Madison Square Murders

Memento Mori, Book 1

By: C.S. Poe

Narrated by: Kale Williams

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Everett Larkin works for the Cold Case Squad: an elite - if understaffed and overworked - group of detectives who solve the forgotten deaths of New York City. Larkin is different from others, but his deduction skills are unmatched and his memory for minute details is unparalleled.

So when a spring thunderstorm uproots a tree in Madison Square Park, unearthing a crate with human remains inside, the best Cold Case detective is assigned the job. And when a death mask, like those prominent during the Victorian era, is found with the body, Larkin requests assistance from the Forensic Artists Unit and receives it in the form of Detective Ira Doyle, his polar opposite in every way.

Factual reasoning and facial reconstruction put Larkin and Doyle on a trail of old homicide cases and a murderer obsessed with casting his victims’ likeness in death. Include some unapologetic flirting from Doyle, and this case just may end up killing Everett Larkin.

©2021 C.S. Poe (P)2021 C.S. Poe

One of the best audios I've heard

Imagine having the exceptionally rare ability to spontaneously recall in detail with great accuracy personal events or experiences and their associated dates. Imagine being constantly, unconsciously, triggered to link dates with events, including news stories or minute details like sounds made, clothes worn or foods eaten. Imagine not just replaying, but reliving those events with all of their attendant emotions. Not surprisingly, anxiety and depression are constant companions for individuals with this rare ability, and frustration at forgetting important present events and details because of the unavoidable dwelling on the past chips away at self-esteem.

The protagonist of C.S. Poe’s inspired, engrossing mystery romance Madison Square Murders, the first book in Poe’s Memento Mori series, is Everett Larkin, one of those rare gifted/cursed individuals with total recall. His natural intelligence and analytical abilities paired with his superior memory make him a formidable, exceptional cold case detective. It also makes him “other” – considered “weird” or “a freak”, his eccentric, unusual tendencies keep him apart from society and fray what few relationships he is able to establish.

This series features a continuing storyline following Everett and his partner, forensic artist Ira Doyle, as they seek to unravel the brutal murders perpetrated by a serial killer who creates a memento mori – an object that is a remembrance of death – of his victims. At the same time, Everett and Doyle grapple with the non-platonic feelings arising from the developing bond between them. Neither the storyline nor the relationship are given closure at the end of Madison Square Murders. While there are no cliffhangers, there is a plot that builds so you’ll need to read the series books in order.

Everett is perhaps the most unlikely hero you’ll encounter. He’s a hero because he remembers all of the victims. Because he remembers, they existed, and their deaths have meaning. But the toll it takes on Everett is staggering. Through deeply moving, heart-wrenching scenes of his psychological suffering, Poe depicts how Everett’s “gift” of never forgetting is killing him. Everett’s flat affect, lack of social skills, and seeming lack of feeling belie an exceptionally caring, empathetic individual.

Doyle is the first person Everett has met who understands the importance of memories. More importantly, he understands loss and living with horror. He is the perfect counterpart to Everett, knowing what he feels almost like a mind-reader and knowing without being told how to help him. Everett desperately wants to be known, but no one wants to know. They don’t want to know how he is, what he thinks, how he is dying … He’s very much alone in every aspect of his life, including his crumbling marriage. But, Doyle sees him and wants to know him. With Doyle at his side, Everett is not alone.

Poe enraptures us in this profoundly complex, superbly written story full of emotionally charged chemistry and attraction between two fascinating men. It is a superbly crafted, riveting mystery romance. But even more remarkable is the astounding vocal performance of Kale Williams on the Madison Square Murders audiobook.

I am a huge fan of Williams. His talent is evident, and his performances are superb across-the-board. However, this is the first time I’ve heard him perform a tense, tightly woven story with deep emotional exploration and a conspicuous absence of humor, lightness and sexy physical scenes. Madison Square Murders contains raw, gritty, dark content centered on a dysfunctional, idiosyncratic main character as the story’s linchpin. It’s a departure from what I’m used to hearing from Williams, so his astounding performance on this audiobook is enlightening, although not surprising.

Williams’ audio portrayal of Poe’s gripping story is devastating in its execution. He fully inhabits these characters and it’s obvious that he “gets” them. The linchpin in this story is Everett and Williams becomes him. His voice is smoky and enveloping with a roundness to the tone that has depth and pulls you in. He faithfully delivers Everett’s flat, toneless voice with a consistent lack of intonation, except in the scant few places where Everett is so affected by something that it causes him to inflect his voice. Then Williams modulates his voice to match.

Williams is able to convey Everett’s struggle, and his pain becomes ours. Conveying attitude, reaction, and depth of emotion is no easy task when there’s no variation in the tone of voice, yet Williams gives a master class in how it’s done. Most notable here is Williams’ use of pacing to convey Poe’s intent. When Everett begins to spiral as he falls into an association that triggers reliving an unwelcome memory, his words start to run together, increasing in speed like a snowball going downhill. Williams engages with that pacing as he accelerates his delivery, dropping pauses and punctuation, and instead, running the lines together to reflect Everett’s increasingly manic thought process. Williams also infuses dynamics like increased emphasis or volume as Everett becomes more frantic and desperate, yet always maintaining Everett’s flat affect.

Williams’ performance is intuitive, expressive, and completely plugged-in to the characters and their journeys relative to each other and as part of Poe’s greater complex, twisty turny mystery. This is an unforgettable Kale Williams vocal coup de maître. Madison Square Murders is one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to, and hands-down the best I’ve heard this year. I give it my highest recommendation.

Not your typical detective

Ev and Ira, balance each other’s dark sides. And solve murders together besides. Big recommendation

Loved it!

