"Beware the man who has something against you and has recently been to his barber." Edgar Allen Poe's childhood friend Dr. William Chivers warns the reader as he composes himself to murder Poe, after having helped the infamous author fake his death to escape a militant Irish gang.
historical crime novel features a meeting between Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens, during Dickens' ill-fated tour of America. Both grotesquely comic and bitingly acerbic, Not Quite Dead is told primarily through the eyes of Poe's long suffering (due to Poe) childhood friend, Dr. Chivers.
The attention to the squallor and racially charged environs of the 19th century Poe and Dickens inhabited is superb. I found myself reflecting on the difficulties faced by my own Irish ancestors who immigrated to Canada during the same period Not Quite Dead is set in. Despite the grim times and tension present throughout the book, at the same time I was laughing aloud at Dickens grousing about the difficulties an author faces while on tour, and the monetary compensation he receives for his hard efforts. The quotations from Devil's Dictionary peppered throughout didn't hurt either.
Not Quite Dead is a truly remarkable read for fans of both historical crime and literature both. This review was drafted from an advance reading copy, the book will be available for purchase in November.
| Categories: Reviews, Mystery & Crime |
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