The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Fort Raphael Publishing Company Edition)

By: Edgar Allan Poe

Narrated by: Kevin Theis

Length: 2 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Regarded by many as the world's first detective story, Edgar Allan Poe here creates C. Auguste Dupin, the proto-Sherlock Holmes, investigating the murder of two women and arriving at a startling - and horrifying - conclusion.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue was first published in 1841 in Graham's Magazine and is the first of three stories to center around Dupin, who here explains his theory of "ratiocination", where a precise, logical, and unemotional examination of the facts will lead to the solution of a mystery...no matter how bizarre the conclusion.

Poe's Dupin had a profound impact on later writers, and his theory of detection is clearly reflected in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series, as well as the works of Agatha Christie.

This edition also features an essay by Poe's contemporary and friend N. P. Willis entitled "The Death of Edgar A. Poe".

Public Domain (P)2018 Fort Raphael Publishing Company

Really brought to life

I so enjoyed listening to Poe being read to me. Kevin Theis did such a great job describing and bringing this story to life. Poe's books were written to read to you and Kevin absolutely nailed it. I highly recommend this book.

Enjoyable narration but book is not for me

I am giving this title an overall 5 stars because of the narration.
This is the first time I have listened/read anything by Edgar Allan Poe and this author is not for me.
It's a quick listen, with the story padded out by an introduction to Poe that I felt was unnecessary.
The narration is enthusiastic and exuberant.

Nice little Doyle-esque murder mystery

A whodunnit that is particularly fun for our times. Narration and the special effects behind it are A+

Chilling!

Made me want to start listening to Poe again.. Very true to original source. Great vocal timber. Thank you!!

Excellent

The excellent narration by Kevin brought Poe’s work to life. Having read them, but to hear it by an excellent voice, was great. Poe’s work are dark, a good look back in history. Given audio for my voluntary review and my voluntary review

Kevin Theis is a great narrator!

I hadn't read this story since I was a teen so it was great to hear Mr. Theis bring it to life. Gruesome in its depiction of murder.

Lively performance, interesting bonus essay

A lively reading of this classic—maybe the first—detective story. "The Death of Edgar A. Poe,” a eulogy by his friend and literary colleague N. P. Willis, is an interesting and surprisingly touching bonus.

A great rainy day listen!

Since it's been years since reading Poe's dark mystery, this was a chance to re-familiarize myself with the storytelling genius of a legend - and a rainy Saturday was the perfect setting. This audiobook version did not disappoint! The first person account of events (from the unnamed narrator in the story) pulls you into that darkened room next to a cozy fire awaiting the next unfolding surprise. There was a brilliance to the cadence, especially when the slightest deceleration brought you to those dramatic plot thickeners. The intended pauses were just long enough to let it dawn on you something good was a-coming. As the mystery's weird twists unraveled and came clear to both the narrator and me (the listener), Dupin's delight in revealing his investigatory methods and closely examined clues are evident in the voice inflection of the audioboook's narrator, and provided me the chance to imagine just such a sequence of events happening in Dupin's retrospective dialogue. The occasional background sounds and music were just enough to add to the atmosphere, without distracting from the great storytelling mood. Excellent choice!

Could not finish

I could not finish this book because of the narrators voice. Nothing against him just couldn't handle the high pitch of his voice.

Narrator falls short

This audio book starts with a newspaper article from the time which chronicled the death of Edgar Allan Poe. This was very interesting and a great way to start.

The story itself is a murder mystery which is solved by observation, reasoning and deductions [a la Sherlock Holmes].

I enjoyed the newspaper article and the story but what fell short, was the narration. It sounds as if the narrator is announcing a sports game and trying to engender excitement as his voice is at 10 the whole time -- there is no modulation, no quiet moments, no build ups, no inflections, nothing, just at 10. It reminded me of the sports announcer from the soccer games who shouts: "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!" but does it for the entire game. The narrator attempted to do accents/character voices but sometimes his accent would disappear -- but given that he was shouting the entire time, it didn't really matter.