close friends had to be the murderer but who? The more he investigates the more secrets emerge, then Jem is targeted. There are twists & turns until the murderer is revealed but that’s not the end, oh no, so no sneaking a look at the last pages! There’s a huge surprise at the end as all is laid bare. A very well written page turner & Jem is a gem
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I am an avid KJ Charles fan, and admittedly, I was hesitant about this diversion from the normal, romance heavy books I've devoured before. However, I needn't have worried. Charles' is as impeccable as always, and this book had me gripped into the early hours - her writing, story and characters are masterfully spun. The conclusion was satisfying, and all the loose ends tied nicely, without ever being too predictable. Hopefully, the foray into a new genre introduces Charles to more readers - as always, she continues to be one of my must-buy-immediately authors.

They were known as ‘The Seven Wonders’, a set of golden lads and lasses that stood out even amongst the privileged elite at Oxford in 1893. But their idyll was abruptly shattered on the night when one of them was found murdered.
Ten years later, the murder has never been solved and Jeremy Kite, one of the remaining ‘Wonders’, has reached rock bottom. The arrival of a malicious letter has led to the loss of yet another unremarkable job and the realisation that he cannot live in limbo any longer. Unless he can find the courage to go back and face the past, he will never have a future. Whatever the danger, it is up to him to find out what really happened on that terrible night – and which of his friends was a murderer.
This is a beautifully crafted detective story, well-written and fast-paced. It was utterly unpredictable, yet the pieces eventually fell into place with the elegance of clockwork and the twists and turns kept me guessing to the very end. But it is also a detective story with a heart. From the first, it’s the vividly drawn characters that draw you in. They all became like real people to me; from Aaron, the only Black man in college and Prue and Ella, bright women caught in a male-dominated world, to the intriguing Nicholas Rook, with his hooded eyes and cutting remarks. And, of course, the unassuming Jem, our narrator, who must have had something astonishing about him in the first place to get to Oxford at that time from his social background, let alone with a disability. This is a detective story which packs a powerful emotional punch.
The story unfolds in two timelines, one leading up to the murder itself and the other, ten years later, covering the investigation. What makes this novel so very clever is that the two strands are woven together seamlessly but that each has its own compelling drive towards an inevitable climax, so that in the end, like the narrator, I was both desperate to know who the killer was and reluctant to find out.
The setting of this book is also vividly realised. K J Charles has obviously done a huge amount of research about what it was like to be at Oxford at this time, but the research is worn incredibly lightly. Oxford itself, with its glorious architecture and ancient streets, is almost a character in its own right. There’s enough wonderful Anglo-Saxon poetry to add a convincing academic edge to the story. But there’s also a fascinating depth of detail about college life, how it really felt to be a student at Oxford in 1893, that makes the place come alive on the page. It felt as though I was there with them, those bright young things waiting to take over the world, whose idyll was never quite as golden as it seemed.
I read this novel in one sitting, unable to put it down. It’s rare to find a detective story that’s satisfying on so many levels, with just the right amount of history, just the right amount of mystery – and just the right amount of romance. And just enough ambiguity about Oxford itself to add a certain piquancy to the mix. If this is a love letter to the golden city of spires, it’s a bittersweet one. And all the stronger for it.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Storm for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Death in the Spires follows Jeremy ‘Jem’ Kite, as he investigates the murder of a fellow classmate and friend at Oxford university, set in 1905,10 years after the event took place. Instigated by an accusatory letter blaming Jem for the death of his friend – Toby Feynsham the enigmatic leader of the “Seven Wonders” – that loses Jem his job, Jem picks up the unsolved investigation in the hopes of finding justice and finally escaping the accusations that have followed him ever since the death. As such the novel follows dual timelines of the events leading up to Toby’s death and Jem’s current investigation.

This book, like much of the rest of Charles’ catalogue is filled with an analysis of British class structure and how that permeates the setting of Oxford University and Jem’s friendship group helmed by Toby Feynsham, heir to an estate that would allow him and idle life. To me this was the strongest aspect of the book, especially as the idyllic façade of friendship is scraped bare, by Jem’s investigation and retelling of the past. Charles brings the nastiness of the English aristocracy to the forefront, and it quickly becomes clear that Jem and his friends serve more-so as objects of novelty for Toby, with each of their various marginalised identies. Jem with his disability and working-class status and then the race, queerness and gender of his other friends. Tension builds within these alternating forces of the privileged and the marginalised.

