#death in the spires

[hussyknee]

Gave up on Cat Sebastian after seven books (I'll go back and try her 20th century period novels later since I'm told they might be better) and started reading KJ Charles's new Death in the Spires instead. Instantly grabbed by the heart, mind and balls (or whatever the female anatomy equivalent would be). No plodding, skimming or patience necessary. Already blown through 75 pages. If I had this much chemistry on every date with another human being I might actually marry them, and my jaded and divorced ass does not say that lightly.

It's a bit of a departure this time because it's a murder mystery set in the Edwardian era (which includes the 1890s for me personally bc if there's cars around Victoria is as good as dead) rather than yet another 19th century romance. The protagonist is queer and the vibe is def Be Gay Do Crimes but Charles has taken care to plaster everywhere that this is NOT a guaranteed HEA. Idk whether that means we're going to be left with an uneasy, reeling Agatha Christie ending or it just went without saying because why would a murder mystery have a HEA?

I'm really interested to see whether Charles can pull it off though. She's the kind of confident and intelligent plotter that makes you think could write clever whodunits, so this feels like putting her money where her mouth gave the impression it might be. The Christie vibes are hella strong in this one so far and the pacing is, as ever, a study in excellence.

Edit: what do you mean St. Anselm's is a fictional Oxford college?? There's entire fantasy franchises with less involved world building than what KJC gave this place??

[magickkart]

Characters I’d love to lock in a room together and observe from a distance (top to bottom, left to right): Nicky Rook from “Death in the Spires”, Kim Secretan from “The Will Darling Adventures”, Daniel da Silva from “Think of England”….and technically also the will darling adventures I guess,, and last but not least - anachronistic grandpa Julius Norreys from “A Society of Gentlemen” In other news: Ive got the KJC brainworms. again.

[mywingsareonwheels]

Death in the Spires (KJ Charles)

Oh damn but KJ Charles' new book Death in the Spires is utterly fantastic. She's usually a historical romance writer (usually of m/m, though with exceptions); this is a historical murder mystery, though with romance elements.

The lead character, Jem, is a disabled, gay former Oxford student with a working-class background. I absolutely adored him.

As always with Charles: beautiful writing, fascinating and nuanced characters, and huge huge rage against injustice and bigotry. I won't spoil the ending (obviously) beyond saying that I thought it was brilliant and I loved it.

Here's Charles' own blog post about it all, which also has a link both to some places to get the ebook (I got it from Kobo which I tend to do well with, though it doesn't seem to be available from there in all countries), and to her content warning page (DitS's list is at the bottom of that): https://kjcharleswriter.com/2024/04/11/death-in-the-spires-is-out/

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC Review: Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

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Publication Date: April 11, 2024

Synopsis

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!

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review and Favorite Quotes Below the cut.

My Review

This was incredible. I have long loved KJ Charles' books and this one, while a mystery rather than a romance, is no different. I love it just as much. Her romances have long contained mysteries, so this wasn't *that* much of a departure from her usual fare. I found the story, told alternately between past and present, to be completely gripping in both timelines for the entirety of the book. I had no idea who murdered Toby, and like Jem I vacillated between which of the former friends I most suspected up until the end. I like that it didn't end there. I liked that it was a complex issue. I really liked all the themes explored. The friend group was charming and wonderful and terrible and I slowly fell in love with each of them over the course of the novel. I love the way everything wrapped up, and I loved the healing and growth that happened at the end. It was everything I wanted. The setting of Oxford was so tangible and concrete. Despite never having been myself, I felt Jem's ambivalence for the place, the way he loved and hated it, and the way it had such a hold on him. It felt real. For that matter, each of the characters felt real and three-dimensional and present. The writing was stellar as always and it was a joy and a pleasure to read. I will absolutely be reading any and all future mysteries KJ Charles chooses to write, in addition to her romances. *Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes

He wondered as he walked if he would stand at the pillar box hesitating, if he'd walk up and down, plagued by doubt and fear and second thoughts, but in the end, it was too damned cold, so he just dropped the letters in.

---

Ignore any knocking; it will be students, thus unimportant.

---

Jem didn't know anyone else who'd use semicolons in a brief scrawl, and he hadn't realized how much he'd missed that sort of thing.

---

He could put on his coat and shoes over his night things to go and ask; he'd look highly eccentric, but this was Oxford.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (7-13 Apr 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 If This Is As Far As We Go (BeauRadley) - 124K, stucky no-powers AU - after a year of being phenomenal hookup buddies, bucky ends their arrangement & throws steve into a tailspin - slow burn, angsty, oblivious steve slowly realizing his true feelings, good supporting cast

😊 Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid (Ngozi Ukazu & Mad Rupert) - cute graphic novel about art students forming a softball team to exploit a financial aid loophole

😍 Death in the Spires (KJ Charles, author; Tom Lawrence, narrator) - historical murder mystery set in 1905 Oxford - another KJC absolute banger: incredible sense of place, fantastic characters, perfectly done 'whodunnit' tension and a HIGHLY SATISFACTORY resolution. Loved every word

💖💖 +76K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

The Man, the Myth, the Legend (sparklyslug) - Check Please!: gen, 2.9K - Holster's beatboxing skills brings all the a capella groups to the Haus - a short, fun, funny, outsider POV fic

Say it louder for the people in the back (redhook) - MCU: shrinkyclinks, 14K - reread, forever fave - sometimes you just get a yearning to reread the best glory hole fic ever written

In Focus (sparklyslug) - Check Please!: zimbits, 6K - Jack's photography eye knows what's up before his conscious brain does

Entering Orbit (museaway) - Star Trek AOS: spirk, 30K - good post-AOS canon-divergent fic where Jim goes home to Iowa to escape the press & Spock joins him

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Hot Ones - Conan O'Brien

QI - series S, ep 13

Game Changer - s6, e5 {Bingoception}

Um, Actually - s9, e4

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Dawn of Justice" (s21, e14)

D20: Adventuring Party - "We're Running on 200%" (s16, e14)

Death In Paradise - s11, e4-8; s12 e0-8, s13 e0-8

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Working - How to Be Both a Critic and a Creator

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #10: Of the Reaching Green

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep10 "Of the Reaching Green"

Short Wave - How Climate Change And Physics Affect Baseball

Consider This from NPR - Bad Omens Or The Cycle of Nature? How The Ancient World Viewed Eclipses

⭐ Armchair Expert - Anna Kendrick [Rerelease from 1/9/23]

Today, Explained - Is college still worth it?

