Review: All of Us Murderers
All of Us Murderers by K.J. Charles
My rating: 4/5
Blurb:
WHO WILL SURVIVE LACKADAY HOUSE?
When Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative’s remote Gothic manor, he is horrified to find all the people he least wants to see in the world: his estranged brother, his sneering cousin, and his bitter ex-lover Gideon Grey. Things couldn’t possibly get worse.
Then the master of the house announces the true purpose of the gathering: he intends to leave the vast family fortune to whoever marries his young ward, setting off a violent scramble for her hand. Zeb wants no part of his greedy family—but when he tries to leave, the way is barred. The walls of Lackaday House are high, and the gates firmly locked. As the Dartmoor mists roll in, there’s no way out. And something unnatural may be watching them from the house’s shadowy depths…
Fear and paranoia ramping ever-higher, Zeb has nowhere to turn but to the man who once held his heart. As the gaslight flickers and terror takes hold, can two warring lovers reunite, uncover the murderous mysteries of Lackaday House—and live to tell the tale?
Review:
[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
This is only my second K.J. Charles novel, I requested and was approved for it shortly after reading her very first novel, and I can tell there’s a world of difference between both, in the right direction, that is. I enjoyed it more and even though I’m not really an audience for romance, it did convince me that in the future, I should pick more books by this author.
All of Us Murderers is a historical fiction novel set in Edwardian England, a gothic mystery in a large dreary house isolated in the middle of nowhere: the perfect setting for a family drama behind closed doors, complete with murders and, obviously, all the questions and tension about who did it, because frankly, absolutely everyone in this story seems to have motivations to off a person, or two, or three. To top it off, the characters all have their little skeletons in the closet, including Zeb, whose point of view we follow throughout the novel, because it turns out one of the people present is his ex-lover Gideon.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. I usually have trouble with romance subplots because in a lot of cases, they tend to take over and detract from the main story itself, and… here, it wasn’t the case at all. The romance part was good overall (with a few spicy scenes), Zeb and Gideon tentatively try to rebuild the trust between them and work through what had separated them in the first place. It was also so interesting to have the perspective of a neurodivergent main character (ADHD), here too depicted in a believable way, whose neurodivergence does have an impact on his life and relationships, but also isn’t the only thing about him. (And there is a pretty cute and wholesome thing about him, which we learn later on in the story and I shall not spoil it here, I just loved that side of him.)
The atmosphere in general was also enjoyable, spooky without being too terrifying either. We get to see the various members of that dysfunctional family be, well, dysfunctional and not very nice to each other, all the more as dirty secrets are revealed one after the other. The house was well described, and most of the time I found it easy enough to picture the scenes and surroundings.
If anything, I think some of the characters did lack a bit of depth (and I would’ve liked to know a little more about Gideon himself), perhaps because there were several people involved (that is, the family members, all suspects, all with their secrets), so it wasn’t like there were “only two main characters” and then just very secondary ones who don’t need to be explored much. Apart from this, I found the story overall pretty good and enjoyable.
