It was interesting! There fan be a lot of moving parts in some areas, and definitely enough blood, but it was intriguing with a strong plot. Would definitely recommend to friends who are into this genre. Thanks to MacMillan and NetGalley for the arc.

I'm not going to lie, I picked this one up because of the creepy cover and the narration by Natalie Naudus but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually did enjoy this modern, clever, queer thriller. Perfect for fans of books like The city we became and good on audio. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!!

CW: some graphic/gory scenes

So I'm not sure why this didn't land with me. It has everything I love and I should have liked it more - gritty urban fantasy with heavy doses of cosmic horror. And I did love that part of it, but I unfortunately didn't care much for the characters.

Khaw and Kadrey did a great job with all of the horror aspects here. There's a great balance between description and leaving certain cosmic horrors to the imagination, in homage the genre's original tropes. There's a pantheon of competing gods and monsters, The Dead Take the A Train focuses on how these conflicts affect the humans of earth, specifically through the point of view of those humans who work for them. I did find myself confused at just how much the general public of this world knows though, because sometimes it seemed like they had no clue and other times like the events of the book were just another Tuesday.

The main characters were mostly repugnant - I mean, obviously the antagonists were, but even the protagonists. I found very little to like about anyone, even Sarah, the sweet girl next door, which I'm concerned was mainly due to Natalie Naudus' voice choice for the character. Naudus was amazing narrating Starling House, which I just listened to, so I was genuinely surprised I disliked a lot of what she did for this book, but especially with Sarah. This is a character who is meant to be the sympathetic heart-of-gold girl-next-door but Naudus reads her as naive, immature, weak, and annoying. It's hard to see why the MC, Julie, has feelings for her because they are just that different.

As for Julie, I don't understand how someone in the line of work she is in can be so stupid and careless. She knows how it all works. She knows the threats. Yet, time after time, she makes the dumb decisions. There wouldn't be a book without her making at least one, but she makes so many that you're left wondering how she a) still has a job, and b) is still breathing. She seems to be only ever accidentally competent.

And while there is a lot of violence in this book, most of it, whether physical, verbal, or emotional, is directed towards women. To the point where I started noticing it (along with the repetition of certain more unsual words and turns of phrase like "sotto voce"). I'm curious how much of this book is Khaw and how much is Kadrey - I admit I haven't read either of them before, but I am familiar with reviews of each.

I do plan on reading the print novel once it's out, and I'll probably check out the inevitable sequel as well though, so...

I was a big fan of the Sandman Slim series, So the thought of a new Richard Cadre Universe filled me with great interest. Unfortunately, I had a tough time with this one... I think it's mostly me and not the book. The casual violence and gruesomeness that comprised Slim's world was just doesn't hold my attention the same way these days, and causes me to wrinkle my nose and want to turn away more often than not. I don't know if it's just because I'm getting older or my tastes have simply shifted for the moment, but I struggled with this one. It was a little too much for me and despite excellent narration I just couldn't find my self falling into this universe the way I wanted to.

This book is such a wild ride! I loved this so much! I cannot recommend this book enough and am so thankful to have the opportunity to listen to this ARC! This is one of my favorite reads of 2023!

I picked this one up because at this point in audiobooks, I trust Natalie Naudus to pick good things to work on. This is a very violent, visceral story that is great for horror fans. It's also funny and has a well structured romance arc. Naudus knows how to pick good books :D It's a violent, sweary mystery and I am absolutely here for it. Naudus, as always, does a fantastic job distinguishing the various character voice.

This had way too much gore for me and the world and story was fairly confusing. Just not for me. Liked the narrator though.

The book wasn’t bad, but I don’t think the title works for the book… overall it was fun, wherever Tyler works gives off Welcome to Nightvale energy

Deliciously dark and twisted, perfect for spooky season.

The Dead Take the A Train is a thrilling, dark fantasy with such vivid imagery that the narration by Natalie Naudus made everything truly feel alive. Written in multiple POV, it was easy to feel connected to the characters, while simultaneously wanting some of them to meet an ill fate. I've read my fair share of demon hunter urban fantasy books, but I haven't read one that made me feel quite so... squeamish. In the best of ways, of course.

