The Mask of Red Death

Rating:
Summary: delightfulmid nineteenth century historical mystery
Review: In 1845, the Raven and several scathing reviews in newspapers have brought fame to Edgar Allan Poe He relocated to Manhattan accompanied by his fragile spouse and his mother-in-law. However, the city is in an angry uproar as someone is killing and scalping people. The locals believe that Indian Chief Wolf Bear, working in P.T. Barnum's sideshow, is the serial killer and a lynch mob forms.

However, Kit Carson arrives in time to prove that Chief Wolf Bear is innocent and that the reprehensible John "Liver-Eating" Johnson is the killer. Joining ranks Kit and Edgar follow the deadly trail that includes a mysterious albino client of the author. While Edgar would prefer to say NEVERMORE and Kit believes a big city is HUM BUG, both know they must stop this vicious murderer before he adds more to his scalp collection.

The obvious comparison between the writer and the frontiersman is a delight and much of the historical tidbits add a sense of mid nineteenth century New York to the historical mystery. Johnson, who ate the livers of his victims, comes across as macabre and authentic as the real person he was. However, the flashbacks that provide much of the period piece also take away from the suspense building to a final confrontation between the mountain man serial killer vs. the amateur sleuth writer and his western scout partner in the canyons of New York.

Harriet Klausner