The Sporkful - Jewish Food Is More Than Matzoh Balls

WikiHole - BEYONCÉ (with Zoë Chao, Nat Faxon and Poppy Liu)

⭐ All Songs Considered - Songs to make you laugh, with 'Weird Al' Yankovic

In Defense of Fandom - Season 2 Episode 2: Putting my theory to the test

Dinner’s on Me - Orville Peck

⭐ Switched on Pop - Chasing old sounds: Djo's "End of Beginning" with Joe Keery

⭐ 99% Invisible #577 - The Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant Persons

⭐ Vibe Check - A Special Conversation with Ada Limón

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Brown Mountain Lights

Short Wave - The Order Your Siblings Were Born in May Play a Role in Identity and Sexuality

⭐ Code Switch - How Frederick Douglass launched generations of Black and Irish solidarity

⭐ Decoder Ring - Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines?

⭐ Imaginary Worlds - African Sci-Fi Looks to a Future Climate

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #11: Promises Promises

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep11 "Promises Promises"

What Next: TBD - Does Google Suck Now?

Short Wave - What To Know About The New EPA Rule Limiting 'Forever Chemicals' In Tap Water

Code Switch - Reflecting on the legacy of O.J. Simpson

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Atlas Obscura Live: Two Places And A Lie

Dear Prudence - I Lost a Lot of Weight and Now I Enjoy Being a Mean Girl. Help!

It's Been a Minute - The car culture wars; plus, the problem with child stars

Endless Thread - RIP Lil Miquela

Shedunnit - You Probably Imagined It!

Armchair Expert - John Cena

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - [One Shot] A County Affair: Prologue

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Presenting Bonnie Raitt

Lowrider Oldies

Huge House Anthems

Djo

Classic Soul BBQ

A LA SALA [Khruangbin] {2024}

Presenting Khruangbin

Happy Beats

'80s One-Hit Wonders

Feel-Good Classic Rock

[trueloveandotherscificoncepts]

Y'ALL NEED TO READ 'DEATH IN THE SPIRES' BY KJ CHARLES

[twowhoodles]

Review - Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

eARC review - Releases April 11 2024

A solid mystery! I've been devouring KJ Charles' books all year, and this has elements of what I've come to expect - class conflict, gay panic, hiding feelings, and discussions of primogeniture and disability - but rather than this being a story of healing via finding love and acceptance, this delves deeply into the consequences of an unsolved murder, and what comes crawling out when someone starts overturning rocks to find out who committed the murder ten years prior.

The main character, Jeremy "Jem" Kite, has had his life thoroughly ruined and has spent the last ten years just, basically, going through the actions of living. Making enough money to get by, but without hopes or dreams of anything more. He loses his job, has a little bit of savings, and decides he's done living under the shadow of the infamous murder of his friend and find out what happened.

Jem's not a trained detective - he's read some fiction - and takes some truly astonishingly steps on his way to finding out the truth. His lack of self preservation serves him well, though, and he's able to reunite with his former-friends-maybe-murderers and learn more about what they knew and the truth of what happened their final year at Oxford.

The truth is painful, but in the end allows for healing and hopefully a better future for all who survive. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to review this ARC!

https://www.netgalley.com/book/329597/review/1301951

[buttercup-barf]

Figuring out these rodents as well... The sillies. <3

[sp1resong]

i kill you

sad! well theres other foxes

[hussyknee]

KJ Charles is an absolute liar, pass it on.

[magickkart]

anyone whos already read „Death in the Spires“ by kj charles please come talk to me. Im. Frothing at the mouth and i need to go insane with someone else

[weirdzano-and-co]

The Death of Weird Pizzano.

You was good host.

[vamp1r1cjuggalo]

My part for an art trade with @patch-357 !!

This art is for the @the-death-i-deservioli comic!!! Go read it!!! It’s really good!! Go read it or i will eat your toes/j

[bonnielover229]

the death of a hero (pizza tower x sugary spire)

[brown-sugar-89]

Oh my! I love your oc so much hrfhfhrghhh! 🥹🥲

She can be beep boop meow type of silly sometimes

[spell-fox]

Tertius and Emir facing some men who attacked their haven during the day. It didn't end well for the attackers.

It was almost a relief as his companions slumped against the walls of the storage room. At least they weren't screaming at unseen nightmares anymore. It was a relief short-lived, the two monsters shifted their attention back to him. One was animalistic, eyes wide with the hunt, the other entirely more disturbing: he wore the visage and mannerisms of a priest yet the creature was like no priest he'd even known. No priest he would open his jaws like that and smile so prettily before ripping a man's throat out with his fangs. The cainites drew close, the only warmth emanating from the fresh blood staining their clothes and faces.

He clasped his hands together and whimpered prayers to the almighty. What else was there to do? To his horror, the creature joined him in his supplications.

Both pressed their fangs into his neck at the same time. A sudden sharp pain followed by a curious calm. A bliss from the curse of Caine, an acceptance of their status as prey and predator, and consciousness slipped from grasp.