If someone told me that the Miskatonic River had sent a tributary (or a tentacle) down from Innsmouth to Manhattan, I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised. At all. The eldritch horrors of this book are VERY eldritch indeed, but it’s the human monsters that really make this story scream.

Besides, as a couple of the book’s characters remark, if the eldritch monster had actually BEEN Cthulhu it would have been much easier to deal with. Instead, Julie Crews and her ‘Scooby gang’ are stuck between the rock of The Mother Who Eats and the hard place of a fake archangel who thinks they have the chops to eat Mother. And certainly plans to scoop up Julie and her friends to pave the way.

But that’s not where we start. Where we start is most definitely at the human dimensions. Julie Crews is a down-at-heels, down-on-her-luck magic worker with plenty of brass, always willing to deliver a kick in the ass, with a knack for surviving stuff that no one should even know about, let alone throw down with.

So we begin with Julie, taking a job she knows she shouldn’t touch with someone else’s bargepole, from her lying, cheating, stealing ex-boyfriend. The one who trashed her and her reputation, stole credit for jobs that she did, and used that credit to slither his way onto and up the corporate ladder at the primo magical legal firm, Thorne & Dirk. (I always wanted it to be ‘Thorne & Dick’ and you probably will too.)

But the job pays real cash money, albeit not enough and under the table, and Julie needs that money to make her rent and pay for her many illicit, illegal and expensive habits – like cheap booze, epic amounts of drugs and high-quality magical equipment.

Her life has already gone more pear-shaped than the average person would expect to survive – and Julie doesn’t. Expect to survive, that is. People who do the kind of work she does and take the kind of damage she regularly takes don’t live to see 40. Or even 35. She’s the last and ONLY survivor of her class from magical training. And Julie’s 30th birthday is coming up fast.

What she doesn’t expect is for her best friend Sarah to show up at her door with one packed bag, a whole bunch of new verbal and physical twitches and dark shadows under her eyes that deserve their own zip code.

What neither Julie nor Sarah ever admit is that they are each other’s ‘one that got away’, or would be if either of them had ever womanned up and actually asked. They’re better together, always have been and always will be, whether they define that together as besties or roommates or the love of each other’s lives.

Something that they’ll have to test ALL the limits of, to hell and back (literally), when Julie’s ex and Sarah’s ex decide to fuck with them in entirely different ways at the exact same time. Putting Julie, Sarah, their friends and ALL of New York City into the crosshairs between the claws of a creature straight out of the Cthulhu Mythos and the many, many mouths of the Mother Who Eats.

Escape Rating B+: First and most importantly, this is your trigger warning that The Dead Take the A Train is a bloody, gory, gruesome reminder that urban fantasy as a genre is the uncanny child of mystery and horror, much like the uncanny babies being born in yesterday’s book, A Season of Monstrous Conceptions.

Meaning that, yes, while there’s a mystery at the heart of this story, there’s a monster or two – or ten – chewing that heart with their fangs as blood drips down their chin. Or chins, however many they just happen to have.

To the point where the horror elements go so far over the top that they come down in a splat of blood and viscera on the other side.

Second, for the first half of the story, both Sarah’s ex-husband Dan and Julie’s ex-boyfriend Tyler were so full of smug, self-congratulatory, evil, white dudebro entitlement that I just couldn’t hack listening to their perspectives. They both exhibited the kind of asshattery that is all over the news and if I wanted to listen to that there are entirely too many real places for it these days.

Which means that I switched from audio to text at that halfway point. I was finding the story compelling – if sometimes gross to the max – but every time the narrator retched out one of their perspectives I wanted to scream. I’ll confess that I gave up too soon, because just as I switched to text the dudebros started getting what they deserved and that was awesome.

While I fully admit that the above may be a ‘me’ thing and not a ‘you’ thing, the relentless drumbeat of just what terrible excuses for human beings Dan and Tyler were nearly threw me out of the story entirely, and that’s absolutely the reason this is a B+ and not any higher. Your reading mileage may vary.

Howsomever, the narrator, Natalie Naudus, is one that I absolutely love, and she does a terrific job of voicing stories that feature last-chance, hard-done-by, bad luck and worse trouble heroines, just like Julie Crews, who would be able to stand, scarred but never broken, right alongside similar characters that Naudus has voiced, like Opal Starling in Starling House, as well as Emiko Soong in Ebony Gate, Zelda in Last Exit, and Vivian Liao in Empress of Forever. (Also Charlie Hall in Holly Black’s Book of Night, but I read that one entirely in text.)

