He was frightened, and once he recognised that, he realised he'd been frightened for a very long time, at a level so deep he hadn' known i. One of the people he most loved had become a murderer, and he'd never trusted anyone again. [loc. 1548]
1905: Jem Kite is working as a clerk in London, his dreams of academic excellence and a comfortable life shattered ten years before, when he walked out of a final exam at Oxford after the murder of his friend Toby Feynsham. But was Toby really his friend? Who killed him, and why? Jem knows he's not the murderer, but it must have been one of their group of friends, the Seven Wonders: a black man, a flamboyant homosexual, working-class Jem, ambitious Hugo, plain Prue, Toby's twin sister Ella, and Toby himself. When Jem receives a note accusing him of the murder -- and losing him his job -- he decides it's time to settle the matter once and for all.
Death in the Spires is very much a murder mystery with romantic elements, rather than the author's more usual romance with mystery elements: some familiar tropes (perilous inheritance, illegitimate child, social injustice) are present, but the novel is structured quite differently and Charles keeps us guessing until the very end. Each of the characters is intriguing, and each has been badly affected by Toby's death -- but they all have secrets to keep, and none of them were wholly honest with the police at the time, or with one another a decade later. On rereading, I could see that some of those secrets were laid out in plain sight, though blended with plentiful red herrings. There's a strong theme throughout, familiar from Charles' m/m romances, of 'a crime against law but not humanity': the denouement may displease some, but I found it very satisfactory.
Fulfils the ‘academic thriller’ rubric of the 52 books in 2024 challenge.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full honest review. UK Publication Date is 11th April 2024.
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