Edgar Allan Poe 
The Murders in the Rue Morgue 

In The Murders in the Rue Morgue, all of Paris is in shock following the ghastly murder of two women – but with all witnesses claiming to have heard the suspect speak a different language, the police are stumped. When Dupin finds a suspicious hair at the crime scene, and places an advert in the newspaper asking if anyone has lost an 'Ourang-Outang', things take an unexpected turn… In The Mystery of Marie Roget, Dupin and his sidekick undertake to solve the murder of the beautiful young grisette who works in a perfume shop, whose body is found floating in the Seine… And The Purloined Letter, the final in the series, finds Dupin engaged on a matter of national importance: a private (and highly compromising) letter has been pilfered from the Queen's private drawing room. The police know who the unscrupulous culprit is, but they can not find the letter, and therefore are unable to pin the crime on him. It it is up to Dupin to solve the case – which he does, with characteristic flair.
A master of rational deduction and intellectual insight, Dupin sees things for what they are, rather than what they appear to be…

About the author

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809. He was a poet, short story writer and journalist, whose best-known works include 'The Raven' and The Fall of the House of Usher. Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detection fiction genre through the creation of his character, C. Auguste Dupin. He died in 1849. For more information, turn to the Case Notes section at the end of the book.
Robert Giddings is a well-established literary critic who regularly reviews for many publications including the Sunday Times, the Guardian and the New Statesman.