Because I Killed Him (The Nine Gentlemen)

The wrong ally is deadlier than an enemy. Dive into the oppressive confines of the Civilized World where wealth offers no security, only a gold coffin. In this society, survival hinges on securing alliances with high-citizens, trading absolute loyalty for protection against draconian laws governing speech, dress, and posture—where mistakes are punished by public beheading.

Key Features/Benefits

• Dystopian novel exploring themes of class division, loyalty, and forbidden romance.
• Features Low-citizen Loredana Waldsten, a former fencing prodigy stripped of her right to bear arms after killing a high-citizen.
• Loredana must navigate the elite Grandmaster University where reputations are forged in death duels.
• Survival depends on a perilous, strategic alliance with ruthless high-citizen Edmund Prew, whose cousin Loredana killed.
• Book 1 in The Nine Gentlemen series.

Specifications

• Author: Edith Birde
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Publication Date: May 13, 2026
• Print Length: 691 pages
• ISBN-13: 979-8993467917
• Dimensions: 15.24 x 4.39 x 22.86 cm (152x44x229mm)
• Item Weight: 1.13 kg
• Series: The Nine Gentlemen (Book 1 of 1)
• Category Rank: #5 in Dystopian

Synopsis Summary

When Loredana’s low-citizen politician father challenges the high-citizens, she becomes a target hunted by classmates, forbidden by law to defend herself. Her only hope is Edmund Prew, a high-citizen whose family has a bitter feud with hers. Their alliance, born from a forced bet, spirals into danger as they fall for each other, knowing that loving him means maintaining a lie, and telling the truth means certain death.

Experience this high-stakes dystopian narrative about survival in a world where honor is manufactured and love is the ultimate risk.