Nevermore [ Advance Reading Copy]

by William Hjortsberg

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini team up to search for a literary-minded killer...It is 1923 and a beautiful young woman has just been found outside a tenement, bones crushed, head ripped from her shoulders. A few stories above, her squalid apartment has been ransacked, and twenty-dollar gold pieces litter the floor. The window frame is smashed. She seems to have been hurled from the building by a beast of impossible strength, and the only witness claims to have seen a long-armed ape fleeing the scene. The police are baffled, but one reporter recognizes the author of the bloody the long-dead Edgar Allan Poe. A psychopath is haunting New York City, imitating the murders that made Poe’s stories so famous. To Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the killing spree is of purely academic interest. But when Poe’s ghost appears in Doyle’s hotel room, the writer and the magician begin to suspect that the murders may hold a clue to understanding death itself. This ebook features an illustrated biography of William Hjortsberg including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Thriller, Historical

Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

About the author

William Hjortsberg was an acclaimed author of novels and screenplays. Born in New York City, he attended college at Dartmouth and spent a year at the Yale School of Drama before leaving to become a writer. For the next few years he lived in the Caribbean and Europe, writing two unpublished novels, the second of which earned him a creative writing fellowship at Stanford University.

When his fellowship ended in 1968, Hjortsberg was discouraged, still unpublished, and making ends meet as a grocery store stock boy. No longer believing he could make a living as a novelist, he began writing strictly for his own amusement. The result was Alp (1969), an absurd story of an Alpine skiing village which Hjortsberg’s friend Thomas McGuane called, “quite possibly the finest comic novel written in America.”

In the 1970s, Hjortsberg wrote two science fiction works: Gray Matters (1971) and Symbiography (1973). The first, a novel about human brains kept alive by science, was inspired by an off-the-cuff remark Hjortsberg made at a cocktail party. The second, a post-apocalyptic tale of a man who creates dreams, was later published in condensed form in Penthouse.

After publishing Toro! Toro! Toro! (1974), a comic jab at the macho world of bullfighting, Hjortsberg wrote his best-known novel, Falling Angel (1978). This hard-boiled detective story with an occult twist was adapted for the screen as Angel Heart (1987), starring Robert De Niro. Hjortsberg also wrote the screenplay for Legend (1986), a dark fairy tale directed by Ridley Scott. In addition to being nominated for an Edgar Award for Falling Angel, Hjortsberg has won two Playboy Editorial Awards, for which he beat out Graham Greene and Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez. His most recent work is Jubilee Hitchhiker (2012), a biography of author Richard Brautigan. Hjortsberg lives with his family in Montana.

Learn more at: http://www.openroadmedia.com/authors/...

Reviews

[Glenn Russell]

Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle team up to chase a serial killer committing murders based on the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. This is a literary novel meant to be enjoyed, really enjoyed.

Readers might be familiar with American author William Hjortsberg from his best-selling Falling Angel, a bloodcurdling, hard-boiled detective yarn turned neo-noir psychological horror film Angel Heart starring Mickey Rourke and Robert De Nero. Or, maybe, his other genre twisting novels such as Alp, Gray Matters or Symbiography. Either way, one can better appreciate the author's tight, well tuned prose and his sense that our grasp of everyday reality, so-called, is shaky a best - and at its worst, diabolical and deadly.

Set in 1923, mostly New York City, Nevermore contains many twists, turns and surprises right from the first pages, so many, I dare say not a word about plot and immediately segue to a number of headliners in this rip-roaring adventure:

Harry Houdini – Ah, yes, the master escape artist and magician takes center stage. We watch as he performs a number of stunts, including his famous swallowing needle trick where an assistant pulls them out of his mouth. “Iris held her slender arm high in the air, pinching the end of a fifty-foot parabola curving back to the magician’s open mouth. All along its length, hundreds and hundreds of needles winked and gleamed, flashing reflecting light like fangs in the savage, ghostly smile of an invisible monster.” Along with his buddy, Conan Doyle, Houdini plays his part as detective when individuals touching his life in some way turn up as twisted or decapitated corpses as if the flesh-and-blood reenactment of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Black Cat.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - The famous author and his wife are on an America tour where he lectures on his belief in spiritual mediums and communicating with the spirits of the dead. Will the fact that Houdini judges such contact and paranormal phenomenon as so much bunk strain their friendship? And what is Sir Arthur to think when the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe makes repeated visits to his chamber door? Curiously, the ghostly apparition of Poe says Sir Arthur is a specter from the future. Nice twist, William Hjortsberg! Of course, one of the more charming parts of the novel is Conan Doyle pressed into the role of Sherlock Holmes.

