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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Latest In a Fine Mystery Series, August 31, 2010
As an Edgar Allan Poe fan, I have found this murder mystery series featuring "The Raven" as crime-solving hero quite enjoyable. Schechter "channels" him in a way that is both tongue-in-cheek and weirdly respectful. Oddly, he is the only fiction writer I have seen to date that actually makes Poe sympathetic, even endearing.
The book is quite well-written, and the plot complicated and involving. I'd prefer the crimes were a little less gruesome, but perhaps that's just me. Also, Poe himself would love what Schechter does to the Transcendentalists. I felt the main weakness of the book was the Alcott family. "Marmee" and her daughters (including Louisa May) come off as sickly-sweet to the point of being tiresome. Still, that was a minor flaw in an otherwise entertaining book.
I did notice one dark twist to the book's finale that Schecter seems to have overlooked or deliberately ignored. Without (hopefully) giving away too much about the ending, I noted that Poe, by solving the case, essentially unwittingly did great harm to the wife he was so desperate to protect. It puzzled me that the author did not really address that conundrum.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Another very good mystery, July 8, 2010
This was the second book I've read in the Edgar Allen Poe mystery series (you, I find, have to read them in order). This is book I felt was very good, well-written in the voice of the great writer. I feel the author does a great job in "channeling" EAP without resulting in caricature. This book also features in a supporting role PT Barnum, who also appeared in a prior book of the series I read, and it was great to see this amazing character again. However, he is not the only famous name to appear, most surprising is Louisa May Alcott as a precocious young writer and adventurer. I eagerly look forward to reading more in this series.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Poe on the hunt, November 8, 2007
Author Schechter writes a series of books using Edgar Allan Poe as his detective based on the historical fact that Poe is often credited as being the first true detective. And this reads like a true detective story. Just when you think you (and Poe) have it figured out something happens to prove you (and Poe) wrong. Entertaining story, easy read for the most part but not for the squeamish. Poe always has help from some famous person. In this case it is Louisa May Alcott, authoress of "Little Women." It is interesting to see her involved in this kind of story, so different from what she wrote as is usually the case with the possible exception of P.T. Barnum, his old friend.
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