REVIEW: All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles
Dear KJ Charles,
Most of the Wyckham family are not what one might call shining examples of humanity – except for Zebedee (Zeb) Wyckham. He tries to avoid his family wherever possible and for good reason. Zeb has what we would now call ADHD although there was no diagnosis in the early 1900s when this book is set. This means he’s struggled to hold a job and regularly is let go for not getting his work done on time or at all, for fidgeting too much, for “not paying attention”. His family regard him as a feckless wastrel.
His cousin, Wynn Wyckham, is significantly older than Zeb and prior to the start of the story, they’d only met twice, when Zeb was a boy. A few months earlier, Wynn sent Zeb a letter asking him to come for a visit to Lackaday House in Dartmoor. He had been gently persistent ever since and Zeb ended up agreeing to come and stay.
Lackaday House was built by Zeb’s grandfather, Walter Wyckham, an author of gothic horror stories. The house is named after the main character in Wyckham’s first novel, Clara Lackaday. It looks like it was built in the 1500s but in reality it is only actually a hundred or so years old. The house is on a sprawling grounds surrounded by a 12 foot high stone wall, with only one exit/entrance – the front gate – which is kept locked.
When Zeb arrives at the front door eventually (it’s a long way to from the gates to the house), he is appalled to find he is not the only guest.
Other guests include; his brother, Bram, Bram’s wife, Elise, his cousin, Hawley, and another, more distant relative Colonel Wyckham Dash (“Call me Dash. Too many Wyckhams in here.”). Zeb is also surprised to meet a heretofore unknown (second) cousin, Jessamine Wyckham, aged 18, doted upon by Wynn. And, to round off the horror, Wynn’s secretary turns out to be Mr Gideon Grey. Zeb is ready to turn around almost the second he arrives but leaving Lackaday House is not easy.
He’d had a horrible night’s sleep in the peace and quiet of the countryside, and he wanted to go home to London, where it was never peaceful or quiet, rather than stay in a house with more or less every single person in the entire world he didn’t want to be in a house with.
Zeb and Gideon had been lovers, having worked together for some months more than a year ago. They were caught in an embrace in a cupboard at work and were both dismissed for gross misconduct. Gideon had been Zeb’s supervisor but after being dismissed, a series of unfortunate events led to Gideon being virtually unemployable – hence his presence at Lackaday House. He is not at all pleased to see Zeb either.
Wynn announces that he has decided to revisit who will inherit his estate after he dies and tells the assembled group that the person who marries Jessamine will inherit it all as he wishes for Jessamine to be the mistress of Lackaday House. Zeb has less than zero interest in participating in the farce but after Wynn confides in him that he has only months to live and begs Zeb to stay for the fortnight, Zeb makes a promise to stay – and Zeb takes his promises very seriously.
Bram is a critic – of art, restaurants and books apparently – and most especially of Zeb. There is a great deal of history between them, mostly of him betraying or belittling Zeb. There is little love lost between the brothers. Elise is cold and brittle. Hawley is an artist and womaniser (this is an understatement).
Hawley gave a lazy grin. He was a very handsome man in his louche way; he looked like he’d give you an extremely good time, and also the clap.
Hawley and Elise had an affair sometime earlier so having all three in the same place at the same time? Awkward.
Jessamine is odd and dramatic and convinced there is a ghost in Lackaday House. Wynn believes in the ghost too and is convinced the family is cursed and no member can live above the age of 50. He is 49. Strange happenings occur in the house – footsteps, writing on walls, ghosts, druidic processions late at night, blood sacrifices – all very odd. And, all eerily similar to some of the things which occur in Walter Wyckham’s various gothic novels. Zeb and I share a particular phobia and he is targeted with this. (Honestly, Zeb coped pretty well. Setting the house on fire seemed a more than reasonable response to me. Though, had Zeb taken my vociferous advice, the book would have been much shorter…)
Gideon and Zeb are able to talk about what broke them apart before and it is clear there is a deep love between them as well as a strong attraction. It’s very possible they are the only decent people in the house so, naturally, they work together to try and work out what is going on and also, as the risk increases, to stay alive.
The plot is very twisty and deliberately over the top in terms of all the various spookiness that occurs. Although Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is not in the book and is not even mentioned, I was put in mind of his beliefs about the supernatural, common enough at the time this book is set. All of Us Murderers leans joyfully into the campy horror while the relationship between Zeb and Gideon serves to ground the story as well as provide characters to root for and be glad to know. Zeb is kind and ultimately that kindness is key to his HEA with Gideon (it is a romance after all).
The author does not sugarcoat where the Wyckham wealth came from and I appreciated it was specifically addressed in the book – and that it was not celebrated.
There were parts of the book I had to gloss over because of that phobia of mine but that didn’t mean I wasn’t completely freaked out by the creepy atmosphere.
All of Us Murderers is an homage to gothic horror while also poking a bit of gleeful fun at it too.
Grade: B+
Regards,
Kaetrin
Great review. I read this yesterday on Hoopla (I love my library system!)
I enjoyed it, although I don’t really like Gothics, or anything creepy. But I will read (almost) anything K J Charles writes. Because I’m not a Gothic fan, I think I missed some of the references and pokes, but of course I recognized a lot of the conventions, starting with the young woman in a white nightgown running out of the house. I suspect my issues with the book are typical of the genre – so many characters to keep track of, so much manipulation and maneuvering.
I loved the epilogue and that Zeb really did live happily ever after.
I got to read an ARC of this, so I’ve read it twice already. Loved it! I don’t like horror … except apparently I sometimes do, at least if K J Charles, Jordan Hawk, or T Kingfisher write it.
That cover is *chef’s kiss* for old school Gothic romance. I’d buy it for that alone. Thanks for the review.
@cleo: @Darlynne: Great cover. They should have had one of the characters on it running out in a billowy white shirt.
Thanks for your review, Kaetrin. I’m not one for horror, but this sounds pretty low-key. I look forward to reading it!
@cleo: Pretty much same for me Cleo!
@Kris Bock: I’m not big on horror either but I make the occasional exception. Apart from some particularly creepy things which would freak me out regardless of what kind of book it was in (and it happens all over the place to one degree or another alas) I didn’t find this particularly scary but there was a strong sense of foreboding througout the book. Knowing the book was a romance and there would be a HEA helped keep that in check.
@Darlynne: @Jayne: It is a great cover!
@Kareni: Not too horror-y I’d say. There’s foreboding and tension but only one jump-scare I can think of.