Opal Crosby Fletcher - “Her hair gleamed midnight black. When she was a farm girl in New Hampshire, it had hung past her waist, but now, fashionably bobbed, it curved like a raven’s wing along the ivory line of her jaw.” Meet the young lady who fashions herself as a reincarnation of Isis, Egyptian fertility goddess. Opal holds extraordinary powers extending into the realms of both spirit and flesh (she makes quite the sensual, sexual partner). What Opal would dearly love is a child by a man who likewise possesses astonishing powers – and that very man is none other than conservative, happily married Harry Houdini, whom she calls her Osiris. Now the question looms: What Poe tale would be most apt for a spectacular presence such as Opal?

Damon Runyon - The acclaimed newspaperman adds spark and color as he rounds up the latest scoop on the Poe murders. Such a slick man about town, Damon can always be counted on to score tickets for such events as the Jack Dempsey/Luis Firpo fight or a Giants baseball game at the Polo Grounds. Hey, Arthur Conon Doyle, would you like a ringside seat? Oh, yes, that would be jolly great fun!

The Poe Murders - Can you identity what Poe tale goes with what murder? Here's a list to choose from: in addition to The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Black Cat, we have The Cask of Amontillado, Hop-Frog, The Masque of the Red Death, The Mystery of Marie Roget, The Pit and the Pendulum and, of course, The Tell-Tale Heart.

The Ghost of Edgar Allan Poe - "Poe's ghost, if such it was, threw back its vaporous head and howled with laughter; a wolf's cry, utterly without mirth. "How excellent a jest!" The laughter ended in a sudden choking silence, like hearing a condemned man's final protest cut short by the jerk of the noose." Nothing like the ghoulish presence of Edgar Allan Poe to add that special something to your day. The teller of tales most macabre confronts Arthur Conan Doyle again and again. But can the specter offer the British knight clues to track down the psychopathic killer committing copycat murders?

Sergeant James Patrick Heegan and the NYC Police - The men in blue are on the Poe case. Even Sergeant Heegan begins to swings into high gear when he scans Damon Runyon's column citing Edgar Allan Poe in connection to a curious event. "Heegan read these paragraphs over and over. He knew an orangutan was some kind of big monkey. He also knew he was on to something." Heegan pays a visit to the public library to read the tales of you know who.

Memorable Year - William Hjortsberg knows his 1923 history. In addition to New York, the novel's action also takes place in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Los Angeles with scads of notable landmarks and people making cameo appearances, for example, in a LA public park, Arthur Conan Doyle has a delightful conversation with none other than Buster Keaton.

Artful Author - William Hjortsberg masterfully weaves his entertaining tale from chapter to chapter and then, as if by a special magic, pulls all the pieces together for a satisfying conclusion. And with a light, deft touch. Highly recommended.


American author William Hjortsberg, 1941-2017

"Christ almighty," he muttered, reaching up to tug a slender arm down from the chimney. The head and shoulders of a young woman followed, badly scratched and mauled. Discolored bruises banded her pale throat. Hanging upside down, her staring blue eyes and wide-open mouth spoke of a final uncomprehending horror.
Damon Runyon leaned forward among the detectives. "I'll be damned," he said with a lopsided grin. "Rue Morgue . . . ". ------- William Hjortsberg, Nevermore

[Deb Novack · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you have Houdini, Edgar Allen Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle you are sure to get an awesome storyline and I was not disappointed. Sir Arthur and Houdini investigate the "Poe Murders". Both men think they will be victims so they join forces and the storyline follows them during their separate tour schedules. There are many tales along the way that are interwoven so well they all come together at the end. This is a well written and well thought out story with the characters completely believable. We have mystery, magic,murder,romance and a little of the paranormal all rolled into one to make an awesome and fast paced mystery read. I would recommend this book to all mystery and magic lovers.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Open Road for allowing me to read this book.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nevermore is an entertaining blend of murder & mystery in which real characters (including Harry Houdini & Arthur Conan Doyle) blend seemlessly with fictional ones. I am no expert on Houdini, but over the years I have read many books about his life & this is by far the most accurate portrait of the great magician & escape artist set in a fictional world.

