A Friend in the Dark

An Auden & O'Callaghan Mystery, Book 1

By: C.S. Poe, Gregory Ashe

Narrated by: Garrett Kiesel

Rufus O’Callaghan has eked out a living on the streets of New York City by helping the police put away criminals as a confidential informant. But when Rufus shows up for an arranged meeting and finds his handler dead, his already-uncertain life is thrown into a tailspin. Now someone is trying to kill Rufus too, and he’s determined to find out why.

After leaving the Army under less than desirable circumstances, Sam Auden has drifted from town to town, hitching rides and catching Greyhounds, until he learns that a former Army buddy, now a police detective in New York City, has died by suicide. Sam knows that’s not right, and he immediately sets out to get answers.

As Rufus and Sam work together to learn the truth of their friend’s death, they find themselves entangled in a web of lies, cover-ups, and accelerating danger. And when they witness a suspect killed in cold blood, they realize they’re running out of time.

©2020 C.S. Poe, Gregory Ashe (P)2020 C.S. Poe, Gregory Ashe

Great new series

Loved Rufus and Sam. In this first book we are introduced to these two complicated men Rufus is a informer for the police and finds himself the target when his police contact is murdered. Sam is a friend of the murdered detective and comes to NY to find out what really happened. Both men have broken past and after some dark humor start to get to know each other. Lots of angst and an ending that wants you to immediately want to listen to the next book. The narrator is new for me and does an amazing job. There is a lot of emotional dialogue and he delivers.

Great mystery with a lot of heart

Everything about Rufus makes me want to wrap him in a blanket and take care of him. Despite everything he's been through, he hasn't lost his belief that good things do happen and his desire to be loved. That's what made the ending even more heartwrenching.

Sam has a much harder shell around his heart than Rufus does, but I loved that we were able to see that shell cracking throughout the book.

The mystery plot was great, with twists and turns that kept me engaged even though I already knew the ending.

It was awesome to hear Sam and Rufus come to life and the narrator did a great job voicing them. My only complaint (and it's so incredibly minor) is that there were weird pauses throughout the narration. Sometimes the pauses were in the middle of sentences where you wouldn't normally pause and they went on so long that I often looked down at my phone to make sure it was still playing. It was annoying, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the performance.

good start to a series

I am a big fan of Gregory Ashe, and have listened to all of his books that have been released on audio. While I am not as familiar with C.S. Poe’s books, the ones I have listened to, I enjoyed. What I have read/listened to from both of them separately definitely had me interested in seeing how they would collaborate with each other.


Rufus O’Callaghan is a street “rat” or CI for the New York Police Department. The officer he helps is Jake, who ends up being murdered by someone who tries to take out Rufus when he shows up for their meet-up. Sam Auden was a former soldier who served with Jake and also a former friend with benefits. Sam comes in from the Midwest to try and find out who would kill his friend. I feel like both of these characters are complicated in different ways. Sam has tremors and nightmares from his past. He also has no plans to let anyone get close to him. Rufus has a history of self-harm. While I’d like to see both of these characters explored more in depth in future books of this series, I didn’t really connect to either of them in this book. Perhaps it was all of their defensiveness with each other.


Somehow they are both able to work out the mystery of their friend’s death. The force Jake worked for has it’s share of crooked cops and though we kind of know who is responsible by the middle of the book, the real trick is for Rufus and Sam to prove who is behind the murder and help bring them to justice. I found the crime solving satisfying in this book, and while a romance might be simmering between the two main characters, things seem to be off between them by the end of this book. I do like a slow burn and I think it would be good for them to figure themselves out before we see a HEA or HFN.


Besides this being a new collaboration between these two authors, this was also a new narrator to me. I found him to be pretty good and I would listen to him again. Though the ending is a little up in the air in regards to the characters and their future direction, I like what I have listened to so far and eagerly wait for the next book in the series.

Fantastic

Great, great ,great ! These two are fascinating in their interaction. The narration was terrific.

Great Series

Garrett's narration is perfect for this book! Poe&Ashe are great together, love this series !

Lost interest in this and finished bc I was already so far

I never really felt attached to these two leads or like I really got to know them before they knew each other it seemed. I was confused by the neurodivergent rep because they both seemed to have similar processing but it wasn’t really made clear especially with Rufus. Anyway. I kept zoning out.

Honestly might have liked it better not on audio. Kiesel did well with voices but has some mispronunciations and awkward pacing in the reading. Long pauses mid dialogue that took me out of the story and were very aggravating. It didn’t flow.

Excellent start to a promising series

I love both these authors' writing, so it's no surprise that I grabbed this book as soon as it was released. It was a treat to revisit it in audio format (with thanks to Greg Ashe for the complimentary copy). I enjoyed spending time with the characters again and am now impatiently awaiting book two. My only complaint is the narration. Too many mispronounced/misaccented words and long midsentence pauses that made it hard to follow the narrative. That part, sadly, was disappointing.

Loved It!

What do you get when two of your favorite authors collaborate on a new book? Perfection and the best kind of book hanger!

A Friend in the Dark is a richly written, beautifully complex story. There is nothing easy about either of the main characters. Both Rufus and Sam are deeply damaged, flawed men who have come together to figure out what happened to a mutual friend, Jake. What takes place is a fast paced, action filled, beautifully built up story of betrayal, greed, loss and so much more.

The chemistry and connection between Rufus and Sam is as confusing to them as it is palpable to the reader. The friction they create together at first creates a physical connection. This quickly morphs into an emotional attachment neither one is prepared for.

I really loved the dialogue between these guys. It's full of snark and sass, my personal weakness!
The surprising abrupt ending leaves the reader desperate for more! Garrett Kiesel does an amazing job of bringing these characters to life! I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the Auden & O'Callaghan Mystery serie

Good story. Decent narration.

Rufus and Sam are an interesting team up because their idiosyncracies create an entertaining dynamic. They both have self-confidence in different areas, and their perceived flaws become more like character traits when they are working together. The resulting character development and interaction was a highlight of this story.

The narrator's voice was pleasant, and most of the narration was decent. There were a few awkward pauses and moments with emphasis on the wrong word or syllable, but overall still worth listening to. It felt like the narrator didn't read the story before narrating.

If you like the either Gregory Ashe or C.S. Poe's writing, and you find the narrator's voice pleasant, this is worth the listen.

Mixed Feelings

The first 70% of the book was a solid 5 stars. As the story started to unwind, I didn’t feel like it flowed well. It was choppy and didn’t seem like it was written by the same person /persons that did the first 70%.

This is my first audio book with Garrett Kissel as the narrator. I liked his voices a lot and will look forward to listening to other books that he narrates.