I also enjoyed Charles’ interweaving of desire, queerness and power which was quite compelling, and I think is a strength that carries across from her romance novels. In that same vein, Charles’ characters are compelling and thus the book shines in the quiet moments between characters. Particularly for me between Jem and Nicky, but also among the rest of the cast. However, while I found the book deeply enjoyable, as well as readable, the murder mystery ultimately lacked the punchiness that I had hoped for. I think this mostly came from the cleanliness of the ending, especially in the face of what the story was trying to emulate narrative wise, that being stories such as The Talented Mr Ripley.

I did really enjoy this book and it is definitely worth reading for Charles’ character writing and interactions and class analysis in spite of what I felt was a lacklustre ending that lacked bite. I definitely kept eagerly turning the page.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full and honest review.

Whaaaaaaatttt….no Romance 😏 K.J Charles cheated on her genre….and thank god she did. Not saying that I don't love her Romances, but this was absolutely fantastic. And for all the Romance fans, there is a Romantic subplot woven into the story. I enjoyed the dual timeline and just loved the history aspect. The world-building was amazing and I could easily see myself walking in Oxford at the end of the 19th Century. The characters were well-developed and it doesn't matter if you like them or not, they just take you on this journey and you really don't care if you have characters with narcissistic tendencies. The emotions were so well described that there were a lot of moments I was holding my breath. K.J has a way to mess with your emotions. Was there something you didn’t like, Deb?” Well…I love murder mysteries because of the investigation (law enforcement, detectives, agents..you know)maybe I would have loved to see a bit more of that, although the story is more about a group of friends, so I wasn't overly upset with that. TW: This book contains sexual assault, LGBTIQA+ (queer) racism, and abortion. Definitely a must read if you can handle the TW.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, NetGalley, and Storm Publishing for this ARC.

I enjoyed reading this, but I think that if I were not already a regular commuter on the K. J. Charles train, this would not be enough to get me there. Broadly, we have a sort-of-two-timeline story: First, there is a cohort of brilliant young Oxford students, who end their time in school when one of them is murdered (yes, it is all very Secret History). Circumstances make it clear that the murder was committed by one of the cohort, that is clear, but none of them (except the murderer) knows which it is.

Then, there is the main plot, ten years later, when one of the cohort decides to solve the murder once and for all, tracks down the old gang, and a series of grim and unfriendly reunions ensues. Charles does a very good job of evoking that sense of curdled, poisoned friendship, and the lurking suspicions even among people who were otherwise devoted to each other. The eventual unraveling of the secrets and revelations of the circumstances surrounding the murder were very emotionally satisfying.

I can absolutely see why Charles chose this narrative structure, but the fact remains that by putting key details in the flashback chapters, she also has to make us wait for details that everyone knows but isn't telling us in the main narrative. I found that rather irritating. I hate when a book is obviously keeping secrets from me for reasons of structural convenience, rather than for reasons related to plot. If the viewpoint character knows a thing, I really ought to know it too. So once the flashback chapters were done, I found the plot much more entertaining. Yet I don't think they could have been dispensed with altogether, because the emotional punch of the ten-years-later plot really does require that you have experienced what the cohort of students were like in their prime.

So maybe, in the end, my trouble with this book is that I don't much care for dual timelines, and that's not Charles's fault.

This book is exactly what you'd get if KJ Charles had written M.L. Rio's IF WE WERE VILLAINS.

Even though it's not a romance, it still very much feels like the KJC romances I know and love: tightly plotted; great dialogue; queer love; class difference and social awareness; an emotionally constipated queer person who eviscerates people with his sharp tongue but also hits you straight in the feels when he wants to. I love a book that explores the complexities of intimate relationships, which I think Charles does so, so well. That, to me, is the crux of this book: we keep secrets, including the truth of ourselves and what we really think of each other, even from those closest to us. Sometimes those secrets are deadly.

Major thanks to #StormPublishing and #Netgalley for the eARC of #DeathintheSpires! All opinions included herein are mine and mine alone.