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The newspapers called us the Seven Wonders. We were a group of friends, that’s all, and then Toby died. Was killed. Murdered. 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, 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. 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. All of them knew and loved Toby at Oxford. Could one of them really be his killer? As Jem grows closer to uncovering what happened that night, his pursuer grows bolder, making increasingly terrifying attempts to silence him for good. Will exposing Toby's killer put to rest the shadows that have darkened Jem’s life for so long? Or will the gruesome truth only put him in more danger? Some secrets are better left buried… From the bestselling, acclaimed author of The Magpie Lord and The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen comes a chilling historical mystery with a sting in the tail. You won’t be able to put this gripping story down!
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0 0**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**
KJ Charles presents historical mystery novel Death in the Spires. Set at Oxford, this dark academia murder investigation follows Jeremy "Jem" Kite, a scholarship student whose studies were derailed by the murder of one of his best friends. Ten years later, the case remains unsolved and Jem receives an anonymous letter accusing him of the crime. When the letter causes Jem to lose his job, Jem is resigned to uncovering what happened to Toby. When Jem tracks down the remainder of his friend group, the answer is clear. Seven of them were there. One of them is dead. Someone in the remaining six is responsible. And someone is taking exception to Jem asking questions.
KJ Charles is known for her historical romances and rightfully so as they're brilliantly done. I have been a KJ Charles fan for years, and was thrilled to learn that she was stepping into a new genre. Romance is still included in Death in the Spires with all the toxicity demanded of a dark academia friend group; however, the romance does take a back seat to the mystery. This is a feature, not a bug, for this book. Everything I love about Charles' historical romances is still highlighted here, but with a reframing of the narrative to center the mystery. The moody setting, the carefully crafted characters, the inclusion of queerness in a historical with acknowledgment of how that is effected by the time period. It's all there.
Readers of Charles already knew she could plot a novel, but this book highlights exactly how many threads Charles can interweave and balance while still making the readers care about the cast. Dark academia has been a trend in recent years and, arguably, the phrase is used too loosely. This, without doubt, is true dark academia. Readers get glimpses of the Seven Wonders during their time at Oxford interspersed with Jem's decade-later investigation. Both timelines have their space to shine, and I never felt myself overly attached to one versus the other.
Overall, I don't have enough nice things to say. I'm at risk of this book becoming my personality for the foreseeable future. I've already bought a copy for my shelves. If KJ Charles weren't already an auto-buy author for me (and she is), this book would have solidified her in that role. I look forward to see what Charles comes up with next.
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