What do you think?
Rate this book
Poe & I
Winner of a Saturday Visiter Award at the Poe International Festival
Welcome to Poe Cottage… Would you like a tour?
Jonah Peabody takes a job as caretaker and docent for the last home of Edgar Allan Poe in The Bronx, but from the moment he moves into Poe’s Basement—where the caretaker must live—he finds himself also living inside a Poe story, stalked by a man who seems to be his doppelganger and who seeks revenge for past misdeeds.
Jonah claims to be hunting for his lost sister, but as the narrative shifts between past and present, it’s clear that he’s not telling us the entire story. What is he hiding and why?
Haunted by the violent ghosts of his own family and Poe himself, Jonah must reconcile with his dark past before the dual shadow of guilt and grief buries him alive. Living in Poe’s Basement might just be his last chance at redemption.
The author himself lived in Poe Cottage many and many a year ago, and Poe & I is loosely based on that experience, but this is no memoir. It's pure fiction. Or, as Poe might say, a hoax.
Listen to some praise from Mr. Mercier’s own literary double, Matthew Pearl, author of ‘The Poe ’
“Years ago, Matthew was the caretaker at the Poe Cottage in the Bronx and gave me a memorable tour, patiently answering my rambling questions. Now, in Poe and I, Matthew writes the novel that only he can, bringing us into the world of a fictional Poe Cottage caretaker who takes a stunning, jolting, absurd journey of self-discovery while immersing us in Poe lore. A unique and captivating tale worthy of the legacy of Poe.”
This is a story that’s wild, funny, irreverent, terrifying, and soaked in melancholy, a tale of family ghosts, sickness, revenge, and weird museums of unholy treasures.
If you want to find out what happens when you live in Poe’s Basement, pick up a copy of Poe & I.
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths
Welcome to Poe Cottage… Would you like a tour?
Jonah Peabody takes a job as caretaker and docent for the last home of Edgar Allan Poe in The Bronx, but from the moment he moves into Poe’s Basement—where the caretaker must live—he finds himself also living inside a Poe story, stalked by a man who seems to be his doppelganger and who seeks revenge for past misdeeds.
Jonah claims to be hunting for his lost sister, but as the narrative shifts between past and present, it’s clear that he’s not telling us the entire story. What is he hiding and why?
Haunted by the violent ghosts of his own family and Poe himself, Jonah must reconcile with his dark past before the dual shadow of guilt and grief buries him alive. Living in Poe’s Basement might just be his last chance at redemption.
The author himself lived in Poe Cottage many and many a year ago, and Poe & I is loosely based on that experience, but this is no memoir. It's pure fiction. Or, as Poe might say, a hoax.
Listen to some praise from Mr. Mercier’s own literary double, Matthew Pearl, author of ‘The Poe ’
“Years ago, Matthew was the caretaker at the Poe Cottage in the Bronx and gave me a memorable tour, patiently answering my rambling questions. Now, in Poe and I, Matthew writes the novel that only he can, bringing us into the world of a fictional Poe Cottage caretaker who takes a stunning, jolting, absurd journey of self-discovery while immersing us in Poe lore. A unique and captivating tale worthy of the legacy of Poe.”
This is a story that’s wild, funny, irreverent, terrifying, and soaked in melancholy, a tale of family ghosts, sickness, revenge, and weird museums of unholy treasures.
If you want to find out what happens when you live in Poe’s Basement, pick up a copy of Poe & I.
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths
316 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 19, 2024
20 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 19, 2024
When I opened this book, I did not expect to see blurb recommendations from authors long-dead. This was the first tip-off that the narrator (and perhaps the author himself) are not to be trusted. Tread carefully into these pages, reader…
A love-letter to both the titular writer and the spirit of the Bronx where his life concluded, this modern fairytale reflects the hardships and dreams of men in the world both now and in the past.
We’re taken on the journey of narrator Jonah, rising from the depths of his broken childhood into slightly lower-depths of his life as a blue-collar worker in New York, questing for his lost sister without much in the way of money or friends… until he finds the House of Poe.
I think Jonah would agree that he’s not the most likeable of protagonists, but his wit and honesty soon had me travelling alongside willingly enough. The narrative jumps between his schooldays with an Usher-like mother and drunken mortician father, ostracized by his small-town neighbours and confused by what exactly is real - the world as taught by teachers versus the one he has to live in every day.
In the present, the mysteries only become more… well, mysterious. Problems of class, education and race are constant, but so are hauntings, histories and myths of the man that Poe was, or might have been.
