Review - Broadway Butchery by C.S. Poe

Detective Everett Larkin is called to a souvenir shop in Times Square where workmen have uncovered the mummified remains of a young woman. It doesn’t take long for the clues to point to another serial killer connected to the mysterious figure that’s been taunting Larkin. Once again, Larkin’s boyfriend and police forensic artist Ira Doyle, is there to lend a hand and provide emotional support.

“Broadway Butchery” is the third murder mystery in the Memento Mori series. The books have an over-arching plot, and in this latest story it becomes clear there’s something connecting the individual cases featured in each book, so you need to read all the books, in order, to have a clue what’s going on. As in all the books so far, the detectives uncover murders going back decades, involving mostly young people from the underside of society.

While the hunt for a serial killer drives the plot, this series is also very much about the developing relationship between Everett and Ira. Everett’s brain injury-induced perfect memory continues to be a mixed blessing, both at work and in his relationship. But, Ira has his own baggage, which Everett’s restless brain can’t help to analyze. The two men are curiously good for each other. Their relationship hardly qualifies as a romance, but it definitely works.

The mystery this time also dates back far into the past. We’re reminded of the 1980s when porn was experiencing a boom in popularity and New York’s Times Square was full of sleazy sex shows. Once again, the clues mount up until they point to the culprit and Larkin inches just a bit closer to identifying his stalker.

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“Broadway Butchery” is available from Smashwords or Amazon (commissionable link).