[Ms Q · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review: Nevermore by William Hjortsberg

Title: Nevermore
Author: William Hjortsberg
Publisher: Open Road
Publication Date: March 2012

Good Reads Synopsis
Why I Read It

I am always interested in anything related to Poe, Houdini, and somewhat intrigued by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. After perusing NetGalley's listings, I came across this novel by William Hjortsberg and decided it had to be worth the read. Poe, Houdini, and Doyle all in one. Had to be good.
Short Synopsis (no spoilers)

Murders begin piling up and they appear to be based on Poe's stories. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as lecturer, travels America to lecture on the occult and ends up being asked to help, or more often assumed to be helping, the NYC police solve these murders. Poe makes his own appearance in ghostly form, while Houdini tries to discredit the very mediums Doyle speaks about.
My Review

Set during the Jazz Age, I enjoyed the period setting, but often got lost in the small details sprinkled throughout to set the stage. Historical novels should be engaging reads, but should not bog the reader down with lists of people, places, and facts. It takes the reader away from the storyline and in Hjortsberg's novel, there were several points where the storyline got lost in the details of the period.

The separate plot lines did not come together well, either. Houdini and Doyle's struggle over whether contact can be made with the dead was a great plot line and could have taken the plot of the novel all on its own. I understand the desire to make this plot line come alive with the Poe murders and Doyle experiencing contact with Poe's dead ghost to help him figure out the murders. It would have made more sense to have Houdini experience the visits from Poe, since he was the one who did not believe in ghosts and other mediums.

Character development was left mostly to the reader. Maybe because the characters were so familiar, it was assumed readers would have their own preconceived ideas about the major players. While this may be true, the author should have spent more time fleshing out the characters, within the setting.

Overall the novel was a fair read, but it was not outstanding. Not one I will re-read or recommend to others.
My Rating
2 stars

[Mae Clair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've long been fascinated by the Houdini/Conan Doyle relationship and also Houdini's zest for exposing fraud mediums, hence I couldn't wait to read this book. I can't say I was disappointed about the mystery and Houdini and Conan Doyle are well portrayed. The era itself is so fully fleshed out it feels like a character. The story moves along at a good clip with numerous twists and turns. Poe's ghost felt an odd fit and I could have done without the strange sex. Those two quibbles aside, I enjoyed the tale!

[Michelle]

Maybe you are a reader who enjoys flabby, tepid characterization served swimming in a thin and flavorless plot. Perhaps you are a literary epicure who appreciates a lagniappe of Harry Houdini getting a surprise ass-fuck from a carved ivory dildo filled with warm milk.

I'm not.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a teenager, I loved the movie “Angel Heart.“ And I loved the novel it was based on, “Falling Angel“ by the author of this novel.

I loved “Angel Heart“ so much that I tracked down another book by William Hjortsberg, and was really not anywhere near ready to understand it at all, expecting another mashup of horror and detective fiction.

Hjortsberg returns to that same theme in this novel with Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini teaming up to try and solve a series of murders in New York, based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe – who appears as a “ghost“ to Conan Doyle.

It’s loads of fun, a penny dreadful historical novel that works equally well as high literature and cheap fiction.

[Juliette II · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like penny dreadfuls, this is a fun read. Poe, Houdini, Arthur Conan Doyle and murders. The writing isn’t great, but does that always matter?

