A m/m romance trilogy in the spirit of Golden Age pulp fiction. It’s the 1920s and tensions are rising along with hemlines. Soldier-turned-bookseller Will Darling finds himself tangled up in spies and secret formulas, clubs and conspiracies, Bolsheviks, blackmail, and Bright Young Things. And dubious aristocrat Lord Arthur ‘Kim’ Secretan is right in the middle of it all: enigmatic, unreliable, and utterly irresistible.
Slippery Creatures
Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle’s chaotic second-hand bookshop is a blessing…until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else.
Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan—charming, cultured, oddly attractive—steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger.
And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again.
But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help.
“A terrific, perfectly-paced read with action, adventure, dastardly villains, a high-stakes plot and a pair of captivating protagonists. Slippery Creatures is fun, clever, sexy and utterly engrossing.” — All About Romance
“I just read a spy thriller, a comedy of manners, an action-adventure joyride, a post-war 20s class novel and a very turbulent romance. They were all fantastic. It’s astounding to me that they were all the same book.”–Samit Basu, author of Turbulence and Chosen Spirits
The Sugared Game
It’s been two months since bookseller Will Darling saw Kim Secretan and he doesn’t expect to see him again. What do a rough and ready ex-soldier and a disgraced shady aristocrat have to do with each other anyway?
But when Will encounters a face from the past in a disreputable nightclub, Kim turns up again—as shifty, unreliable, and irresistible as ever. And before Will knows it, he’s been dragged back into Kim’s shadowy world of criminal conspiracies and underhand dealings.
This time, though, things are underhand even by Kim standards. This time, the danger is too close to home. And if Will and Kim can’t find common ground against unseen enemies, they risk losing everything.
“A terrific follow up to Slippery Creatures, a tautly-written, compelling, high-stakes mystery with a vividly realised setting, a romance that’s coming along quite nicely, villains you can love to hate, heroes you can cheer for, murder, larceny, deception, betrayals – and plenty of cups of tea.”–All About Romance
“This spicy m/m romantic historical mystery series is top drawer flapper era excitement and glitz that I can highly recommend.”–Delighted Reader
Subtle Blood
Will Darling is all right. His business is doing well, and so is his illicit relationship with Kim Secretan–disgraced aristocrat, ex-spy, amateur book-dealer. It’s starting to feel like he’s got his life under control.
And then a brutal murder in a gentleman’s club plunges them back into the shadow world of crime, deception, and the power of privilege. Worse, it brings them up against Kim’s noble, hostile family, and his upper-class life where Will can never belong.
With old and new enemies against them, and secrets on every side, Will and Kim have to fight for each other harder than ever—or be torn apart for good.
“Charles fills the final installment in her “Will Darling Adventures” trilogy with more daring exploits, in addition to the characteristic wit, sexiness, humor, and heart. Highly recommended, but readers should start with the first in this compelling series, Slippery Creatures.”–Library Journal starred review
“Subtle Blood is one of the best books that KJ Charles has ever written. Every word, every twisting twist of the plot, every interaction between its characters, it has been magnificent.”–Book Me Up!
A sexy, elegant and romantic murder mystery. … The romance between the two men shows that there are always new layers of love and understanding to uncover in one’s partner — and that happy ever after can be a work in progress.–Maya Rodale, NPR
“Romance, drama, skulduggery and edge-of-the-seat adventure abound in this rip-roaring tale that brings the Will Darling Adventures to an absolutely magnificent close. … Clever, witty, sharply observed and beautifully romantic, Subtle Blood is a stonking read and an un-putdownable tour de force by an author at the very top of her game.”–All About Romance
Selected as one of Library Journal’s Best Romances of 2021