The Murders at Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe (Book Review).
The mystery of murders and Dupin’s powerful method of reasoning!!
Author: Edgar Allan Poe.
Published in : Garham' Magazine
Published year: April 1841
Genre: Crime fiction, Detective Fiction
The Murders at Rue Morgue is a short story written by Edgar Allan poe. The story falls in to the crime/thriller genre.
In Rue Morgue town of Paris an old woman, Ms L’Espanaye and her unmarried daughter are murdered mercilessly in their house on the fourth floor of a building. These murders surprises everyone in the town, as there is neither a clue of the motif of these killings nor any apparent evidence left behind by murderer/murderers. Time period of the story is mid 1840s. The setting of the story fits the genre of crime/thriller/mystery.
These murders are committed in late night. Chaotic murder scene, mild condition of the room where murders happen and the lack of any evidences are all skillfully crafted to fit the genre of detective stories. Police and investigaters are left clueless to find the culprits thus making it even more interesting for the readers. That is the art of storytelling which not only keeps readers engaged but excited about every unfolding detail.
The old woman and her daughter were living in their house all by themselves and had been living there since more than six years. There weren’t any visitors to their house except a doctor who came to them occasionally. The old lady had plenty of money whose source was not known. The banker told to police, that three days before the murders, L’Espanaye withdrew a large amount of money in gold and a man from bank had brought that money to her house. Till this, there is not the slightest idea about the motif and murderer(s).
Edgar Allan Poe’s skill of characterization is also impressive. He carved a fine detective figure in August Dupin and an exciting figure in the form of narrator who asks all the necessary questions to make the story interesting and mysterious at the same time. Dupin is a strange figure whom narrator finds quite interesting too. And he in fact is the most interesting person in Paris with his unusual methods of reasoning. Narrator, as readers would expect in a suspense story, gets confused and very excited at Dupin’s methods of powerful reasoning.
They come to know about the murders through newspaper. Narrator, believing in the details found in newspaper about murder scene and following investigations done by police, comes to the conclusion that, it’s impossible to solve this mystery! Dupin thinks the otherwise, however!
To look into the matter more closely they go the house where the incident of murders occured. Again, narrator looking at the crime scene, is convinced with the idea that it’s impossible to solve the mystery.
However they return to their home without any further discussion on the matter.
Dupin surprises him the next morning about his discovery of the murders as a result of their visit of the house and information found in the newspaper. Narrator is astonished when Dupin with his deductive reasoning not only unfolds the mystery by narrowing down events of murders but finds the real murderer who it turns out to be is not a human being but a human-like animal! That shocks the narrator even further.
All in all, 4/5. If you are interested in stories with lot of suspense that unfold with exciting facts and events every now and then, go read this story.
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