Book– The Paris Mysteries

Author – Edgar Allan Poe

Publish date – 28 April, 2020

Publisher – Pushkin Press

Blurb

Three macabre and confounding mysteries for the first and greatest of detectives, Auguste Dupin

An apartment on the rue Morgue turned into a charnel house; the corpse of a shopgirl dragged from the Seine; a high-stakes game of political blackmail – three mysteries that have enthralled the whole of Paris, and baffled the city’s police. The brilliant Chevalier Auguste Dupin investigates – can he find the solution where so many others before him have failed?

These three stories from the pen of Edgar Allan Poe are some of the most influential ever written, widely praised and credited with inventing the detective genre. This edition contains: ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’, ‘The Mystery of Marie Rogêt’ and ‘The Purloined Letter’.

Review

I have heard a lot about Edgar Allan Poe. He is said to be the first of his kind. He gave birth to detective mysteries in the world of literature. His character Dupin is the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi, and my favourite Feluda.

So I was excited to read it. That made me request for the ARC from NetGalley and I was so happy when my request was approved.

But my happiness was short lived. It lasted till I reached the second story of the book The Mystery of Marie Roget.

The entire story was beating about the bush. Instead of investigating the case, Dupin only quoted the articles of different newspapers again and again with no point of his own finding. I could find myself yelling, “Cut to the chase, man!”

The writing, such lengthy sentences, it is so hard to keep track and concentrate. And the endless monologue. It’s so difficult to remember there’s another character in the scene who is listening to Dupin.

I learnt new words, though, but I don’t know how these words will be useful for me since nowadays no one enjoys thesaurus writing.

I faced a hard time reading this.

I wanted to enjoy this book but I couldn’t.

My Rating : 2/5 🌟

P. S. Thank you NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the ARC