As much as the first half of The Dead Take the A Train drove me around the twist, when the story hits that second half it hits the ground running hard towards a slam bang finish. Along the way we have Julie’s slightly otherworldly ‘Scooby gang’ coming together, with teasing clues to American Gods-type backstories to come, the set up of an almost impossibly compelling magical version of NYC with hints of The City We Became with even more blood and guts and eldritch horrors, and, to cap it off in a blaze of glory, a fulfillment of one of Shakespeare’s most famous sayings (from Henry VI, Part 2 if you’re looking for a hint.)

The Dead Take the A Train is the first book in the projected Carrion City series by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey. There’s certainly plenty of carrion to pin a horde of stories on. If this first book is a taste of what’s to come, I can’t wait to see what I’ll be reading next – absolutely with the lights on!

Original, entertaining, and expertly narrated. A recommended purchase in all formats for collections where UF and the authors' previous works are popular.

What a wild ride. My attention was kept the whole time and it was such a fun read. I’ve never read anything like this and I loved it! Thanks NetGallery!

THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN is the first book in a new series by @casskhaw and @rkadrey and this one just slid into the book world two days ago! Thank you to the authors, @netgalley and the publisher, @macmillan.audio and @tornightfire for the audio-ARC and physical ARC.

Julie is a coke, alcohol and amphetamine-fueled demon hunter and we first encounter her at a bachelorette party where the young "bride" is being taken over by a demon that lays a plethora of eggs into her body, only to find out that the demon is being paid by the bride's mother so her daughter can become a vessel for the demon hoard...soon Julie realizes this was the beginning of a new design by the darklings that she will need to stop.

This cosmic horror roller coaster is full of angels and demons in a gritty monster-saturated NYC. The story is full of lots of interesting, complex characters, Eldritch horrors, tattoo spells, and some serious social commentary. There is sapphic love, bisexual rep, and some generally queer goings on. Plenty of body horror mixed with romance and shenanigans made this a really fast and bizarre read in which I am looking forward to the second installment!

If you are a fan of the weird and wonderful and not easily grossed out but also like your horror with some unapologetically messy and witty characters, this just might be the book for you. Pick this one up on shelves today!!

💚SMASHBOT💚

This was a blast to read and completely unexpected. Julie is a drugged up, struggling kick ass woman that uses her magic for a price. Unfortunately most of her gigs end up leaving her still struggling and usually just enough to scrape by. She has a great opportunity that is sure to turn things around however, the end of the world might be a result of her actions.

This was a lot of fun. Definitely some dark humor mixed with graphic horror, magic and a kick ass heroine. The supporting cast of characters are equally interesting and well written. I cannot wait to see what happens next in the second part of this duology written by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey.

The audiobook was narrated really well and brought the characters to life.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review

4 ⭐️

#NetGalley #TheDeadTaketheATrain #RichardKadrey #CassandraKhaw

This book is a wild ride. I absolutely love cosmic horror but unfortunately all the fantastic monsters and the gruesome descriptions just couldn't save this story for me. the characters themselves just were not compelling enough to hold my interest. There was a lot that I enjoyed from this book but I had a hard time pushing through it.

Classic Kadrey, who I'm used to, and I'm liking Khaw now. A fun story of a loser becoming less of a loser and being the chosen one to save the day.

Interesting premise but the execution was lacking in my opinion . The audiobook wasn’t enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc .

A magical-corporate-thriller!

Even though she loves her vodka in the morning and her drugs anytime, Julie seems to be the last honest demon and monster hunter in New York city. It's dangerous work, and becomes even more so when a friend from her past shows up on her doorstep to escape an abusive relationship. Caught between her old life and what could be her future, Julie fights till the very end.

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There is gore, and guts, and blood, and teeth, and flesh ripping apart, and eyes... lots of eyes. I would recommend this book to the friend who loves all that and perhaps needs a little romance in their life, even if they don't think they do.

I gave this book three stars because I thought it started with a lot (corporate corruption, magical items, demons, etc) and I was excited to go places but it seemed to narrow down to a romance story. I also found the ending to wrap up too quickly and neatly. I found myself confused that it ended "just like that".


Much gratitude to NetGalley, TOR Nightfire, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced Audio copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I was excited to receive an advanced copy of this audiobook. However, I wasn't able to finish it because the story really doesn't lend itself to audio, for me. The story opens with so much going on that I wasn't able to follow along. I am still interested in reading this book but I'll have to read a physical book in order to do so.

