Of Monsters and Madness

I am a sucker for a good Poe tale. This one caught my eye because the main character's name is Annabel Lee. You know "I was a child and she was a child in this kingdom by the sea"? Well Annabel has just lost her mother and is coming to live in Philadelphia with a father she doesn't know. Annabel is interested in becoming a doctor- scandalous for the times so she is excited to find out her father was once a doctor too. That is where the happy tale ends. Her father is cold and distant. Her Grand Pere is the only one she connects with besides her lovely maid Maddy. Then there is the mysterious assistant to her father named Allan Poe. Allan immediately catches Annabel's heart, unlike his surly and disturbing cousin Edgar Poe. Hmmm you say- Edgar and Allan are cousins? I'm not going to give away the twist, but thing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde if you will. Annabel faces one tragedy after another in her quest to fit in with her father and the strange surroundings in Philadelphia- where disturbing murders are taking place. Will the truth be stranger than fiction? This is a quick read filled with references to Poe! If you love the dark and strange, enter their world if you dare. Once upon a midnight dreary... Happy reading my friends!