All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles

What a lovely story written in the Gothic tradition. 

Set in 1905, Zebedee "Zeb" Wyckham has been invited for a family reunion at his  cousin Wynn's house. He wasn't particularly excited to go (his immediate family is pretty horrible and he only barely remembers Wynn), but Wynn managed to talk him into it. 

He is startled to see that the house is in the middle of the moors and is basically a monstrosity. Inside the house is Wynn, Zeb's brother Bram and his wife Elise, dissolute cousin Hawley, and another, more distant cousin, Colonel Dash. Also in the house? His former boss (and lover), Gideon. Oh, and a young cousin, Jessamine, to whom Wynn will leave all of the family money, but only if she marries one of the family members.  

With writing on the walls, ghostly presences, and an atmosphere made even more eerie by gas lamps, this was a spooky (but not scary) book that I could barely put down.

Four stars

This book comes out October 7, 2025

ARC kindly provided by Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

An Unnatural Vice by KJ Charles

The book opens with journalist Nathan Roy going undercover to expose spiritualitsts, not only because his boss has commanded him to but because he hates people who prey on others. And Justin Lazarus is one of those people. We know that because Charles lets us into his point of view, seeing that this is the only way that he knows how to make money. But when the two meet, there is an undeniable attraction.
Nathan lost his partner in a hideous accident and hasn't been with anyone since then. Hasn't even wanted to be with anyone since then. The attraction he has for Justin is not only inconvenient, it's making him question his own mind.
Justin doesn't really care who he sleeps with -- men, women, clients. It's all the same to him. For sure there is something about Nathan that calls to him (the description of Nathan's hairiness made me see the attraction for the first time). But can he get involved with a man who hates him so much?
There is the search for a missing earl and someone killing to keep that earl secret. The killer is after Justin now so Nathan and Justin are on the run at Nathan's family home.
This is a fun series that I am enjoying and the sex... oofda. But I never really warmed to Justin, he was sort of an ass. And I never got why these two would stay together. Magic sex parts?

Three and a half stars
This book comes out June 6
Follows An Unseen Attraction

An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles

The blurb describes this as a slow-burning romance and it is certainly is. There's a bit more emphasis on the mystery in this book and I was a bit disappointed by that as KJ Charles is more of a romance writer usually. I also didn't get a real feel for the men's romance but hope that it's going to be a larger part of the continuing series.
Clem Talleyfer is a half-Indian man running a lodging house. For the most part, it is a fine life, except that he is forced by the house's owner to keep one particular lodger, Lugtrout, who is a drunken lout and makes all of the other lodger's lives uncomfortable. Luckily, there is one particular lodger who brightens Clem's days (and eventually nights), Rowley Green.
Rowley is a taxidermist, quiet and fastidious. He is attracted to Clem but feels like a moth attracted to a very handsome butterfly. When they get wrapped up in the mystery of Lugtrout's death, Rowley is happy that he is able to spend more time with Clem.
Both men are careful about starting a romance, understandable given the time, but this is a slow-burn that never really fired for me but may work for other readers, especially Charles fans. The setting was incredibly vivid though and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out February 21
Followed by An Unnatural Vice