Brief Ramble: The Murders in the Rue Morgue

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

by Edgar Allan Poe
C. Auguste Dupin, #1 (short story)

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  3.5 Stars

C. Auguste Dupin is a man in Paris who solves the mysterious brutal murder of two women.  Numerous witnesses heard a suspect, though no one agrees on what language was spoken.  At the murder scene, Dupin finds a hair that does not appear to be human.

**I read this short story as part of a collection, The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, that I picked up at a library sale months ago.  I'm kind of glad that I remembered I had it, because I couldn't quite figure out what to read for the 'Genre: Horror' square--although, I'm not entirely sure The Murders in the Rue Morgue seems very horror-like, even though it is tagged as such on Goodreads.

I might read another couple Poe short stories from this volume to make up for it if this particular one doesn't really ring as horror.

As for the story itself...

I'm going to be honest, I totally didn't see that one coming.

I have to admit, this is my first actual reading of a story by Poe, though I have read some of his poems.  Being that poems aren't really my thing, I'm ashamed to say that I never truly comprehended his work and kind of wrote him off as over-hyped, classical, high school required reading.

Truthfully, I found The Murders of the Rue Morgue extremely engaging.  The beginning was a bit slow to build up, but once Dupin began his deductions and analysis of the murders, I couldn't stop reading.  It was easy to follow where his deductions were heading, and when it "dinged" in my head, at the same time as it did for the unnamed narrator, I was, at first a bit taken aback... and then I didn't know what to think.

To be honest, the conclusion that Dupin comes to, as well as the final reveal, kind of requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief.  It was a little over the top.

This short detective story was quite the experience and a nice read for Halloween Bingo.  I'd admit though, even though this book is tagged as horror, I don't know if it really feels like horror--though the murders were pretty gruesome.  There was quite a bit of detail and I might of made a face at the description of Madame L'Espanaye's... mutilated body.

On a side note, Dupin kind of reminds me of Sherlock Holmes (what little I've read of the famous detective), both in demeanor and arrogance.


***

Halloween Bingo 2017

This book would also count for:

• Locked Room Mystery
• Murder Most Foul
• Amateur Sleuth
• Classic Horror