This world is written in such a way that it feels like readers could peel back a thin layer of New York, and find hidden magic just behind the hidden door of a speakeasy. Though, with the level of danger lurking nearby, this wouldn't be the best idea. There's a wonderful balance between the dark horror elements, and the lighter elements of friendship and rekindled potential romance. Without the balance, this book could easily have been too dark and heavy for non-horror readers. I was pleasantly surprised, and adore this book all the more for it.

I'd give The Dead Take the A Train a solid 4.5 stars, and would highly recommend for those who are debating taking a chance on the horror genre.

“Julie Crews is a coked-up, burnt-out thirty-something who packs a lot of magic into her small body. She’s been trying to establish herself in the NYC magic scene, and she’ll work the most gruesome gigs to claw her way to the top.

Julie is desperate for a quick career boost to break the dead-end grind, but her pleas draw the attention of an eldritch god who is hungry for revenge. Her power grab sets off a deadly chain of events that puts her closest friends – and the entire world – directly in the path of annihilation.”

This was such a freaking fun horror book! I loved that all the gore was set off by some great snarky and humorous moments. The magical world, inside of NYC, in the book was the perfect background for all the dark and seedy things Julie had to do. Julie was just the perfect self-depreciating badass. She almost reminded me of a female Deadpool. The plot was great but did get a bit jumbled on the audiobook, so I’m glad I was able to read along to it as well. I will honestly read any Cassandra Khaw book just for the writing alone. How she makes blood and gore and horror seem poetic is beyond me. So I definitely suggest picking this one up when it’s released

Dead Take the A Train is super creative in all the ways to create monsters and gore. The characters and plot are intriguing as well, and the book moves quickly. It’s very visual and visceral, with high stakes and great twists and turns as once in a generation level threats cause strange alliances.

The banter in the book has been some of the best I’ve read this year. The main character is an exorcist that is in a slump and addicted to coke and alcohol, going on benders after having a bad day, but when working frying the city of demons and other otherworldly creatures.

Jessica Jones meets The City We Became in this visceral-horror, urban fantasy about Julie, a freelance exorcist at her professional rock-bottom, as she calls on the influence of a guardian Angel to help improve her luck. Unfortunately, her divine summons call up more than she bargained for, and she ends up being the catalyst for a world-ending master plan involving a cooperate leech ex-boyfriend, a demonic Wall-Street firm (literally), eldritch mating rituals, and gateways for unholy terrors. To complicate matters, Julie's estranged best friend comes back to her, fleeing an abusive partner, creating a second-chance for a happy future that Julie thought was long since dead.
I absolutely ate this up. The body horror is gross, but purposeful, and the magic-rules create an interesting parallel between blood as a magical catalyst and the themes of self-sacrifice. Julie is an absolute disaster of a human, but you see how the strange friendships in her life bring out her loyalty, determination, and strong sense of justice. I did feel like in the latter half of the story we started to get a few too many perspectives, and I understand that it serves the world-building that will be explored in later books, but I also felt like we didn't need to spend so much time in this book focusing on those plotlines.

Finally, a full length. I knew I would love Khaw so much more with the amount of space the stories needed, and I was not disappointed. Not my favorite type of ending, but with this being a series, I understand the need to end on and open high note.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the review copy

Julie Crews is a bit of a disaster. With a coke addiction, a love for booze, and a sometimes abrasive attitude, making her clients love her is not always easy. That being said she is good at her "job" in the magic community. Unfortunately, her aforementioned vices seem to keep getting in the way of consistent work, so she finds herself struggling to make rent payments when a good friend turns up needing a place to stay. Julie turns to magic to help get her life back on track, specifically relating to her job and income. However, as seems to happen with magic, all is not what it seems, so now she must work to right everything she has disrupted in the world, before the death toll gets too high.