I read this book before listening to the Audible book. I knew from the start that I loved the story. I always learn something new when I read a C S Poe story and this was especially intriguing. The way Larkin and Doyle interact, the collecting facts, solving the crime, the dialogue and plot twist - all just wonderful! The crime is solved - no cliffhanger- but a new mystery introduced and the reader will eagerly await the next book.
Kale Williams did a fantastic job interpreting Larkin and Doyle for audio. In the book it is noted that Larkin doesn’t ask questions with the upward inflection that is found in English. I could not imagine how that would sound until I heard Kale Williams. It was easy to differentiate Larkin from Doyle and from other characters so that it was easy to get lost in the story. This is my first audiobook narrated by Kale Williams and he is now on the list of my favorite narrators.

Great New Series

Madison Square Murders by C.S. Poe was given in exchange for an honest review. The beginning of a new series that Poe created is fantastic. Everett Larkin, a cold case detective, is called in on a body found in Madison Square Park. Ira Doyle, a police sketch artist, was requested to help identify the body through reconstructing his likeness. As the case progresses, Everett has an epiphany and changes course in his personal life as well as falling for Ira. I loved this audiobook, the narrator Kale Williams embodies both characters with that extra care to give the listener a way to almost feel as if you have known these characters for years. Poe is a wonderful writer who takes her research and each storyline to another level. I really cannot wait until the next installment of Everett and Ira.

Excellent- Highly Recommended!

Superior narration and well developed storyline, characters. The author’s descriptive attention to details makes this a “hard to put down” book.

excellent story, great narration

I listened to this book clear into the night and finished it first thing this morning... before coffee! It was a great book, wonderful language, imaginative characterizations, and I was ready to sit back, ponder and consider, and relax into the relief of the ending, But, the last paragraph presages the next book. It is a small thing compared to the entirety of it, and with the next book, I will be aware. (To be clear, the ending is NOT a cliffhanger.) YMMV, but I just let the author do their story, and I was along for wherever the ride took me; my favorite thing about this book.

Wonderful

I went into this book completely blind, didn’t read any blurbs or anything I simply saw who the author was and knew I would love it.
Love it I did. Doyle and Larkin are both such wonderful characters with deep wounds that never heal but they deal in their own ways and keep living. Larkin in particular is remarkable with the kind of pain his “gift” for memorization brings him it’s amazing he can get through the day really. We don’t learn much about Doyle until a good bit in but he too is so strong with how he buries such horrible wounds under his happy personable exterior. They seem unlikely but complement each other well in both life and work.
When a cold case comes up involving the body of a young man unearthed in a park Larkin is called in. Most people would think it’d be impossible to track down a killer after so many years but not Larkin especially after he finds Doyle, a forensic artist who works his own magic with a pencil and together they do the impossible and identify the unfortunate man and track down people of interest.
I listened to the audio book of this narrated by Kale Williams who’s a new to me narrator and I absolutely loved how he brought these guys to life. I was hooked from the beginning with the wonderful characters and compelling mystery. And of course Poe couldn’t help herself and ended with a little cliffhanger ensuring that I’ll be begging for the next in this series.

A lovely beginning to a new series

Madison Square Murders by CS Poe is the first book in a new, and hopefully long, series. The main protagonists are Everett Larkin and Ira Doyle and I adore them.
Everett is the pinnacle of persnicketiness, but it’s not by his choice. A tragic accident has left him with some quirks and foibles; some helpful for his job as a cold case detective and some that he tries valiantly to deal with on his own. For all his buttoned-upness, he’s also vulnerable, which most people miss.
Ira Doyle is also a NYPD detective, but with the Forensic Art department. He is mellow and uber observant and the perfect foil to Larkin. Doyle smooths out Larkin rough and brittle edges so well that even Larkin is unaware of it at times.
I was worried about the cheating aspect but it was handled delicately and laid the foundation for future books. There was also the sweetest proposal for a work husband I’ve heard.
The narrator does an amazing job bringing Everett and his clipped tone to life. He was just as I imagined Everett in my head. He also captures Doyle’s velvety quietness.
I can’t wait for the next installment.

Another winner! 😍😍😍

AUDIOBOOK- Dec 2021: Fantastic characterization of both MCs’❤️❤️❤️

ORIGINAL REVIEW- Sept 2021:

4.5 Stars….A WINNER! 👏👏👏

What wholly intriguing characters! I had a hell of a fun time getting to know these two men & figuring out whodunnit in CS Poe’s latest mystery!

Meet Larkin, (aka: Evie, Grim Reaper), a neurodivergent cold-case detective on the trail of a possible serial killer. Meet Doyle, a laid back sketch artist who attaches himself to Larkin’s case and to the man himself.

The plot and mystery were solid. There was a slow burn between the two men & nothing more than a kiss happens in this book—yet, I was so involved in the case, I didn’t miss the sex! 😱😍

The writing was solid, save for a bit of overwriting here and there, which I attribute to Larkin’s POV—am I right, Carol??

I love how Poe has a penchant for creating neurodiverse characters and making me fall in love with them!

Here’s to the rest of the series, which I need ASAP!

Thanks to the author for the ARC, all views and opinions are my own.

One problem

The audio quality went a bit wonky towards the end. At about an hour and 30 minutes left of the book, the audio sounded like someone had dropped my phone in water so there is water in my speakers, making the audio sound weird. I tried listening through my headphones with the same results, so it's not my phones problem.
This happened 4 times at varying intensity.

Other than that I absolutely LOVE this book and Ira's voice is just, chefs kiss, perfection.