As I sit here writing my little blurb for this book, my adult child is standing over my shoulder looking at the cover and asking me all the questions about this book. Apparently, this story is right up his alley. I saw the cover and thought wow that looks really cool and it is! The art is pretty amazing, so amazing I was worried this was going to be a book that was not going to be for me. Also, what is the definition of horror? When I think of horror I think I am going to be terrified, and I have not read a book that is considered horror that is scary. Maybe, I should stop avoiding them.

I loved that we just dive right into the book and have carnage and gore. That is how I knew I was going to like this book. We have magic and creatures and law firms a la Joss Whedon's Angel (TV Show) that hide the mystic within its walls. Do I understand everything that happened in this story? Nope, still don't quite understand the Mother that Eats and how all that works. However, I believe there will be more coming to help understand all the nuances and events that are occurring in this world.

The narrator, Natalie Naudus, is fantastic. She breathes life into all of the characters. She portrays the banter and sarcasm beautifully. I have not heard an audiobook by her that was not amazing!

The story is beautifully conveyed with colorful, and sometimes grotesque, imagery. There is very little 'downtime' or filler in the story. We have characters that you love to hate and our primary POV is Julie, who is perfectly imperfect. You can not help but root for her and hope that everything will turn out ok. I do wish that Julie and Sarah would stop being so in the friend zone and would just go for it. Anyhow, the overall story was pretty fun. You have the horror aspects, betrayal, creatures, too many worm-like creatures, portals, horrible ex-boyfriends, amazing friendships, a lot of drinking and drugs, and a splash of romance. I can not wait for the second book in this series.

2.5 Stars
I really wanted to love this, but I couldn't get into the story.

The novel definitely had an exciting start. The introduction of Julie and her unique job of dealing with demonic possessions and weird creatures had me eager to read on. However, as I progressed through the book, I found myself struggling to maintain my enthusiasm and focus.

Overall, not for me. But if you're a fan of cosmic horror, maybe give this novel a try.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Cassandra Khaw, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Khaw, Cassandra and Kadrey, Richard, The Dead Take the A-Train. Pgs. 400. Tor Publishing, 2023
Julie is a magician who performs exorcisms and other paranormal odd jobs in New York. Struggling to make ends meet and deal with her ex wanting to use her to help him climb up his law firm's ladder, her life gets turned upside down when her friend, Sarah shows up. Fleeing from her ex-husband, Sarah asks Julie to help her. To protect Sarah, she calls on an archangel to balance the books in her friend’s favor. Things turn deadly, however, when the archangel turns out to have murderous intentions. Meanwhile, a strange creature emerges from Julie’s ex’s law firm looking for victims. Can Julie and Sarah stop the deadly chain of events unfolding and save themselves and the mortal realm?

The plot is engaging, immersive, and horrifying. The world building was well-done. The characters were unique and helped draw the reader into the story. Overall, a bizarre experience that will appeal to hard-core horror and supernatural fans. 3 stars, ADULT

This urban sci-fi horror story titled, "The Dead Take The A Train" was nothing short of an earworm wriggling its way into my brain. The book featured a unique cast of creepy, otherworldly creatures that were described in such vivid detail that they felt like their foul odour still left a bad taste on my tongue.

What stood out to me was the queer love story. It was a beautiful addition to the plot and it added a refreshing twist to the genre. Adding a sense of humanity and warmth to the otherwise bleak and menacing world of current-day NYC (with supernatural elements). The flaws in the MCs were not overlooked.

While there were some slow parts in the middle of the book, and aspects of the characters that were hard to relate to, the finale more than made up for it, with its creepy creatures and supernatural elements.

This read felt like watching an updated, queer, and slightly more terrifying Men In Black film.

Listening to the audiobook narrated by Natalie Naudus, like, say LESS! Her ability to bring to life sarcasm and gritty personae to the dialogue is a big success.

Reading co-written works is a fresh way to enjoy a story. I recommend this book to anyone looking for quirky, urban "what if" with a few twists on the tracks.

