‘A Mystery of Mysteries’ explores demise of Edgar Allan Poe | Book Talk

The mystery of how Edgar Allan Poe died has obsessed scholars for almost two centuries, and it is addressed faithfully in “A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe” by Cuyahoga Falls author Mark Dawidziak. It’s significant that the book’s title is “Death and Life,” not “Life and Death.”

Dawidziak begins four months before Poe’s death, when the poet was disintegrating mentally and physically. He had begun 1849 with enthusiasm, expecting to continue a recent creative rush; in July, he dragged himself into a friend’s Philadelphia business, asking for “protection and refuge” from men he believed were going to kill him. He asked for his mustache to be cut off to help evade the men. By the next week he was in jail for public drunkenness.

The “life” part has never attracted quite as much fascination, as the popular identity of Poe seems so ingrained in American culture: A dismal figure, hopeless alcoholic, half-mad and fixated on death, now available on jigsaw puzzles and mouse pads. Dawidziak releases him from this caricature, emphasizing Poe’s work as a literary critic, his fine sense of humor and the vast amount of work he produced that was not in the horror genre, particularly science fiction and the first modern detective story.

As to the “death,” Dawidziak runs through the theories and uses common-sense deduction to eliminate some. His research includes extensive citations from academic works, but many of the quotations are from Dawidziak’s own interviews over almost 40 years with notables like Ray Bradbury, Vincent Price, Stephen King and Anne Rice.

“A Mystery of Mysteries” (288 pages, hardcover) costs $28.99 from Macmillan. Mark Dawidziak wrote about television and film for the Beacon Journal and Plain Dealer, and also is the author of books about the TV shows “Columbo,” “The Night Stalker” and “The Twilight Zone,” as well as five books about Mark Twain.

Mark Dawidziak will talk about “A Mystery of Mysteries” from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Middleburg Heights branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, 16699 Bagley Road. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

‘Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous’

There’s no matchmaking in “Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous,” fourth in the Amish Matchmaker mystery series by Tallmadge author Amanda Flower. Quite the contrary: Millie Fisher is sure that the two young people in question don’t belong together. That’s not really the point here, though; it’s all about the murder, and the cause of death is cuckoo.

Millie’s lifelong best friend Lois, who isn’t Amish, runs into her fourth husband in the Holmes County town of Harvest. He’s there with his much-younger bride Paige, and she tells him off. The women later go to the couple’s hotel so Lois can apologize ... just as Paige is whacked by a giant cuckoo that falls out of an enormous clock that’s a tourist attraction at the hotel.

Suicide by cuckoo isn’t likely, so can Millie and Lois solve the mystery, or will it take the help of the quilting club?

This is the best book yet in the series, aided by Millie’s dry wit. “Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous” (352 pages, softcover) costs $8.99 from Kensington.

Flower, just nominated for Edgar and Agatha awards for “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” will sign “Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Learned Owl Book Shop, 204 N. Main St., Hudson, joined by Anastasia Hastings (aka Casey Daniels, Kylie Logan, et al.), author of the “Of Manners and Murder,” featured Feb. 5 in Book Talk.

Events

Fireside Book Shop (29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): Kathy Schulz talks about “The Underground Railroad in Ohio,” 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County (305 Wick Ave., Youngstown): Kathy Schulz talks about “The Underground Railroad in Ohio,” 2 to 4 p.m. Monday. Register at libraryvisit.org.

Hudson Library & Historical Society: Richard Haas, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, talks about “The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens” in a Zoom presentation at 6:30 p.m. Monday. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Bloomsburg Business magazine journalist Matthew Campbell talks about “Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy,” about the 2011 pirate attack on the oil tanker Brillante Virtuoso, which exploded in the Gulf of Aden. At 7 p.m. Thursday, journalist Adam Brookes discusses “Fragile Cargo: China’s Wartime Race to Save the Treasures of the Forbidden City.” At 1 p.m. Saturday, Swedish scientist Johan Eklöf talks about “The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms that Sustain Life.” Register at hudsonlibrary.org.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Parma-Powers branch, 6996 Powers Blvd.): Hank Phillippi Ryan, winner of multiple Agatha, Anthony and Macavity awards, talks about her new mystery “The House Guest,” 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Cuyahoga County Public Library: Robin Yeatman, in a Zoom event from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. From 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Tiffany McDaniel talks about “On the Savage Side.” Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Kent State University Library: In celebration of Black History Month, Tameka Ellington, associate professor of design at Kent State and editor of “Black Hair in a White World,” leads a panel discussion about Black beauty and culture with the books’ contributors in a Zoom session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Join at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84096295595.

Canton Palace Theatre (605 Market Ave. N.): Danni Washington, host of TV’s “Xploration Nature Knows Best” and author of “Bold Women in Science: 15 Women in History You Should Know, a History Book for Kids,” speaks from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at starklibrary.org.

Wadsworth Public Library (132 Broad St.): Don Ake talks about his collection of humorous essays “Turkey Terror at My Door: Misadventures of a Middle-Aged Man,” 7 p.m. Thursday.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Middleburg Heights branch, 16699 Bagley Road): Tracy Clark talks about her new mystery “Hide,” inaugural entry in a series about Chicago detective Harriet Foster, 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Ravenna 7 Theatre (215 Cedar Ave.): Keynote speaker David Giffels starts off Main Street Ravenna’s Winter Writing Festival, held at various locations in Ravenna and featuring workshops and a student writing contest. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Register at mainstreetravenna.org.

Akron-Summit County Public Library (Northwest branch, 1720 Shatto Ave.): Romance authors Julie Anne Lindsey (“Closely Harbored Secrets”), Jess Everlee (“The Gentleman’s Book of Vices”) and Susan Bagby (“Christmas Wish Upon a Star”) talk about writing romance novels and sign their work, 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Register at akronlibrary.org.

Walls of Books (7783 W. Ridgewood Road, Parma): Warren author Chelsea Banning, who drew viral attention in December when she tweeted her disappointment at drawing only two people to a signing in Ashtabula, signs her debut Arthurian fantasy “Of Crowns and Legends,” 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mark Dawidziak book ‘A Mystery of Mysteries’ examines Edgar Allan Poe