Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Subway Slayings
SERIES: Memento Mori, Book 2
AUTHOR: C.S. Poe
NARRATOR: Kale Williams
PUBLISHER: Emporium Press
LENGTH: 7 hours and 37 minutes
RELEASE DATE: January 6, 2023
BLURB:
Detective Everett Larkin of New York City’s Cold Case Squad has been on medical leave since catching the serial killer responsible for what the media has dubbed the “Death Mask Murders.” But Larkin hasn’t forgotten that another memento—another death—is waiting to be found.
Summer brings the grisly discovery of human remains in the subway system, but the clues point to one of Larkin’s already-open cases, so he resumes active duty. And when a postmortem photograph, akin to those taken during the Victorian Era, is located at the scene, Larkin requests aid from the most qualified man he knows: Detective Ira Doyle of the Forensic Artists Unit.
An unsolved case that suffered from tunnel vision, as well as the deconstruction of death portraits, leads Larkin and Doyle down a rabbit hole more complex than the tunnels beneath Manhattan. And if this investigation isn’t enough, both are struggling with how to address the growing intimacy between them. Because sometimes, love is more grave than murder.
REVIEW:
C.S. Poe dedicates Subway Slayings, the second book in her astounding Memento Mori detective series, to Kale Williams, the narrator of the series audiobooks. Poe’s gratitude is for Williams’ “elevating this series to something more”. Indeed, that’s exactly how I would describe Williams’ impact on this series. His vocal performance is transformational.
Some books are enjoyable in audio. Some are made better with audio. And then there are those rarities that are not only made enjoyable and better, but become something different entirely – something more profound. That type of audiobook results from a talented, highly skilled, intuitive narrator like Williams, who breathes life into the characters and gives the storyline a heartbeat that pulses, flickers, races and soars.
Poe’s Memento Mori series books stand well all on their own. Subway Slayings and the first series book, Madison Square Murders (which you must read first) are riveting stories on text alone because Poe knows how to craft a gripping story and excels in the execution. However, you haven’t experienced Poe’s Cold Case Detective Everett Larkin and his de facto partner, forensic artist Ira Doyle, or the complex, engrossing memento mori mysteries they find themselves mired in until Williams has given them life.
Larkin’s brain-traumatized, HSAM mind delivers facts, so many facts, overwhelming amounts of facts and experiences that he simply cannot forget. He’s highly intuitive and sensitive, despite how he sounds. He speaks with a flat affect – a highly unusual vocal cadence and timbre, unnatural to a reader’s ears. When reading, it’s hard to really “get” what Larkin sounds like and discern through that monotone the emotions he so evidently feels. On text, he sounds overly formal, quirky, and a bit of a jerk at times. And while there’s no denying he can be all of those things, all of that misses the point.
Williams transforms Larkin into a relatable, endearing person with complexity and a depth of feeling we can hear and understand. Williams is so closely attuned to the emotions beneath Larkin’s flat speech that we hear them and feel them even though the words are consistently delivered in monotone. Williams also does his homework by carefully studying the text and all the nuances Poe has put there. On occasion, Larkin consciously inflects, and Williams delivers that. There are times when a character talks with food in their mouth (for example, Larkin and his donuts), screams or whispers. Williams delivers all of those details through a faithful, skilled execution.
Let’s not forget the effortlessly sexy, kind, and equanimous Ira Doyle. I am a whole lot in love with Williams’ interpretation of Doyle and how he delivers his smoky, luscious warm baritone. Williams’ Ira-voice melts you into a puddle, especially when he calls Larkin “Evie” in his rich, velvety smooth tones. Have mercy … *fans face* 🔥
Subway Slayings continues the memento mori storyline with a different, albeit related mystery for Larkin to solve with Doyle’s help. The mystery, though, takes a backseat to the relationship development between Larkin and Doyle. Poe has crafted an atypical love story that is gorgeous in a subtle, unassuming way. Poe brings Larkin and Doyle to life in a technicolor beauty that belies the gritty, base, horrific events in these stories, ones that paint the world brown, gray, and black with an overlay of red for the blood and rage they encounter and experience. Yet their dynamic is kaleidoscopic for each other, providing rainbows of light, moments of peace and happiness, light and color in an otherwise dark, depressing, challenging existence. Everett and Ira provide solace and sanctuary for each other. They are two broken men listening to each other, hearing and feeling what the other isn’t saying. It’s effortless love for each other that is breathtaking to behold.
Poe and Williams’ collaboration on the stunning audiobook for Madison Square Murders is the top title – book or audio – on my Best of 2022 list. Subway Slayings continues to showcase the exceptionality of this author/narrator pair. Poe gives us a twisty, turny storyline, humor, banter, and understated but devastating romance (and bar none the best declaration of love I’ve read). Williams takes all that and gives us Evie and Ira, the people, not the characters. This audio will assuredly be on my Best of 2023 list, and likely right at the top with a bullet. It’s astounding, addictive, and absolutely essential listening.
RATING: 
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