The Murders in the Rue Morgue

'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', one of Poe's stories featuring the investigator Monsieur Dupin, is widely considered as one of the main precursors of modern crime story.

Main proponent of "reasoned mystery", the tale is articulated as a praise of the powers of analytical and systematic method to penetrate the darkest questions.

In this case, the whodunit is focused around an unexplained and macabre crime happened one night in a room in Paris. (The 'theme of the closed room' is a classic motif in police literature).

Dupin and his friend, the narrator of the story, will explore the event from all the angles in a dialogued form, with only the help of previous days' newspapers, to find out the shocking and unexpected solution to the enigma.

The story benefits from Edgar Allan Poe's unique connection to the "dark side", with a tight and well paced relation of the plot, and his stylistic genius to convey oppressive and claustrophobic atmospheres.