Broadway Butchery

Broadway Butchery by C. S. Poe (Memento Mori #3)

It hasn’t been that long since Everett resolved the issue of the subway killer, and his Cold Case Department is getting great press, but things are difficult, and someone with knowledge of the cases continues to send anonymous notes and evidence to Larkin.

“Did you watch the tape?” Connor asked.

“I haven’t owned a VCR since high school.”

Unfortunately, the proceedings of his divorce aren’t helping him deal with what he has finally admitted is an addiction to Xanax.

“Ex-husband….” Millett snapped a few more pictures. “You get that down payment back?”

“Wedding rings are considered unconditional gifts. I expect it’ll be sold on eBay to pay his legal fees for the contested divorce.”

Millett said, “You’re not doing a great job of talking up the benefits of marriage.”

There are, of course, death rituals involved, which is how Everett manages to keep working with the man he has also finally admitted he is dating.

“When I said that mourning etiquette was a societal obsession, I wasn’t joking. At one point, it’d encompassed nearly every facet of daily life. It’d become so detrimental to having a life, in fact, that only the wealthy and privileged could afford to abide by the strictest of rules.”

Everett is slowly learning about Ira and the past he keeps hidden, and just as Ira was willing to listen to Everett, he waits patiently for a time when Ira will feel able to talk about his own traumas.

But just so you, know, it’s not all about death rituals and murder.

“Tetragnatha guatemalensis.”

“Tetra-what?”

“The long-jawed orb weaver. It’s a spider. The male and female lock jaws when they mate so that she can’t eat him—”

Doyle held his hand up. “Evie, no. It’s 3:00 a.m.”

That cracked me up.

I have the next book ready, but as the fifth hasn’t been published yet (and isn’t even available for pre-order) I’m holding off.

Or at least trying to.

Characters: Detective Everett Cecil Larkin, Detective Ira Doyle, CSU Detective Neil Millett, Lieutenant Connor, Detective Jim Porter, Detective Aiko Miyamoto, Dr. Lawrence Baxter, Homicide Detective Ray O’Halloran, Charlie Stolle, Senior Artist Craig Bailey , Dr. Elizabeth Myers, Noah Rider, Humphrey Gabel, Sal Costa, Vincent Costa, Candace ‘Candi Bomb’ Ward-Flynn, Earl Wagner, Mrs. Wagner, Esther Haycox, Mia Ramos, Manuela Ramos, Silvia Ramos, Debra Baan, Phyllis Clark

Cover Art by Reese Dante

Published by Emporium Press

Rating: 8.5/10