[Tom Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a murder mystery wrapped around an actual meeting between Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Hjortsber has carefully researched this story. He has learned an awful lot about 1920s New York and no one could claim he wears his learning lightly. The opening of the novel bogs down again and again as irrelevant details of time and place are thrown in to demonstrate how thoroughly the era has been studied. Unfortunately, this information is seldom incorporated smoothly into the story. Writers sometimes joke about "As you know, Jim," conversations where one character tells another stuff that they obviously both already know, simply in order to convey this information to the reader. Yet here Arthur Conan Doyle actually starts one comment with, "Well, as you all must know…" Such clunky intrusions of background mean that, despite the superfluous detail, there is little real feel for the period coming through. It's also unfortunate that there are occasional mistakes. The statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus – surely quite a well-known landmark even to Americans – is described as a fountain, which it is not and never has been. Cigarettes are referred to as coffin nails, which is unlikely in the 1920s, when they were often advertised as a healthy diet aid.

Hjortsber is a successful screenwriter and this novel reads as if it is a film script that didn't make it to the screen. If it were a script, the vast amounts of historical detail would be covered with a few sweeping shots of New York in 1923. We could then cut straight to the plot, which – once it gets going – is quite entertaining. It's a mix of ghost story, historical novel and detective thriller. Again, the mix of genres would probably work better on film than on the printed page. The plot has a murderer who is re-enacting murders from the stories of Edgar Allen Poe and Conan Doyle (a famous believer in ghosts) keeps seeing the spirit of Poe. In a film, the ghost would be very effective because we would actually see it. On paper, it doesn't quite work. Poe doesn't give Conan Doyle any information and, indeed, does not contribute to the plot at all. He just appears every now and then, expresses confusion about where he is, and then fades away again.

In fairness to Poe, he's not that much insubstantial than the characters of Houdini and Conan Doyle. The details of the two famous men and their lives are again a tribute to Hjortsber's research skills, but they do not have any inner lives to explore. Houdini is arrogant. We know this because the author repeatedly tells us so, but the reasons for his arrogance are not clear. Conan Doyle is superstitious, apparently in part because he is desperate to re-establish contact with close family who have died. But there's no sense of a man whose grief has driven him to the point where he is a sucker for every sham spiritualist he meets. In real life, this is a man who claimed that a faked photograph taken by two young girls was proof of actual physical fairies at the bottom of their garden. (The fact that the fairies were identical to the illustrations in a children's book completely passed him by.) In the novel, the picture is further confused by not only the presence of Poe's ghost but that of an apparently genuine spiritualist who seems to be a succubus who seduces Houdini and eventually bears his child. Confused? You might well be, but all this is happening in a sub-plot. The main plot (re-enacting the murders in Poe's stories – remember?) makes more sense and is quite fun. The idea of a murderer dressing up as a gorilla to re-enact 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' or building a pendulum axe for 'The Pit and the Pendulum' is deliciously ridiculous and almost justifies the rest of it.

If this book ever makes it to its natural home on the screen, it could well be a five star movie. Unfortunately, it only just scrapes in as a three star novel.

[CC. Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

What other book has a line-up like this? On first base, Harry Houdini; rounding third, Arthur Conan Doyle and batting on deck the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe. While my baseball lingo leaves a bit to be desired, this book is has a line-up most teams would bankrupt themselves for.

The main character is Harry Houdini. Yep, that Harry Houdini. Houdini, along with his friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (yep, that Conan Doyle), are on the case of a series of murders that mimic the mystery and horror stories of Edgar Allen Poe. While Houdini makes one mean detective, Doyle has a bit of an inside track when the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe mysteriously visits him and gives him some elusive hints about solving the murders.

Much of this story is based on actual historic fact (such as the magic of Houdini and his tricks; Houdini's debunking of mysticism; the popularity of Doyle and Mrs. Doyle conducting seances) and it was these facts that made the book so very appealing to me. I loved delving into the part of the book and that period is just plain fascinating. To read a book told through Houdini's, Doyle's and Poe's eyes was the most creative idea I've seen come along in a long time--pure brilliance!

If only the author would have stayed on that track instead of veering off into a fantasy that I didn't enjoy and didn't think the story needed. Part way through, Houdini becomes romantically linked with a woman who stalks him into submission and doesn't really add to the mystery at all. If the book would just totally leave out that whole character, it would be amazing. The plot idea and writing was so strong, so captivating.....

As it was, still an enjoyable read but falls short of a home run.

