Edgar Allan Poe and The Empire of the Dead

A Poe and Dupin Mystery #3

by Karen Lee Street

“And I prayed that I would find a way to tell my most honourable friend, the Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin, the truth about how I had finally been murdered and by whom.”

Summer, 1849. When Edgar Allan Poe travels to Paris to help his dear friend hunt down the elusive criminal who bought the Dupin family to ruin during the French Revolution, the sleuthing duo are engaged by the prefect of police to recover the stolen letter of an infamous Parisian salonnière. Is the thief one of the French literary greats who attend her salons, or might it be Dupin’s own enemy who is scheming to become the Emperor of France? Poe and Dupin are quickly embroiled in a deadly cat and mouse game that takes them to the treacherous tunnels of the city’s necropolis, where few who venture into the notorious Empire of the Dead manage to return from the darkness…

The third in the author’s critically acclaimed mystery trilogy, Edgar Allan Poe and the Empire of the Dead is a thrilling historical mystery about alchemy, mesmerism and magic, the shadows of the past and the endurance of love.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2019

About the author

Karen Lee Street is a long time Londoner, now living in Australia. She spent her earliest years in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse with far too many things that went bump in the night, memories of which bring a touch of the Gothic to her writing.

Her critically acclaimed historical mysteries follow the adventures of Edgar Allan Poe and C. Auguste Dupin. In Edgar Allan Poe & the London Monster, set in London 1840, the sleuthing duo investigate a true 18th century crime and its aftermath. Edgar Allan Poe & the Jewel of Peru sees the duo reunite in Philadelphia, 1844 to unravel a mystery involving old enemies, lost soul-mates, ornithomancy, and the legendary jewel of Peru. Edgar Allan Poe and the Empire of the Dead takes place in Paris, 1849 and is a tale of alchemy, mesmerism and magic, the shadows of the past and the endurance of love. It will be published in October 2019.

Other books by Karen include Writing and Selling Crime Film Screenplays a 'how to' book based on her experience working in the feature film industry and Tattoos and Motorcycles, a collection of interconnected short stories set in small town America.

Represented by Oliver Munson, A.M. Heath Literary Agents (London).

Reviews

[Marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an incredibly disappointing end to this series. It starts out promising, but it ends with the notion that magic is real. Magic had absolutely no place in the first two books, things are solved with logical thinking and science. Dupin is supposed to be the king of ratiocination and there is no trick he cannot explain in a rational way. This book completely destroys this and thereby the entire character.

I understand the author might have wanted to end the series in a Poe-like manner, but this was done in a very bad way.

I loved the earlier books, sadly I can only give this two stars.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the clever premise of this novel. Edgar Allan Poe enters the labyrinth beneath Paris to solve a murder with his own creation, Auguste Dupin, in 1849. Think Agatha Christie solves a murder with Hercule Poirot. The story was intriguing, and I also noted early on, took place just a few months before Edgar Allan Poe's death in October of 1849. I did get a bit surreal, but I should have expected it as the story delved into mesmerism and the spirit world. This is the third book in the series, which means I should now go back and read the first two.

[L T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read a lot within the Mystery-Crime genre but I liked taking the opportunity to try something a little different.

I felt there was a long build-up and then the end came short and swift.

I was intrigued by how it would end, and then when it ended... how it ended.

The element I found really appealing was that this is a story ABOUT Edgar Allan Poe, running around looking for criminals with a character Poe created within his own literary word. That was a pleasant experience.

If that intrigues you, or running around in secret underground tunnels, beneath Paris does, give it a look over.

^_^

[Dominique Pbass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly liked this book. It debunked a lot of the supernatural stuff going in the story until the end. Didn't like that the end seemed to go along with mind switching to another body by magic science stuff. The characters at the end could have been faking it. But it would include Poe's friend in this. And then Poe is killed.

[Marc Diepstraten · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5stars. It was atmospheric. The story itself was peculiar, maybe I missed some things here and there. Some things are hinted at, some things hammered in. When in doubt, go back to the same location and search again. And to finish it off throw some arcane magic at it. I expected a bit more from this if I'm honest.

[Frankie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the three books in this series, I liked this the least. Set in the underground catacombs of Paris, the story wore thin I thought. Duping becomes magician like and is transformed. Oh, come on now! Let’s have a little reality!

[Oismiffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels different in writing style than the first two in the series - it lacks the same sentence structure and prose, which is sad.

It is however a much better mystery and a better read than the 2nd book, but not quite as good as the 1st.

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

The phrase “jumping the shark” is exactly how I would describe this book. What a mess.

[Joshua Friesen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun romp through the past with EA Poe.