I devoured All of Us Murderers (publication day October 7, 2025), KJ Charles’s latest “romance with a body count” (see Death in the Spires). Although most of the characters were extremely unlikable, I loved the participants in the romance–Zebedee and Gideon.
Zeb is kind of a mess, as usual, when he arrives at his cousin Wynn’s country estate in Dartmoor at Wynn’s request. He needs a haircut, his clothes are bedraggled, and he’s just been canned from his most recent job–again. He has what we would now call ADHD, but in the 1920’s he was just a disgrace. He does the best he can, but that’s not usually good enough for his older brother, who he has avoided for a long while but Zeb finds out he’s been called to the estate as well. Also, his former lover Gideon is working as Wynn’s secretary, and things did not end well, as they were caught together and both fired.
In addition to his brother, Zeb finds out that Wynn has also gathered his detestable cousin and has orchestrated a competition for his pseudo-granddaughter’s hand in order to decide who is going to inherit the estate. The estate is surrounded by a tall fence, and includes several strange settings, like an altar stone that collects blood and a crypt. Plus there’s talk of hooded figures showing up in the mansion, and a curse that doesn’t let anyone live past fifty. Zeb has no interest in marrying any woman or inheriting the estate, but he can’t leave–the gate is always locked and the chauffeur is one of Wynn’s men.
The only person Zeb can trust is Gideon, and as they find their way back to each other, and a mist descends on the estate, Zeb can think of nothing more than getting out of there. But then someone dies and he has to figure out what’s going on. Can Zeb and Gideon escape in time?
It’s a great locked-room gothic mystery and romance, spooky and sweet. I loved how Zeb and Gideon complemented each other, and Zeb’s essential kindness that saved them both. Plus, props for acknowledging the source of money that built the estate (hint: the slave trade) and Charles’s accurate representation of a main character with ADHD. It was also completely weight-neutral. Thanks to NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Reading While Fat 