Edgar Poe and the Frontier Fiend — Harold Schechter

In this historical murder mystery Harold Schechter revisits the chilling world of Edgar Allan Poe and the Mystery Museum . During the sweltering summer of 1845, the savage murder of two girls shocks the citizens of Manhattan. Edgar Allen Poe, despite the grisly subject matter of his own writings, is just as shaken by these horrendous bloody crimes as the panic-stricken public. Suspicion of the killer's identity immediately swirls around Chief Wolf Bear, one of the human attractions at P.T. Barnum's American Museum. Convinced of his innocence, detective Poe deduces that the city conceals a monster in its teeming masses, one with an every-growing appetite for human prey. As frenzied emotions course through the city, Poe uncovers a dark secret more powerful than anything he could have imagined -- one that may reach the upper echelons of politics and privilege. Edgar Poe and the Frontier Fiend is one of several bloody crime historical murder mystery novels written by Harold Schechter. “Macabre and authentic,” writes Harriet Klausner. This murder mystery was originally published under the title of The Mask of Red Death. It is a historical murder mystery at its best, blending history, bloody crimes, horror and suspense. This unleashed thriller is a sure-to-please Edgar Allan Poe detective classic.