I am ever so pleased with my first Aardvark book! Only my third 5-star rating of the year (although a couple have been close).
I chose this one on vibes – I was partway through Band Sinister and enjoying myself, loved the cover, and was in the mood to say yes to some gothic mystery goodness. All of Us Murderers is KJ Charles playing with all the gothic novel tropes and putting her own spin on making the queer textual in a genre where it was subtext for most of its history.
The book starts with our lovely lead Zeb Wyckham being tricked into the worst family reunion imaginable. He accepts an invitation from his cousin, whom he hasn’t seen since he was a child, to visit the family estate, Lackaday House, in Dartmoor to reconnect and get to know each other. Zeb accepts as he is once more without steady employment and two weeks away from London would be well-timed. Once there however, Zeb comes to find that all the relations he would like to see least in the world – which is all of them – have also been summoned to the house to determine who will inherit the family fortune. Zeb wants none of it and is most concerned with the fact that his ex, Gideon Grey, is currently working for his cousin and has every reason to hate him for the tatters he left Gideon in when their relationship ended the year before.
As the days of Zeb’s stay at Lackaday House progress, the mood continues to sour, and seemingly unexplainable events occur. Zeb wants out – away from the family who have only ever treated him poorly, away from the arranged marriage plot his cousin has concocted, and away from the man he loves who rightfully is angry with him – but cousin Wynn finds reasons to keep him there, locked inside the estate’s 12 foot walls. Trapped, and evermore convinced that the hauntings and other odd happenings are being perpetrated by someone on the property, Zeb turns to Gideon for help and to clear the air between them. Charles weaves a second chance romance into this gothic mystery. It is by paying attention and comparing notes that Zeb and Gideon are able to figure out what is happening in Lackaday House and save themselves, but also what happened to their relationship as it broke apart.
Charles writes rich characters, and Zeb is a wonderful example of that, as all the things she has built into him feed the plot and build the story world. Zeb pushes the boundaries of what is socially acceptable in Edwardian society, and within his own family. He is queer and has what we would call ADHD. The former put him in legal danger and cost him and Gideon their jobs and left them without references. The latter caused his brother to abandon him and tarnish his name, so he was left alone in society which would no longer have him. He’s had to build his life again in the past 10 years. He is also just a good human, one who wants nothing to do with money that was amassed through the mistreatment of others, one who views people of all statuses as humans who deserve to be treated well and shown respect. He feels strongly that women should be able to determine their own futures and are often terribly mistreated by men and intimate partners without recourse. He respects that he was Gideon’s first lover and the responsibility that entails.
This book earns its gothic stripes; it is not lighthearted in the slightest. There is death, destruction, conspiracy, and the occult running through the book. And if you are anything like me, you’ll devour it and enjoy the ride.