Memento Mori books in order

Memento Mori is a gay mystery series by C.S. Poe following two mismatched NYPD detectives — one a cold case specialist, the other a forensic artist — who uncover Victorian-era crimes hidden beneath modern New York.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 Madison Square Murders 2021 C.S. Poe Buy
2 Subway Slayings 2022 C.S. Poe Buy
3 Broadway Butchery 2023 C.S. Poe Buy
4 Hudson River Homicides 2025 C.S. Poe Buy
5 Astor Place Assault 2026 C.S. Poe N/A

The Memento Mori series follows Detective Larkin — a cold case specialist with an exceptional memory for detail — and Detective Ira Doyle, a forensic artist assigned to help reconstruct the faces of unidentified victims. The two are opposites in temperament, which gives the series its central tension alongside the mysteries themselves.

The first book, Madison Square Murders (2021), won First Place Mystery at both the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the e-Lit Book Awards. Each subsequent book places a new set of Victorian-era remains or artifacts at the center of a current investigation, allowing Poe to use the 19th-century New York she knows well without the series being set in the past. The format — modern detectives, old crimes — keeps the pacing contemporary while the history does real narrative work.


Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Memento Mori series?

There are five books in the Memento Mori series, published between 2021 and 2025.

What is the first book in the Memento Mori series?

The first book in the Memento Mori series is Madison Square Murders, published in 2021.

How much does the Memento Mori series use Victorian history in its plots?

Victorian history is central, not incidental — the cases in each book typically involve artifacts, methods, or secrets from the 19th century that have remained buried until now. C.S. Poe’s background as a Gilded Age historian shapes both the accuracy of the period details and how those details drive the plots.

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