I don’t give up on many books, especially when there’s something in the concept that attracted me to it in the first place. Like modern-day mysteries that somehow hinge on the work of Edgar Allan Poe. Linda Fairstein’s 2005 sex-crimer ENTOMBED had such an angle, but was so boring I threw in the proverbial towel before the halfway mark. There were no such troubles, however, with FOR EDGAR, a thoroughly gripping debut from Sheldon Rusch, now in paperback.
Rusch’s heroine is Elizabeth Taylor Hewitt, a police investigator called to the scene of an apparent crime: a human skull nailed to a tree. When she discovers a gold scarab from the scene, the literary side of her recalls Poe’s “The Gold Bug” and believes that the details in that short story comprise a clue that will lead her to something greater. And indeed it does: a woman’s remains.
Not long after, another murder occurs, this time recalling the walled-up scenario of “The Black Cat.” Because two makes a series, the media brands it the work of a serial killer and affords the murderer the ratings-savvy name of The Raven. There are many more Poe stories The Raven works his way through before Rusch’s tale is through, but to divulge details will rob you of further surprises.
With its strong female lead, creepy killings, red herrings and white-knuckle suspense, FOR EDGAR proves itself a worthy successor to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. The danger is palpable, making this mystery one through which you’ll want to fly. My only complaint is I had the big reveal figured out in the first quarter, but even then, I couldn’t read this one fast enough, as Rusch propelled me from page to page. –Rod Lott
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Related posts:
- The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder
- GRAPHIC CLASSICS says “evermore” to third POE
- Prior Bad Acts
- Derailed
- The Thieves of Heaven
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