An Unpardonable Crime

By: Andrew Taylor

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Edgar Allan Poe is an American boy in England, a child standing on the edge of mysteries. In 1819, two Americans arrive in London. Soon afterward a bank collapses. A man is found horribly mutilated on a building site and an heiress flirts with her inferiors. All the while, Poe's young schoolmaster struggles to understand what is happening before he and his loved ones are destroyed. But the truth, like the youthful Poe himself, has its origins in the New World as well as the Old, in a bitter episode of corruption during the War of 1812.

With settings ranging from the coal-scented urban jungle of late Regency London to the stark winter landscapes of a rural Gloucestershire, An Unpardonable Crime is a multi-layered literary murder mystery, a historical novel, and a love story. In addition to shedding fascinating light on Edgar Allan Poe, the book is a fast-paced suspenseful tale, filled with shocking revelations.

©2004 Andrew Taylor

Critic reviews

"Taylor does an excellent job in portraying early 19th-century London and writes in a clear, consistent period style...." (Publishers Weekly)
"Taylor is a major thriller talent."(Time Out London)
"A remarkable thriller, elegantly written...a work of superlative fiction." (Denver Post)

Eerie

Eerie... engrossing... enticing... extraordinary. Those are just a few words that adequately describe this great book. Great narrator and great characters go well with the excellent plot.

Great listen intriguing story

This was my second audiobook and got me hooked. The story has so many twists and turns and is very well written.

Entertaining, easy listen!

Simon Vance gives yet another stellar performance in An Unpardonable Crime. Set in 1819, this story chronicles fictional events in the childhood of one Edgar Allen Poe, as experienced by schoolmaster Thomas Shield. Featuring several grisly murders, a love interest, and plenty of intrigue, this was one quick-paced audiobook that I just couldn't hit the pause button on.

AMAZING NARRATION

The first thing that comes to mind after listening to this book is what an exceptional job the narrator did in potraying each character. He is certainly one of the few that I can tolerate gender twisting as he does so with ease and never sounds forced. The story never closes on the facts, only character assumptions. That annoyed me slightly at the end but was probably just the result of a story ending when I wanted more.

Sustaining Story, BUT NOT A LOT OF POE

I got this book because I was intrigued by the whole Poe connection. In spite of the pitch and some very bald self-explication at the end of the book, the Poe boy is not a very important figure in the novel. Further, young Poe isn't made into a very fascinating of a character.

While I'm dogging, just let me add that this isn't very thrilling for a thriller. Not that any murder is pardonable, but I certainly can think of less pardonable ways to perpetrate it. Thinking of Poe, I was looking for something that would aspire for some real creepiness. The characters, however, seemed more like Austen characters. shorn of their wit, meandering through a
murder mystery.

So let me tell you what it is... a nice period piece. The writing really did seem to capture the spirit of the times. The story was involving. It wasn't too complex, but that's OK for a book that is heard instead of read. Once I started it, I certainly wanted to finish it, but I wasn't compelled.

Get the book, enjoy the book, but don't expect Poe.