{"id":24622,"date":"2025-06-14T18:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T22:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=24622"},"modified":"2026-03-22T10:32:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T14:32:25","slug":"copper-script","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24622","title":{"rendered":"Copper Script"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copper Script<\/em> (2025) KJ Charles<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CopperSet in London in 1924<\/p>\n

Aaron Fowler likes being a detective, likes working for the cause of justice. What he doesn’t much like is how the Met refuses to acknowledge the existence of bad coppers. He also doesn’t much care for his cousin, who expects him to fix his problems, currently being dumped by his fiancee after her visit to a graphologist. Aaron doesn’t want to help Paul, but he also doesn’t like people taking advantage.<\/p>\n

The world after the war was populated by people who were desperate to believe in something, or anything.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Joel Wildsmith lost a hand in the war, and since returning has been working as best he can to make ends meet. Which for him means using his talent in graphology, even if he doesn’t quite understand how he knows the things he learns.<\/p>\n

(It was) quite right that he had no qualifications and no proof that he could do what he claimed. Joel\u2019s only defence was the fact that he could do it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When Aaron consults Wildsmith, he doesn’t know what to believe, or how the man could know the things he did about those who wrote the papers he showed the graphologist.<\/p>\n

Not a romantic husband, I wouldn\u2019t think, but a useful one. How can I put this: I bet he\u2019s never bought his wife flowers in his life, but he\u2019d happily dig her a rose bed if she wanted one.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I really liked Joel. I’d just reread the Sins of the City series, and was expecting another charlatan like Justin, but instead got an honorable man doing what he could to make he way.<\/p>\n

He hadn\u2019t served in a war for people to go around not offering other people tea.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As with so many KJ Charles books, I not only loved the story (mystery) and the characters, but also the history.<\/p>\n

Joel had spent a year or more fighting to get the hook. The Ministry for Pensions had made things entirely clear in their literature at the end of the war. \u201cYou are going back to ordinary civil life,\u201d the leaflet had said, \u201cand it is up to you to make yourself as fit for that work as possible.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It was the perfect story to pull me out of my rereads-only slump.<\/p>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler, Mr. Joel Wildsmith, Paul Napier-Fox, Miss Barbara Wilson, DC Helen Challice, Sergeant Hollis, Constable James Sefton, Divisional Detective Inspector Colthorne, Detective Inspector Davis, Rahim Mohammed, Angelo, Mr. Gerald Marks, Mrs. Trotter, Darby Sabini, Mr. Twigg<\/p>\n

Cover by James T. Egan<\/p>\n

Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copper Script (2025) KJ Charles Set in London in 1924 Aaron Fowler likes being a detective, likes working for the cause of justice. What he doesn’t much like is how the Met refuses to acknowledge the existence of bad coppers. He also doesn’t much care for his cousin, who expects him to fix his problems, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,292,204,33,207,742,148,26,56],"tags":[50,617,546,476,544],"class_list":["post-24622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-ebook","category-good","category-historical","category-mental-health-rep","category-physical-health","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-boinking","tag-injury","tag-interwar-period","tag-kj-charles","tag-mm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6p8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25834,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25834","url_meta":{"origin":24622,"position":0},"title":"Death in the Spires","author":"Michelle","date":"February 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Death in the Spires (2024) KJ Charles Set in Oxford in 1905 It's been ten years, but the crime that caused Jeremy Kite to quit Oxford without finishing his degree continues to follow him. This time it's a letter to his employer. Jeremy Kite is a murderer. He killed Toby\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Death in the Spires","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Death-in-the-Spires-196x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24243,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24243","url_meta":{"origin":24622,"position":1},"title":"The Sugared Game","author":"Michelle","date":"February 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Sugared Game (2020) KJ Charles (The Will Darling Adventures, #2) Set in London in 1924 \"Do you ever have the feeling the whole world changed while we were away and nobody bothered to mention it to us?\" \u201cI know you\u2019ve thought about this,\u201d Will said. \u201cBut there are men\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sugared Game","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Sugared-Game.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17492,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17492","url_meta":{"origin":24622,"position":2},"title":"Short Stories: KJ Charles","author":"Michelle","date":"June 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Short Stories: KJ Charles \"Five for Heaven\" (2019) A Charm of Magpies 3.5 Set in Nagasaki, three years after A Flight of Magpies (15 pages) \"A Confidential Problem\" (2016) Society of Gentleman 2.5 Set in England in 1820 (14 pages) \"A Private Miscellany\" (2016) Society of Gentlemen 3.5 Set in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24918,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24918","url_meta":{"origin":24622,"position":3},"title":"Spectred Isle","author":"Michelle","date":"September 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Spectred Isle (2017) KJ Charles (Green Men #1) Set in London in 1923 (T)he Empire that had covered a full quarter of the earth was beginning to look less like an immutable and unchanging truth and more like hubris. As a normal sort of Englishman, Saul\u2019s reaction to religious enthusiasm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spectred Isle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Spectred-Isle-201x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22186,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22186","url_meta":{"origin":24622,"position":4},"title":"A Queer Trade","author":"Michelle","date":"August 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A Queer Trade (2016) K.J. Charles (Rag and Bone) \u201cIt\u2019s the way of things. Burn your love letters, or have \u2019em put in the ground with you, or they\u2019ll be tomorrow\u2019s packing paper.\u201d Hall gave a slightly rueful smile. \u201cI put \u2019em aside for packing, when I notice, rather than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Queer Trade","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a-queer-trade.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24251,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24251","url_meta":{"origin":24622,"position":5},"title":"Think of England","author":"Michelle","date":"February 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Think of England (2014) KJ Charles Set in England, 1904 It had been an extraordinarily modern creation at that time, equipped with the very latest innovations, with running water in all the bathrooms, heated by hot-water radiators and illuminated throughout by electricity from his own hydroelectric generator. This country is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Think of England","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Think-of-England-200x300.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24622\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}