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Nevermore” is a delightfully detailed historical mystery with paranormal and supernatural overtones. If you love history-if you love Sherlock Holmes-if you love magic and stage magicians-you must read “Nevermore.” Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; a magnetically lovely psychic adolescent who went from New England farm family to upscale wealthy New York Society; Houdini’s determination to prove all mediums are faux vs. Conan Doyle’s fascinated believe in the Other Side; all this combines in a mystery that stirs the soul, raises some goose bumps, and throughout the novel, simply delights.

Is the Afterlife real? Do Spirits survive death, able to communicate across the void with the living, and bring guidance and warnings? Were the ancient Egyptian deities Isis, Osiris, Horus, and Set actually real beings? Or are all spiritualists-mediums-psychics either consciously fraudulent, or at minimum misguided fools? All these points of view are represented in this novel-I leave it up to you, the reader, to decide. Read “Nevermore” and revel in its beauty, historical details, excellent characterisations, and continued mystery. Enjoy!

[R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very, very rarely have I ever encountered a book as dreadfully boring and lacking in excitement as this one. If there were a contest to see who could produce the most boring piece of literature, this book would scare they rest of the contestants off before they even entered the thing.

I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone. I really, really tried to like it. It just wasn't worth it. So many good books, save yourself.

[Yvensong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quirky writer attempts an interesting idea of bringing together Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to help solve a group of murders based on Edgar A. Poe's stories. Poe's ghost is also brought into the mix.

The elements of gothic horror and noir mystery are well written, yet there were moments it felt as though the author was attempting to be too clever, which detracted from the story.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent airplane read; unfortunately I was not traveling. One mildly salacious sex scene. Houdini! Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! The ghost of Edgar Allan Poe! Early Jazz Age razz-ma-tazz. Macguffin.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this but not has much as I wanted to. I was fun seeing Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini interact, though I wish there had been more interaction. I liked the addition of Poe's ghost (who didn't know he was a ghost) but I wish he had played a more important role; I couldn't really figure out what his appearances added to Doyle's experience. I found it interesting that throughout the book, the narrator referred to Doyle and Houdini as the knight and the magician (respectively). What I didn't care for was the slowness of the pace and the fact that even though it's billed as a mystery with Doyle and Houdini solving it, that's not really true. There were murders, and Houdini jokingly suggested Doyle solve them. But neither of them really investigated. They only saw each other a few times, with months in between, and they would mention the latest events but they weren't actively trying to solve the murders or find the killer. Even when they decided that the murders had something to do with Houdini, they opted to hire guards and carry a pistol but they still didn't share their suspicions with anyone else. "We don't have proof" seemed to be their mantra and excuse for never telling anyone--including each other--anything that happened. I also felt he gave quite a bit of real estate to the police officer feeding info to Runyon, but then nothing really happened with that story line . . . the cop didn't help solve the mystery, nothing bad happened to the cop (other than getting in trouble for leaking info to the press) . . . so I'm not sure why he was there or what he added to the story. All that being said, I did like the basic premise of the story and I found the character of Isis interesting. I read one review that mentioned everyone knew who the killer was very early on but I have to admit that I did not. I thought Hjorstberg did a good job of misdirecting and throwing in red herrings. So, all in all, a good but not great book. I think the idea had more potential than what was delivered.

[BRT · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise was an intriguing one, Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini team up to solve a series of Poe inspired murders. It started in a very confusing manner by introducing multiple, apparently random characters and situations that was difficult to juggle. Once it got to the meat of the mystery, things got a bit more interesting. Then the author committed what seems to be a new trend in fiction, introducing pornographic scenes into the plot. As is usually the case in this new trend, the scenes were disturbing and added absolutely nothing to the plot. They were there for pure prurient purposes. They also had absolutely no basis in reality. In this book, the scenes maligned a beloved historical person. Not surprisingly, there seemed to be an undercurrent of subtle insults to the person’s character that felt very anti semitic.

[Chris North · Rating 2 out of 5]

By description, I should’ve loved everything about this book. Arthur Conan Doyle and Houdini work together with a clairvoyant to solve a series of murders based on Poe stories and Doyle is haunted by the ghost of Edgar himself. However, it just read so boring. Gave strange characteristics to their leads, which were not accurate, and strangely had more spicy scenes than I would’ve preferred. For me, great concept, great set up, great characters, poor execution. If I’m being honest, I skimmed through the last 100 pages or so just to finish it.