Okay, so even if the tagline for this book wasn't Jessica Jones meets Neil Gaiman, I would have drawn the same conclusion. Now I will preface this, that I am a huge fan of the Netflix Jessica Jones series, and the bizarre/creativeness of Neil Gaiman novels, so I may be a bit biased. However, this novel was very enjoyable with a decent amount of action/drama/and gore. I say, gore, and I mean gore... I'm not sure how many times "intestines" is said...but this book may hold a record. Overall, if you are a fan of unique magic communities and main characters that don't fit the norm, I suggest taking a look a this book. Additionally, the audiobook was well narrated, and easy/fun to listen.

The narration gave this audiobook that bit of extra whimsy. This was a fun horror filled ride with a sense of humor. It made me laugh, awe, and want to scrub my brain!!! Loved it. This was the perfect thing for me to listen to while I decorated my house for Halloween!

Dark Fantasy
Body Horror
Evil Cthulhu Corporate
Multi POV
Bloody
Morally Grey to Evil Characters
The smallest dash of romance (second chance)
HEA (… well not for everyone but def our fmc)


Send me a email reminder when it releases and I’ll post my review on Amazon!

Cosmic horror at it's brightest, bloodiest and most chaotic.

The Dead Take the A Train imagines a hidden world of monsters and magic existing just underneath the busy streets of New York City. We're following Julie Crews, a bounty-hunter/monster killer who takes odd jobs for cash. It's a joy to witness Julie fighting the wildest, most horrifying monsters you can imagine. When Julie's best friend/love interest shows up at her doorstep, Julie becomes desperate for a positive change to her life and career. An 'angel' hears her pleas and Julie's life starts to shift in a more positive direction, however it turns out this 'angel' is more sinister than it appears.

The side characters are a lot of fun in this. At times the story feels a little overfull, but the characters are so vivid and interesting you don't mind. There's one character called Dead Air, who I NEED to know more about. Dead Air has a connection directly to gods who live in technology, and is a type of intermediary between them and the mortal world. This book is the first in a duology and if the second book has more Dead Air in it, I will eat it up so fast.

Let's also take a moment to recognize the perfection that is Natalie Naudus' narration. Her voice, pacing and passion elevate the story. When you're done listening to this story, start listening to Starling House by Alix E Harrow, also narrated by Natalie Naudus and published by Macmillian Audio. Natalie is the voice of autumn.

The story is a visceral, squishy, cosmic horror with amazing queer representation. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced listener copy.

This book is best read in a grimy New York City apartment, surrounded by tons of half empty take out containers while playing video games online. And when someone knocks at your door, think twice before answering.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this chance to listen Tate and review this audiobook arc which will be available Oct 3,2023!

This was an interesting book. It was a coked out magical horror story that heavily reminded me of Gaiman’s Neverwhere without the lyrical prose and more the hard hitting horror and grit you would expect from the authors. The narrator did an excellent job of conveying emotions and tension throughout. I enjoyed it even if left me feeling like I had been through some stuff just like the main character. I felt strung out and tense but that doesn’t mean it was a bad book. It was an excellent experience that evoked a visceral response.

📕Someone - go make a movie of this book when freaking Hollywood decides to pay its writers what they deserve and strike is over. Because I can see this in NYC streets as good old Ghost Busters style
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📗Julie had an internet choice of career: magic, not the Houdini kind. She took on work where she needed to destroy beasts and take a piece of them back as a trophy for her employers. While she was trying to land on “big” jobs, she of course ended up tangled in “big” boy webs. After that, rest was one hell of a mess for Julie and everyone around her
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📘While I was reading this book, all I could think about was 80s-90s horror films with non to limited CGI work: all those gory details, eggs and maggots, and ugly looking creatures with a lot of slime. I don’t take the A train, but it was a fun read on the train!

The Dead Take the A-Train promised to be an unusual read and delivered. Between Cthulu-esque monsters, a movie starlet, a cursed bookshop owner, two women trying to ignore their lifelong appeal to one-another, and an evil corporation that would put Wolfram & Hart to shame, this book has everything-- provided you're not squeamish.

It could have gone a bit more horrific and pointed & I probably would have loved it even more, but I will be recommending this book.