Although I appreciate novels as good literature and occasionally forces of social change ("Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a good example, as it strengthened the abolitionist movement), I don't normally read them, as I find truth to be more fascinating than fiction.

"The Poe Shadow" is set in antebellum America. The protagonist, a young attorney, risks life and limb to unravel the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe's death, and enlists the aid of a French detective, supposedly the prototype for Poe literary sleuth C. Auguste Dupin. It's well-written, fast-paced, and evokes the 1840s well, but what makes "The Poe Shadow" outstanding is the author's discovery of a possible clue to what really killed Poe in October 1849. This eye-opening piece of evidence, backed by modern medical opinion, appears in its own section at the end.