Many of us may remember reading Edgar Allan Poe in our earlier years, perhaps for a school assignment. Who can forget that tingle down the spine at “The Telltale Heart,” or the cadence and rhythm of “The Raven” that drew us in to the mysterious, chilling poem and its cryptic “nevermore?"

Year 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Poe, whom most consider the creator of horror, mystery, thriller, and detective fiction. Try to imagine a library bookshelf without the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dashiell Hammett, Tom Clancy, Agatha Christie, or Stephen King. Can you comprehend a world devoid of the characters of Hercule Poirot, Matt Scudder, V.I. Warshawski, Brother Cadfael, Harry Bosch, Sam Spade, Jack Ryan, or even Sherlock Holmes? Without Poe, these authors could have been unknown today. On the great genealogical chart of mystery writers and characters, there is only one common ancestor: “The Master,” Edgar Allan Poe.

In the Shadow of the Master gives full versions of some of Poe’s most familiar tales and leads us to discover some of his lesser-known works. Following each of the sixteen selections are essays by twenty different authors, themselves literary descendants of Poe. Among them are editor Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Nelson DeMille, Sue Grafton, Lawrence Block, Stephen King, and Baltimore’s own Laura Lippman.

In the essays the contributors comment on Poe and his work, telling how he impacted their lives, their reading, or their writing. T. Jefferson Parker sums it up: “What they [Poe’s works] taught me was this: there is darkness in the hearts of men; there are consequences of that darkness; those consequences will crash down upon us here in this life. They taught me that words can be beautiful and mysterious and full of truth.”

The book design itself is even reminiscent of mystery and horror. Blood-red with black-edged pages, the cover has a striking silhouette of a raven. Inside are marvelously creepy illustrations by Irish artist Harry Clarke, taken from an earlier publication of Poe stories Clarke illustrated in 1919.

In the Shadow of the Master is a great read for Poe aficionados and general mystery fans alike, but as with nearly anything Poe ever wrote, when you finally put this book down you just might want to sleep with the lights on.

Jacquelynn Morris – Administration Office

Medical suspense is not a genre I frequently read. However, several years ago I read some of the Maura Isles series by Tess Gerritsen. The suspense was riveting and the characters were interesting, but since the horrifying detail of her stories stayed with me long after I finished them, I now only read her occasionally. Gerritsen’s new book, The Bone Garden, is a stand-alone thriller with a cameo by Maura Isles. As the book begins, Julia Hamill finds a skeleton buried in the garden of her newly purchased home. The real story takes place in 1830s Boston and revolves around the students of Boston Medical College and the patients of the associated hospital. Gerristsen’s description of the accepted medical practices of the time were more horrifying to me than the West End Reaper attacks. Particularly shocking were the activities of the resurrectionists, grave-robbers who supplied the medical schools with cadavers for anatomy lessons.

Numerous important historical figures appear in the book. Letters by Oliver Wendell Holmes lead the reader into the story of Rose Connelly. Rose’s sister dies of childbed fever and Rose’s determination to care for her newborn niece suddenly turns dangerous when the baby seems to be the focal point of the murders by the West End Reaper. Along the way, Rose meets a brilliant young doctor, whose farming background and skills as an anatomist make him the perfect target for blame as public hysteria grows over the specter of the West End Reaper. Rose and Norris fall in love while working together to protect her niece, and prove Norris innocent of charges that he is the West End Reaper.

I listened to the unabridged recording of The Bone Garden read by Susan Denaker. Denaker captures a variety of accents and vocal qualities to convey both contemporary voices for the present day passages as well as the nuances of class and heritage in 1830s Boston.

Cindy Jones – Administration

Anticipating the slight touch of supernatural suspense that adds an additional thrill to the upcoming Indiana Jones release, I recalled the shivery delight of reading Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Although I usually shy away from the horror genre, I am a great fan of thrillers and action-adventure films, so upon the recommendation of a friend, I read Relic.

As you might have guessed from the title, the plot revolves around a relic whose mere presence in New York’s American Museum of Natural History seems to be causing a series of grisly murders. The story opens with graduate student Margo Green pondering her career choice and her uncertainty about her job at the museum, which is further complicated by her dislike of the museum’s internal politics. Just days before the opening of the controversial Superstition Exhibition, people are being savagely murdered. The autopsies of the victims create more questions than they answer, especially after FBI Special Agent Pendergast arrives to oversee the investigation. However, Margo’s curiosity and expertise are just what it takes to solve the puzzle of the museum murders – but can she do it before anyone else dies?

Margo also appears in another book by Preston and Child, Reliquary.

Cindy Jones – Administration Office

As an avid reader of thrillers, I was enthralled when I started reading Gone by Lisa Gardner. From the scene of Rainie’s car, left abandoned with the engine running and the driver’s door open, to the appearance of Pierce Quincy, a semi-retired FBI profiler and Rainie’s husband, I immediately wanted to know what happened and more importantly — where was Rainie now? As I read, I had more questions about Rainie and Quincy: how they met, why they were separated, and whether Quincy’s skills could make the difference in finding out the events that led to Rainie’s disappearance. Did Rainie, a recovering alcoholic, relapse and simply walk away? Is someone from Rainie’s past out to settle an old score or is there someone else who wants Rainie to disappear? Gardner steadily builds the suspense and keeps you turning the pages to find out the fate of Rainie and her relationship with Quincy.

In Gone, I met other characters who appeared in earlier titles by Gardner. So I backtracked and began reading the books in chronological order. In The Perfect Husband, Quincy is called in as a profiler to help catch perfect husband Jim Beckett. In The Third Victim, we meet Officer Rainie Conner after a school shooting and Quincy is again called to consult. The Next Accident provides backstory about Quincy and his family and reveals how Rainie and Quincy’s relationship continues to evolve. The Killing Hour focuses on Kimberly, Quincy’s daughter and how she sets out to trap a serial killer who takes two victims at a time. The Killing Hour also sets the scene for Gone.

Gardner’s next book, Say Goodbye, will be released this summer and again focuses on Kimberly.

Cindy Jones – Administration Office