[Alan Reese · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not usually drawn to novels that appropriate historical figures as characters in major roles, I couldn't resist the combination of Harry Houdini and Conan Doyle embroiled in a series of murders based on Poe's stories with visitations from the dyspeptic ghost of Poe himself. Entertaining light reading which I am following up with a 500+ page biography of Rilke penned by a professor emeritus and tempering that with boxing essays by Katherine Dunn.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a book selected for the connections to Poe, Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The author has a done a bit of research on old New York and it added some nice touches. A couple of raw, indecent scenes were thrown in to make it a ‘modern’ thriller, but were inconsistent with the included real people. The ending was beyond belief in what transpired. There are better mysteries/thrillers to spend time on. This one is for the dust bin.

[Leisha Camden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise, but could have been a lot better. I'm also docking a star because this author has written a whole novel with Arthur Conan Doyle as a main character without realizing that his name was Doyle, Arthur Conan - NOT Conan Doyle, Arthur. This is a major pet peeve of mine. Hjortsberg even quotes a contemporary news item where the name is used correctly and he still doesn't get it.

[Other Voices · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful romp into the past!

The author kept me jumping - looking up words and names of things and places, forcing me to participate actively, rather than passively ... a gift I treasured throughout the reading.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Nevermore . . . never grows heavy. In writing this fictionalized adventure of nonfiction characters, Mr. Hjortsberg was obviously out to have a good time. In the process of doing so, he has given his readers one as well.” —The New York Times

“Every good story needs a setup, and William Hjortsberg is his own Ed McMahon, an often brilliant master of the details of time and place that make his thrillers come to life.” —The Washington Times

“Hjortsberg has it, the kind of alchemy which transmutes cow slop into gold.” —The Raleigh News and Observer

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of The Alienist this book will keep you up until you finish the last page. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini on the trail of a serial killer whom resorts to the murders from Edgar Alan Poe's greatest tales. The author is the genius behind the great 80's film oddity Angel Heart.

[Oana-Maria Uliu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too far-fetched and undeniably a show-off, yet entertaining enough.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the main storyline, but a couple of subplots felt out of place. Being a fan of Poe, I enjoyed the references to some lesser-known works. An easy mystery read.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Fun

This was a lot of fun to read. The story held my interest to the very end. On second it.

[Marissa Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given to me by Bob Daughtery

[Elysa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the 1920s. Arthur Conan Doyle. Harry Houdini. Team up to fight a killer using Poe stories as inspiration for murders. Someone wrote a book specifically based on my interests, and this is it.

[Amy Cockram · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find more of my reviews at cornishamy.wordpress.com

I was loaned this book by a friend who knows that I am a bit of a Sherlock Holmes lover. I had it on my shelves for a while before needing to read it at speed and return it. At first it felt like a bit of a chore to read to a deadline, but actually I found it grabbed me enough to want to find out what happened. That said, I had a fractious relationship with this book and there were things that I liked and things that irritated me.

The book is set in 1920s New York where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is embarking on a lecture tour to extol the virtues of spiritualism and meets up with the escapologist Harry Houdini. While he is in New York, a series of murders is taking place and reporter Damon Runyon is one of the first to realise connections between the killings and the writings of Edgar Allen Poe. Houdini and Conan-Doyle become involved with trying to track down the killer, slightly aided by the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe (yes, really) who has visited Conan-Doyle in his hotel room.

First, what irritated me - and I do have to say that I enjoyed the book despite these elements. I sometimes felt that historical context was shoe-horned in and there were times when I felt that the use of period slang was overdone and alienating. There is a small digression in the plot which I still don't really see the point of (maybe reading quickly meant that I missed something).