Much gratitude to NetGalley, TOR Nightfire, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced Audio copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw is about Julie Crews, a secret Psychic Operative in the NYC magic scene. She is tired of doing bad jobs and being stiffed her rightful fee, so at her breaking point she summons a guardian angel to help all the things going wrong and improve her life and career. However she doesn't summon what she thought and the death that follows is devastating.
This horror novel was crazy and fascinating! I asked for this arc on a whim because the description sounded interesting and it was so much better than I expected. This story was a wild ride and just when you think that you can understand everything in the world something new comes into play. The connection to the paranormal in everyday life is so integrated that it is unbelievable that the rest of the population does not know about it.
The main character, Julie was a confident take no shit kind of girl. She was incredible and powerful while also feeling her emotion for her hardship and those she cares about. The subplot love story was so sweet and just makes your heart jump. It was such a good story of friendship and people taking care of each other when they are needed.
This is a great novel that I would recommend to people who love weird paranormal stories, great adventure and friendship connections that they will do anything for each other!

I really loved the actual horror of the book, it was gross and really fun to hear (I had the audiobook version) and imagine, but I think that was what I liked best about the book. The characters were not particularly compelling, and Julie and Sara were so oblivious that it went from being a slow burn to just being absolutely insufferable, so I was typically just waiting for someone to get murdered so I would get to hear the description of it, because I did not really care about what happened to the main cast all that much. Which just makes me sound like an absolutely horrible person, but I just couldn't get into them.

Cosmic horror and Urban Fabtasy.
Lots of body horror - if that's your thing

It's not mine but I did enjoy the urban fantasy aspect and snarky MC.

The MC, a witchy freelancer/operative who lives wildly and chaotically, works for her ex, and is in love with her bff, Sarah.

Luckily for Julie, Sarah pays Julie a visit
She has an abusive husband problem and Julie decides to fix it

This book on audio has a fantastic narrator and at the same time I suggest reading it - there's a lot of action/horror scenes and the plot is solid but at times confusing. The writing is well done.
I will probably read the next book and definitely check out her other books.
Thanks netgalley!

This was a fun ride. I really enjoyed the world of magic, but struggled to keep track of which character we were with. I wish there had been more of a distinction between character perspectives whether through the narration or stylistically in the writing itself.

Buddy read with Mai!

And it seems that our buddy reads rarely work out lol

Neither one of us liked this at all. In hindsight, maybe we should've DNF.

Unlike Mai, I'm the perfect audience for this kind of urban fantasy horror demon fest, but it flopped pretty badly for me.

I loved Cassandra Khaw's The Salt Grows Heavy, but I'm starting to think that's a one-off thing because I didn't like this book. Nor did I like Nothing But Blackened Teeth (which was one of the worst things I've ever read).

The Dead Take the A Train is more in the line of Nothing But Blackened Teeth, which is incredibly unfortunate. You've got a quirky mixed(?) Asian FMC, Julie, and her ex, Tyler. They both hunt monsters and demons. While Julie works as a contractor, Tyler is employed as a corporate demon hunter.

This all sounds like an awesome urban fantasy, but it came off as the tryhard version of it. It gave off hardcore pulp fiction vibes or the kind of book you'd find on Kindle Unlimited. Also, it was just boring as hell.

Most of the first half dealt with Julie and Sarah's domestic problems, like relationship stuff such as Julie's huge crush on Sarah, and Sarah's misogynistic ex. I fell asleep a few times waiting for the monster slaying.

Both Mai and I were zoned out most of the time when we listened to the audiobook. Natalie Naudus is one of my favorite audiobook narrators for Asian fantasies with Asian FMCs, and even she couldn't save this yawn fest.

The only events I remember are Julie and Sarah's domestic problems (yawn), gross out deaths (actually cool), and demon possessions and demon dimensions. While the second half was more my style of creepy gross demon stuff, I was already tuned out by then to even care.

Two stars because the authors tried, I guess. It looks like other reviewers really liked it, so ymmv.

Also, this isn't cosmic horror. It's just run-of-the-mill monster horror. Nothing Lovecraftian about this at all. Don't besmirch the good name of cosmic horror with this mediocrity.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this arc.

I think Cassandra just isn't for me, which is unfortunate, because I'd love to support Asian non-binary authors in any capacity. I enjoyed The Salt Grows Heavy slightly more. Do take this with a grain of salt, because I know there's an audience out there for this. In addition to this, I've had problems with Tor Nightfire in the past.

To be quite fair, I zoned in an out as I listened to this. Julie's story didn't captivate me. When we got to the mother, I was confused, and not enjoying myself. Tyler's was even worse. I see other reviews labeling this as cosmic horror, and perhaps I'll add that to the list of genres that are not for me. (See: cozy mysteries, domestic thrillers, second chance romances)