A Surcease of Sorrow

This breezy occult mystery from Wareing (Mistakes Were Made) fills in the gaps of Edgar Allan Poe’s unexplained five-day disappearance in 1849. Kind, inquisitive Baltimore doctor Joseph Snodgrass receives word from a stranger, retired Army captain William Walker, that the doctor’s old friend Poe was found bruised and disheveled in a tavern. Brought to the hospital, the mentally unstable Poe raves about a sinister reflection in a mirror tormenting him. Snodgrass and Walker team up to help Poe, following clues on a sword-stick cane found in Poe’s possession to John Carter, an occultist in Richmond, Va. Carter, the Chief Magus of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, reveals that Poe visited him claiming that he was being pursued by a spectral raven and admits that, after a botched ritual, an ancient demon named Raum has escaped into the world. With the help of Carter’s henchmen and three witch sisters, the group engages in pitched battles with supernatural creatures to save Poe—and the world. The story moves briskly through bustling streets and dusky taverns, expertly evoking the language, food, clothes, and sensibilities of the era. The eccentricities of this spirited outing will keep readers hooked. (Self-published)