Broadway Butchery by C.S. Poe

Narrated by Kale Williams

Broadway Butchery is the third book in C.S. Poe’s compelling Memento Mori series of romantic mysteries set in New York City featuring Everett Larkin, star detective of the NYPD Cold Case Squad and his ‘work-husband’ (and boyfriend) Detective Ira Doyle of the Forensic Artists Unit. The mysteries in this series are incredibly well-constructed and are skilfully interwoven with the progression of the gorgeous slow-burn romance between these two complex, wounded men. While the individual plotlines are resolved by the end of each book, an overarching storyline is emerging and the relationship is ongoing, so it’s best to start at the beginning with Madison Square Murders – and there are spoilers for the earlier books in this review.

As in the previous instalments, Broadway Butchery opens with Larkin being called to a most unusual crime scene. In this case, it’s to a tacky tourist-trap souvenir store on Broadway, where renovation work has uncovered a mummified body behind a piece of drywall. Given the likely age of the remains and the fact that the site used to be a peep-show called The Dirty Dollhouse, Larkin surmises that the victim was most likely a young woman, killed by a drug overdose or sexually motivated violence. The piece of old, gauzy material wrapped around her neck would suggest strangulation, but why strip the body and then leave a possible murder weapon behind?

Later that day, Larkin returns home to the apartment he now shares with Doyle to find a small box, clearly addressed to him, outside the door. He’s not expecting anything – and upon quick examination, he can see no return address, courier company label or any indication as to how it was delivered. Inside is an old VHS tape with the words “Watch me, Detective Larkin” written on the label – and the similarity of the instruction to those found on the back of the photograph of the dead girl in the subway (Subway Slayings) – “Deliver Me to Detective Larkin” immediately suggests a link to the Neidermann case. It’s not until later that night that Larkin realises that the tape must be connected to the walled-up victim of an almost forty-year-old murder – and that the two cases are almost certainly linked.

The mystery at the centre of Broadway Butchery is fascinating and satisfyingly twisty as Larkin and Doyle set about trying to identify the body in the wall and then piecing the clues together that point them towards the emergence of a bigger picture. Each of the cases Larkin has worked on since Madison Square Park have proved to be more than they at first seemed, and have also led to identifying more than a single victim and to solving several murders. The messages and tokens Larkin has received from the mysterious ‘Sender’ are pointing him towards some very specific cases, but he can’t yet work out who that person is – or why they’re addressing him, particularly.

Every bit as brilliantly written as the mystery, the romance between Larkin and Doyle continues to exude warmth, charm and chemistry, and to deliver moments of intense tenderness, deep understanding and intimacy that are utterly breath-taking. Larkin’s incredibly rare memory condition means he is unable to forget pretty much everything that’s happened for almost two decades (and is one of the reasons he’s so good at his job) and it’s taken a heavy toll on him, his struggle to keep the myriad of thoughts, facts, connections and associations from overwhelming him leading him to become dependent on anti-anxiety medication simply to be able to function. By the time this book opens, he’s accepted the need to address his drug dependency, which comes with its own set of challenges, but at least he’s not struggling alone any more. He’s not merely an object of fascination for his doctor, an aloof and arrogant colleague, or an embarrassing (soon-to-be-ex) husband, because Ira Doyle sees all of Larkin, has taken the time to observe and learn him and work out how to help – how to talk Larkin off a ledge, how to help him focus, how to replace an unpleasant association with a new, more positive one, all gifts of understanding no-one has ever offered him before. Larkin is a one-of-a-kind character – egotistical, brittle, damaged, full of self-loathing and guilt – and utterly brilliant. I love being in his head and listening to his thought processes as he parses the nuances of human behaviour, and his laser-like put downs – scientific and satirical – are always worth the wait. The romance is beautiful, and the relationship development is stellar; for Larkin and Doyle, life and togetherness are about the little everyday things, and I love the way they’re so attuned to each other. Charming and personable, Doyle is the perfect foil to Larkin, but there’s a lot we don’t yet know about him and I’m pleased to see Larkin – following his epiphany about Doyle having suffered more than his share of trauma and learning to hide it, (in Subway Slayings) – slowly putting the pieces together to form a fuller picture of the man he loves, while knowing Doyle isn’t yet ready to talk about it. (When the truth comes out, I have a feeling it’ll be devastating.)

The depth of the author’s research into the minutest detail shines through, particularly in the inclusion of specific Victorian mourning rituals in each story – death masks, death portraits (photographs), mourning attire – and she also paints a vivid picture of the history of the area around Times Square in the 1980s, full of sex shows and by-the-hour rooms for rent – and in which deaths of sex workers were routinely labelled as NHI – No Human Involved. Despite the gruesome subject matter and some of the heavier themes, there are plenty of lighter moments to be found in Larkin’s deadpan snark, Doyle’s gentle humour and the the affection and tenderness that characterises so many of their interactions. The secondary characters are vibrant and well-rounded – and I can’t wait to see more of Neil and Baxter (who is such a hoot!) when Ms. Poe can find the time to write Neil’s book/series.

Kale Williams is perfectly cast in this series, and he delivers another top-notch performance here. The secondary cast is appropriately portrayed (he has a wonderful line in grumpy New Yorkers!) and the recurring characters sound consistent with the way they sound in earlier books. I’m completely in love with his interpretation of the two leads, though; he captures the essence of their very different personalities and conveys their deep emotional connection extremely well, which isn’t easy considering Larkin’s TBI has robbed him of the ability to put much inflection or expression into his speech. Mr. Williams very skilfully finds a good balance between a kind of monotonic delivery and using a more natural-sounding cadence for Larkin’s dialogue while also managing to convey that he feels things deeply, even though he can’t express his feelings in what we might consider a ‘normal’ way. As for his interpretation of Doyle, well, I think we can all relate to Baxter’s admiration of his resonant “vocal tract” ;) There’s such warmth and depth to Doyle’s tone and his general good-humour is never far away, but even though he’s begun to allow Larkin to know him a little more, there’s still a sense of restraint hovering around him at times.

If I have a criticism, it’s that although Mr. Williams does a good job when it comes to differentiating between narrative, thoughts and flashbacks, there were a couple of times where the distinction isn’t clear enough which made for some confusion.

Taken as a whole, the audiobook of Broadway Butchery is another wonderful listen in this clever, emotional and subtly romantic series.

Caz

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