Nobody seems to be telling the whole truth anywhere in this book, and it was weirdly refreshing. The quick humour and constant unexpected twists had me turning the pages, while the increasing need to find out just what exactly would happen with Jonah kept me on my toes.
There’s an undercurrent of fate here as powerful as any of Poe’s stories, as we slowly learn more of what’s going on, how the past impacts the present (and future), and something as small as a finger can influence a man’s life.
I don’t think there’s any way to accurately reflect the whirls and eddies (heheh) of this book, but if you love modern gothic mysteries told with charm and care, definitely give this one a look.
I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.
A love-letter to both the titular writer and the spirit of the Bronx where his life concluded, this modern fairytale reflects the hardships and dreams of men in the world both now and in the past.
We’re taken on the journey of narrator Jonah, rising from the depths of his broken childhood into slightly lower-depths of his life as a blue-collar worker in New York, questing for his lost sister without much in the way of money or friends… until he finds the House of Poe.
I think Jonah would agree that he’s not the most likeable of protagonists, but his wit and honesty soon had me travelling alongside willingly enough. The narrative jumps between his schooldays with an Usher-like mother and drunken mortician father, ostracized by his small-town neighbours and confused by what exactly is real - the world as taught by teachers versus the one he has to live in every day.
In the present, the mysteries only become more… well, mysterious. Problems of class, education and race are constant, but so are hauntings, histories and myths of the man that Poe was, or might have been.
Nobody seems to be telling the whole truth anywhere in this book, and it was weirdly refreshing. The quick humour and constant unexpected twists had me turning the pages, while the increasing need to find out just what exactly would happen with Jonah kept me on my toes.
There’s an undercurrent of fate here as powerful as any of Poe’s stories, as we slowly learn more of what’s going on, how the past impacts the present (and future), and something as small as a finger can influence a man’s life.
I don’t think there’s any way to accurately reflect the whirls and eddies (heheh) of this book, but if you love modern gothic mysteries told with charm and care, definitely give this one a look.
I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.
July 31, 2024
Death desires to be let in. No kidding. Get ready for a tale of murder, lies, duplicity, trickery, veins hissing and bloody knives, body mutilation, mental autopsies, and more. These characters stalk the pages. The Peabody family, a doomed and wicked foursome, are the novel’s force with Jonah Peabody as our narrator, taking the readers on a voracious dive into a bones-and-blood journey, in full Edgar Allen Poe style inside the writer’s historical cottage in the Bronx. The story separates itself with alternating chapters of the recent past (the Peabody family saga of grizzled devotion, obsession, and abuse) and present-day (the endearing Jonah as he struggles through his own madness along with Poe’s iconic leftovers). This chapter-ping-ponging of time is a clue in itself about the false boundaries of life and destinations. Mercier can write—that’s for sure—the narrative exhaustively researched, beautifully revealed, and his chilly and distinctive prose. You’ll find Poe, his story characters, his shadows, and the dark side of his human psyche reflected like ghostly moonlight as the pages turn. Plenty of grim laughter, knotty truths, and dialogue brimmed with snappy wit and mordant comebacks. While reading this story, the colorful descriptions and pulpy images must have pierced me more than I was aware, because I dreamed of an angry Edgar Allen Poe hanging upside down from a tree, exactly like the Tarot Card of The Hanged Man. So when I say, this story will haunt your dreams, I am serious. This is no breezy beach read. Highly recommended.
September 20, 2024
Poe & I is a twisty modern gothic mystery with a classically unreliable narrator amongst a cast of liars, cheats, drunks, thugs and a megalomaniacal billionaire.
Jonah Peabody is a broken young man and his emotional baggage is heavy and supernatural. He has a lifelong burden and some real and some imaginary guilt. And he has an arch-nemesis that seeks to destroy him and his whole family.
Jonah’s story is told through his current job as docent in Poe’s cottage in the Bronx and in flashbacks of his dysfunctional upbringing in the Catskills.
We never really know Jonah’s true motivations but he needs to put some things from his past to rest and his nemesis, the powerful and shifty Quinn haunts his every move.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mercier’s grim, noirish writing style and his endearingly baffling MC Jonah. The story was anxious and incredibly dark as we slowly peel away Jonah’s pain and purpose. The hauntings were terrifying, Quinn is truly a bad guy and every bit player has an agenda.
I closed this book, surprised and satisfied yet still whispering, WHAT THE ACTUAL EFF WAS THAT.
Jonah Peabody is a broken young man and his emotional baggage is heavy and supernatural. He has a lifelong burden and some real and some imaginary guilt. And he has an arch-nemesis that seeks to destroy him and his whole family.
Jonah’s story is told through his current job as docent in Poe’s cottage in the Bronx and in flashbacks of his dysfunctional upbringing in the Catskills.