The main strength of the novel, for me at least, was the characterisation. I have long been interested in novels that mix real-life historical figures with fictional ones, and his use of Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle worked for me (less so the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe, although the way he is depicted is interesting). I came to the novel as a Sherlock Holmes fan, but one who also went through a period of being interested in Houdini, so I knew fragments about their uneasy friendship (Conan-Doyle as a believer in spiritualism, Houdini a sceptic and debunker who desperately wanted to find a genuine psychic) and recognised some events that actually took place between them. The characterisation of Houdini - the driven showman - was one of the most striking and successful things in Hjortsberg's novel, but there were quieter pleasures to be found in his depiction of Conan-Doyle. Hjortsberg shows a side of Conan-Doyle - the doting father and loving husband - that goes beyond the rather stolid, bluff image of the man in the public consciousness (well, my consciousness) from formal and stiff photographs. It has only just occurred to me while writing this review that it is interesting to see this detecting duo as doppelgangers of Holmes and Watson (Houdini the obsessive and focused Holmes, Conan-Doyle his reliable companion).

Less successful was the character of Opal Crosby-Fletcher, a rich widow with psychic gifts. Curiously, she started the book as one of the most interesting characters for me - I even googled to see if she was also a real historical figure (apparently not) - and ended the novel as one of the least interesting and most wasted characters. She begins the novel as an unconventional character, but her role and function within the plot seems to end up as being supremely conventional. I found myself rather disappointed by the narrative arc of her story.

I was superficially reminded of a book I read a number of years ago and reviewed on my old blog; "Winter at Death's Hotel" by Kenneth Cameron. You can find my review here if you wish to. This also was a period, New York set crime novel with Conan-Doyle as a fictional character. I found Cameron's book to be the more interesting and memorable of the two novels, and it unsettled me in a way which has really stuck with me. However, the person who loaned me "Nevermore" (Hi Bill!) has also read both and I think would be more likely to favour "Nevermore" ....

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini team up to search for a literary-minded killer

It is 1923 and a beautiful young woman has just been found outside a tenement, bones crushed, head ripped from her shoulders. A few stories above, her squalid apartment has been ransacked, and twenty-dollar gold pieces litter the floor. The window frame is smashed. She seems to have been hurled from the building by a beast of impossible strength, and the only witness claims to have seen a long-armed ape fleeing the scene. The police are baffled, but one reporter recognizes the author of the bloody crime: the long-dead Edgar Allan Poe.

A psychopath is haunting New York City, imitating the murders that made Poe’s stories so famous. To Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the killing spree is of purely academic interest. But when Poe’s ghost appears in Doyle’s hotel room, the writer and the magician begin to suspect that the murders may hold a clue to understanding death itself.

Conan Doyle and Houdini make for an intriguing double act. Hjortsberg has taken a nugget of truth, the fact that they knew one another, and crafted a story around it. Both men were contemporaries and had occasion to travel in similar social circles from time to time. They also had a very public falling out over the subject of spiritualism. Conan Doyle was a firm believer while Houdini made it his mission to debunk so called practitioners. From that the author has created two characters that work as a perfect foil in a supernatural murder mystery.

The two men are from completely different worlds, have differing ideas about most things but still they respect each other’s opinion. They appear as almost the living embodiment of their respective countries. Conan Doyle is all stiff upper lips and ‘by jove’, the quintessential Brit abroad while Houdini is every inch the dapper American gent. Both are at the height of their respective professions and the verbal sparring between the two keeps things interesting. It’s a nice touch that there are two protagonists that don’t see eye to eye on every detail.

The supernatural elements are quite subtly handled. The references to Edgar Allan Poe’s fiction are handled well and have a suitably gothic air. I’m sure that anyone who has ever read Poe before will enjoy trying to spot the elements that come from his work.

There are a host of historic cameos, the likes of Buster Keaton, Damon Runyon and W.C. Fields all make an appearance. Runyon in particular is an enjoyable inclusion as the author sprinkles his dialogue with lots of twenties slang. This adds a nice air of authenticity to proceedings.

Is this the book for you? Well, if you’ve watched and enjoyed Boardwalk Empire then you’ll get a lot from this book. The sights and sounds of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ are vividly brought to life. Prohibition era New York is a city full of dodgy dives and larger than life characters, this is the home of speakeasies and prize fights. Hjorstberg obviously delights in describing the outlandish, opulent detail of what was a very decadent time. Add just a hint of the supernatural and you’ll find yourself with a riveting read.