After reading all four stories, I am again amazed at the quality of the work. Poe had a unique ability showing us the inside of a person's head.
My favorite story is "The Imp of the Perverse." How many times have we sat there, or stood there thinking "I can't say X, I can't say X," and then blurt out whatever it was we were trying so hard not to say. Add to that, the fact that the murder was just so ingenious, it's a great little tale.
Dupin strikes me as the direct predeccesor to Hercule Poirot and there are definite tinges of him in Sherlock Holmes. (Even his Watson is present.) Somehow I couldn't see Dupin standing in the window playing his violin in strange arrangements, or shooting up with heroin. He wasn't as scientific as Holmes.
However, he wasn't as believable either. While I do not fault the logic of the author, he is far more rational than most, I feel that for Dupin to be able to solve these crimes so quickly and with so little actual investigation stretches suspension of disbelief. It always has. However, Holmes once said "Everything appears simple, once explained," thus perhaps I can critique because I have been given the answer.
The most unsatisfying of the three for me was "The Mystery of Marie Roget." For one thing, Dupin's explanation was far to drawn out and at least in my version of the story, the editors cut out the most satisfying part of the story, the capture of the criminal. And I just realized that the ending isn't even present in the online version. Oops.
The most enjoyable, for me, was "The Purloined Letter," (my love of "The Imp of the Perverse already being stated). It had it all and bore and uncanny resemblance to a Sherlock Holmes tale. Dupin's deductions and incredibly cunning way of removing the letter from the possession of the evil and bold Minister D-- was beautiful. And for any who were wondering, the translation of what he left in his version of the letter is "Such a baleful scheme, while not worthy of Atreus, is worthy of Thyestes." The story behind the quote is greusome, but fun.
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