We never really know Jonah’s true motivations but he needs to put some things from his past to rest and his nemesis, the powerful and shifty Quinn haunts his every move.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mercier’s grim, noirish writing style and his endearingly baffling MC Jonah. The story was anxious and incredibly dark as we slowly peel away Jonah’s pain and purpose. The hauntings were terrifying, Quinn is truly a bad guy and every bit player has an agenda.
I closed this book, surprised and satisfied yet still whispering, WHAT THE ACTUAL EFF WAS THAT.
September 23, 2024
“My name is Jonah Peabody, and everything is going to be fine.” So goes the mantra that Jonah Peabody comes back to, again and again, in POE AND I by Matthew Mercier. This is a finely crafted tale about a family ripped apart by murder and madness all set in and around the last house that Edgar Allen Poe lived in, in the Bronx.
Peabody is the classic unreliable narrator sweeping us through a past and present filled with hallucinations, a classic mystery begging to be solved and not a little bit of wit. Mercier does this while cleverly weaving Edgar Allen Poe throughout. Fans of Poe will cheer at the many references, but you needn’t be a Poe scholar to enjoy POE AND I.
The prose is beautifully wrought – not a wasted word in sight. Mercier peoples his novel with three-dimensional characters, each more distinctive than the last. The horror begins slowly but that was fine with me. It was the writing that kept me going. I needed to know what was happening. I needed answers. And those answers were long in coming because there wasn’t an honest person in the book. How wonderful is that.
BUY THIS BOOK. You’ll love it.
Peabody is the classic unreliable narrator sweeping us through a past and present filled with hallucinations, a classic mystery begging to be solved and not a little bit of wit. Mercier does this while cleverly weaving Edgar Allen Poe throughout. Fans of Poe will cheer at the many references, but you needn’t be a Poe scholar to enjoy POE AND I.
The prose is beautifully wrought – not a wasted word in sight. Mercier peoples his novel with three-dimensional characters, each more distinctive than the last. The horror begins slowly but that was fine with me. It was the writing that kept me going. I needed to know what was happening. I needed answers. And those answers were long in coming because there wasn’t an honest person in the book. How wonderful is that.
BUY THIS BOOK. You’ll love it.
February 21, 2025
I find it difficult to categorize this book. For the longest time upon completing it, I found myself unable to answer the question, “What did I just read?” It has ghosts, but it’s not truly a horror novel (which I was hoping for). It’s a bit of a mystery, but then…not so much. It has some good comedic lines, but it’s not a comedy by any stretch. I guess the book can best described as a modern-day Gothic thriller that involves Edgar Allan Poe.
Regardless, I enjoyed the book, it is well written, kept me engaged throughout, and Jonah, the main protagonist is an interesting and sympathetic character. And the plethora of information surrounding Poe’s life woven throughout the tale is sure to delight and educate even the most knowledgeable of Poe fans.
Why not five stars? The story jumps from present to past and back repeatedly. While I'm not against such a storytelling device, I wish presenting the backstory here was less frequent. Instead, it is "This chapter is present day, the next chapter will be backstory, then the next chapter..." I dunno, just me maybe, but this predictability became annoying at times.
Regardless, I enjoyed the book, it is well written, kept me engaged throughout, and Jonah, the main protagonist is an interesting and sympathetic character. And the plethora of information surrounding Poe’s life woven throughout the tale is sure to delight and educate even the most knowledgeable of Poe fans.
Why not five stars? The story jumps from present to past and back repeatedly. While I'm not against such a storytelling device, I wish presenting the backstory here was less frequent. Instead, it is "This chapter is present day, the next chapter will be backstory, then the next chapter..." I dunno, just me maybe, but this predictability became annoying at times.
September 26, 2025
An Extraordinary Story Teller
A very good read beyond being an excellent dark ghost inhabited mystery thriller.
Even if you are not a night owl, this book might make you one -
you will want to keep reading rather than sleep.
Perhaps reading this book has the mysterious power to make
some readers think they somehow are not the same anymore - I know I am not the same!
Fictional of not, the complex characters in this book might induce one to do a lot of thinking
about the difficult side of our human condition - as sentient creatures.
I suspect that many of us present a facade that potentially hides pain, anxiety, fear, loss, etc.
The characters in this story make one wonder if we might know
a lot less about the people we encounter, even close people, than we realize.
Readers familiar with NYC and the Catskills will likely enjoy spotting connections to them.
Poe gave us the “tales of ratiocination” structure for detective stories,
Mercier is giving us extraordinary stories.
This is not a classical cosy mystery - it is indeed scary.
