Annabel Lee arrives in Philadelphia in 1826, alone in the world except for a father and grandfather she has never met. She's determined to gain her father's approval despite his continued rebuffs of her. Her only friends are her maid, Maddy, her grandfather, and her father's enigmatic assistant, Allan Poe. However, her grandfather's strange warnings about the residence and her father's lab leave Annabel with more questions than answers. And what will she make of her father's second assistant, Edgar? Secrets abound in this gothic thriller.
The characters and the setting in OF MONSTERS AND MADNESS fit together perfectly! The dark, brooding atmosphere is exactly what you would expect from a story featuring Edgar Allan Poe. I love seeing Allan's attempts to write while Edgar is more than a bit twisted. Annabel is somewhat of a naΓ―ve character, and yet her determination to aid others with healing gives her just the right amount of backbone for what she faces in her new home. I love the friendship she develops with Maddy in particular. In fact, I would love to see a story featuring Maddy.
If you love Edgar Allan Poe and his poem, Annabel Lee, then OF MONSTERS AND MADNESS is a treat you do not want to miss! Jessica Verday takes some liberties with the history of Edgar Allan Poe and his poem but the resulting thriller is well worth it. OF MONSTERS AND MADNESS is a delightfully creepy tale and I look forward to reading more from the talented Jessica Verday!
A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror
featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee,
from a New York Times best-selling author.
Annabel Lee is summoned from Siam to live with her father
in
1820's Philadelphia shortly after her mother's death, but
an
unconventional upbringing makes her repugnant to her
angry,
secretive father.
Annabel becomes infatuated with her father's assistant
Allan, who dabbles in writing when he's not helping with
medical advancements. But in darker hours, when she's not
to
be roaming the house, she encounters the devilish
assistant
Edgar, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Allan, and who
others insist doesn't exist.
A rash of murders across Philadelphia, coupled with her
father's strange behavior, leads Annabel to satisfy her
curiosity and uncover a terrible truth: Edgar and Allan
are
two halves of the same person - and they are about to make
the crimes detailed in Allan's stories come to life.
Unless
Annabel stops them.
No excerpt available.