Edgar Allan Poe and the Empire of the Dead

"Edgar Allan Poe essentially invented the detective story in 1841, with the first of his tales involving the French investigator C. Auguste Dupin. The premise of Karen Lee Street’s series of Poe-narrated novels—the latest being Edgar Allan Poe and the Empire of the Dead—is that Dupin was a real person and a close friend of Poe’s, and that the two shared several adventures. Ms. Street evokes Poe’s unique sensibility through passages of inspired prose, in a narrative that preserves the spooky penumbra surrounding Poe’s enduring legend.”

“The terrific concluding volume of Street’s Poe trilogy. Street fulfills the promise of the tantalizing opening with a twisty and nail-biting plot. Fans of other superior fictional treatments of Poe will be enthralled.”

“In a brisk, vivid narrative that includes magic, alchemy, metempsychosis (the transfer of souls between bodies), and the pain of loss, Street details new life for Dupin, and for Poe, a reunion with his beloved. Superlative historical mystery, capturing the tone of the time and Poe's lasting literary legacy.”

“A juicy gothic potboiler.”

“A feast for all the senses; Karen Lee Street is a painter with a palette of exciting, unusual, and provocative words. A historical mystery that will entice readers into exploring Paris’s magical, mysterious past and will no doubt eventually lead them to revisit Poe’s literary masterpieces.”

"Edgar Allan Poe once again plays detective in Street’s excellent sequel. Street enhances the Grand Guignol plot with a plausible and empathetic portrayal of her lead."

"Street excels at seamlessly joining history and fiction, displaying a literary style not unlike Poe’s, complete with touches of the macabre and melodramatic."

"Street’s slightly self-deprecating and occasionally darkly humorous narrative echoes Poe’s style and fashions him as the somewhat unwilling hero of his own story."

The twists and turns of the plot are cunningly weaved, and Street’s expertly crafted prose and dialogue could easily have come from the pen of Poe himself. I really enjoyed this novel, found it very easy to get into (I do sometimes find period-style writing to be difficult to warm to), and genuinely didn’t want to put it down. I found myself emotionally invested into Poe and Dupin’s battle against their respective nemeses and even though I’d not read the previous books in this series, I was able to get straight into the story. Whether you’re a fan of Poe himself, or just detective stories, this is one series to get onto your book shelf (or e-book reader of choice).

Edgar Allan Poe and the Empire of the Dead is a brilliant historical whodunit. The prose is perfectly Poe—at once drenched with wonder and dread. Poe’s presentation as a wounded, sorrowful, intelligent, and complicated man is believable and alluring. The story’s opening is a cataclysm of promise. It’s a promise that is kept by the twisty, surprising, and suspense-filled plot, not to mention the perfect climax that answers every question with style. Empire of the Dead is everything a reader of traditional mysteries or an admirer of Edgar Allan Poe could possibly want.

This is a wonderful and imaginative climax to Karen Lee Street’s trilogy featuring Edgar Allan Poe, novelist, poet, editor and critic, a central figure of American literature and regarded by many as the inventor of detective fiction.In an exciting and wonderfully atmospheric read.