A very good read beyond being an excellent dark ghost inhabited mystery thriller.
Even if you are not a night owl, this book might make you one -
you will want to keep reading rather than sleep.
Perhaps reading this book has the mysterious power to make
some readers think they somehow are not the same anymore - I know I am not the same!
Fictional of not, the complex characters in this book might induce one to do a lot of thinking
about the difficult side of our human condition - as sentient creatures.
I suspect that many of us present a facade that potentially hides pain, anxiety, fear, loss, etc.
The characters in this story make one wonder if we might know
a lot less about the people we encounter, even close people, than we realize.
Readers familiar with NYC and the Catskills will likely enjoy spotting connections to them.
Poe gave us the “tales of ratiocination” structure for detective stories,
Mercier is giving us extraordinary stories.
This is not a classical cosy mystery - it is indeed scary.
November 26, 2024
Poe and I is an excellent dark thriller, seasoned well with horror elements, told through a unique twist on an unreliable narrator. To say more about that might give things away, but this story twists through the lives of various well-written characters, through the eyes of that narrator, Jonah. At times the story telling brought to mind Paul Tremblay and Cynthia Pelayo, or perhaps Catriona Ward. It's pace feels perfect and pulls you along, but also nods and winks to the stories of Poe and others in ways that demonstrates that Mercier isn't just dipping his toe into genre writing but is steeped in it. For a debut novel, it is structured like a veteran and doesn't miss a beat, even if the sound of that beat is coming from under the floorboards. The personal story of the author gives this book added dimension, so stick around for the afterword. I highly recommend it.
July 31, 2024
Good writing, mediocre editing
This should have been so much better than it was. Poe? Lonely, isolated caretaker? Broken main character? Yes to all the above! But yet, it just seemed to fall short of the mark for me. The convoluted backstory and unreliable narrator made some of the plot a little difficult to follow. Plus - and I’m seeing this a lot these days - the line editing seems to have been “let’s run a spell check and call it good.” We have a LOT of missing articles (a, an, the) and a lot of misused words. Every time I stumbled on one of these it jolted me right out of the story. I know small presses are stretched for schedules and budget, but come on.
This should have been so much better than it was. Poe? Lonely, isolated caretaker? Broken main character? Yes to all the above! But yet, it just seemed to fall short of the mark for me. The convoluted backstory and unreliable narrator made some of the plot a little difficult to follow. Plus - and I’m seeing this a lot these days - the line editing seems to have been “let’s run a spell check and call it good.” We have a LOT of missing articles (a, an, the) and a lot of misused words. Every time I stumbled on one of these it jolted me right out of the story. I know small presses are stretched for schedules and budget, but come on.
May 1, 2025
The essence of Edgar Allan Poe is alive and well, brought back to literary life by indie author Matthew Mercier. This novel successfully creates a loving homage to the legendary horror master, minus the boring parts. But a word of warning. Hold On. This modern day mystery, ghost story will not only keep you guessing, wondering, laughing, and turning the pages, but will also make you want to revisit those old Poe stories you read and enjoyed so long ago. A totally original vision of borrowed themes. "Poe and I" has been added to my "read again" pile.
August 12, 2025
Such an excellent mystery! Mercier does such an amazing job doling out the details, propelling the narrative. I couldn’t put it down.
I also adored all the little Poe references throughout, and the imagery was incredibly immersive.
Don't get me started on the characters! Jonah Peabody was the perfect narrator, charming and tragic, but I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him.
I also adored all the little Poe references throughout, and the imagery was incredibly immersive.
Don't get me started on the characters! Jonah Peabody was the perfect narrator, charming and tragic, but I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him.
January 22, 2025
What a fun read this was, diving into the depths of the characters and their stories, all intertwined in a twisting unpredictable tale. Matthew tells his tale with ease and draws you right in. I hope he will bring us more great stories in the future!
July 31, 2024
Quietly Quirky
A young man with a disturbing past lands his dream job, with an astonishing resume that is partially true. The truth behind the job search brings the horror to life.
A young man with a disturbing past lands his dream job, with an astonishing resume that is partially true. The truth behind the job search brings the horror to life.
August 6, 2024
I really enjoyed this novel ,good writing drawing in you into the story .Death, murder, supernatural ,and ghosts. The only downside was the ending . but I give it 4 stars anyway .
Read
August 14, 2024DNF a little over 30% he wasn't even staying on the damn house yet. Nothing supernatural. Not sure what was supposed to be going on.
March 22, 2025
This was a really fun read! A wild, thrilling ride of the Poe Cottage caretaker's misadventures weaved into a ton of Poe references.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews