I Killed the King by Rebecca Mix; Andrea Hannah

I Killed the King
by Rebecca Mix; Andrea Hannah

ISBN-13: 9780063379619
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Storytide
Released: September 16, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
After a decade of war, the kingdoms of Avendell and Istellia have finally agreed to peace. As nobles and magic wielders from both countries arrive at remote Castle Avendell for a historic all-night masquerade to celebrate, King Costis summons an unlikely group to his chambers: the crown prince, his Istellian bride-to-be, his personal guard, a wild beast tamer, and the palace’s questionable new healer. But before Costis can get the treaty signed, the castle goes dark.

When the lights come back, the king is dead—murdered with the princess’s knife, in a weak spot only his guard knew of, and with venom from one of the beast tamer’s monsters lacing the blade.

With no clear killer—and everyone a suspect—they make a risky pact: Tell no one until the treaty is signed. But when a winter storm seals everyone inside and someone aware of the king's untimely death begins to pick off guests one by one, the six suspects must work together to discover who killed the king . . . before one of them is next.


My Review:
I Killed the King is a suspense novel that happens in a fantasy world. The suspense was well done as I kept turning the pages to see what happened next. People (including main characters) died one after another. It didn't really feel like a mystery, though, because each of the six viewpoint characters (prince, princess, king's guard, healer, beast tamer, assassin) knew information that the reader then knows which strongly hinted at who is behind the chaos. The king's killer confessed about halfway through, but the main characters still needed to stop the bad guy behind everything. At the end, they think they accomplished this, but the reader knows they didn't: they only made things worse. So not really a happy ending.

The fantasy world wasn't developed very far, mentioning things like unicorns and basilisks (which are snakes with deadly venom in this book), but most of it was just backdrop stuff to establish that there was magic (not much used in the story) and 13 gods (of which a few play a role). The characters weren't initially very developed either, though they became more realistic and less like simply roles by the end of the book. The prince spent most of the crisis thinking about how much he loved his male guard and looking to him to solve the crisis. The healer drank himself insensible, though he became more proactive after someone he loved was killed. The princess was starting to develop some independence and use her cleverness by the end, yet she also loved someone she shouldn't and ended up unhappy.

One character liked to cuss, so there was occasional use of bad language. There was no sex, though there certainly was enough longing and thwarted love.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.