Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Madison Square Murders

SERIES:  Memento Mori

AUTHOR:  C.S. Poe

PUBLISHER:  Emporium Press

LENGTH:  299 pages

RELEASE DATE:  September 28, 2021

BLURB:

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 puts 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.

REVIEW:

This book!  This new series takes my love of CS Poe’s writing to a whole new level.

Everett Larkin, aka, Grim is an elite cold case detective.  He’s also dealing with his own demons.  When he catches a case of remains from the last 90’s found in Madison Square Park, it leads him in unexpected but interesting directions.

in order to solve the case, Larkin needs to reconstruct the victim.  Enter one forensic artist, Detective Ira Doyle.  Rather than being put off by Larkin’s unusual personality, he’s intrigued.  He realizes there is something very different about him.  Larkin respects Doyle almost immediately which isn’t his usual reaction.

The rest of the Cold Case squad and much of Homicide don’t like Larkin.  Some is jealousy for his close rate and some is simply not liking how he interacts with them.  In addition, Larkins marriage to his husband Noah is falling apart.  Doyle is like a port in the storm for Larkin.  And Doyle has his own demons as well which he shares with Larkin.

As they work the case together, they develop a rapport that is unexpected.  Larkin isn’t sure what to make of it, but he could really use a friend, so he is more willing to work harder to make things work with Doyle.  He hasn’t connected with anyone in a very long time.  And they work extremely well together.  Not everything is smooth, but they see each other as worthy and supportive.

The cold case the Larkin catches ends up being tied to additional cases potentially  It’s a testament to the writing and the storylelling that my heart was pounding as the detectives get closer to finding the perpetrator  Each new twist added to the suspense.  Very very well done!

This book is in my top books so far this year.  For anyone familiar with Poe’s writing, you will find a lot that is familiar here.  We have a hero with an extremely rare condition that has a lot to do with why he is so good at his job.  We have the beginnings of the end of a relationship and the potential for a new friendship.  There are some lovely Easter Eggs form Poe’s other series here that I think readers will enjoy. The case, the mystery, the characters are all so well done!  I was hanging on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the answers to the mystery.  Woven into this mystery and suspense is the story of a man dealing with overwhelming feelings and having literally nowhere to put them.  We have another character who is surprisingly empathetic.  I honestly CANNOT WAIT for the next book.  I hope we don’t have to wait long.  Such an enjoyable and interesting read. Highly recocmended.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon