Immersed in melancholia and spirits since the death of his child-wife Sissie, Edgar Allan Poe is adrift in Philadelphia until his protégé, Augie Dubbins, 17, arrives with an invitation from Dr. Alfred K. Brunrichter, wealthy head of Pittsburgh's Quintillian Society. Would Poe be his houseguest while delivering lectures to Pittsburgh's cognoscenti? Squabbling over Augie's writing and attempts at independence, Poe and Augie arrive at the Brunrichter mansion, where the doctor, virtually a dopplegänger for Poe, is avid for the two of them to solve the disappearance of six young local ladies, soon to be seven. While Augie makes friends with dock-worker Buck Kemmer and his innocent daughter Susan, the doctor medicates Poe with mind-fogging ether, ending in debauchery after a reading to which Susan had been invited. Augie whisks her home, leaves her, and an hour later she's been violated and gaffed to death. Though the doctor's lies quickly land Augie in prison, he approaches Poe with the aid of Susan's prissy schoolteacher employer and her father, weans him from the ether, and reconnoiters Brunrichter's estate and the dark doings of Tevis, his valet. Taking axes to secret panels and lighting lucifers to illuminate dark passageways, the men are soon awash in heads bottled in formaldehyde and fighting for their lives against Brunrichter, Tevis, and Brother Jarvis, a wacky monk in thrall to Brunrichter. Moody, emotionally tortured, and convincingly atmospheric, although two-thirds over before Augie's premonitions lead to any detective work. A less capable Poe than in On Night's Shore (2001), but a graphically described descent into his opiate addictions.
"There have been, in the past five or six years, several books written with Edgar Allan Poe as a protagonist. None has brought the man so clearly to life as Mr. Silvis has done." - The Blue Iris Review
"Atmospheric and cleverly researched, (Disquiet Heart) races to a sparkling denouement." - Publishers Weekly
"Moody, emotionally tortured, and convincingly atmospheric, (Disquiet Heart provides) a graphically described descent into Poe's opiate addictions." - Kirkus Reviews
"Randall Silvis has a well-deserved reputation as a writer of stylish crime fiction. This most recent effort, a sequel to On Night's Shore, takes us to America in the 1840s, specifically to Pittsburgh, as Edgar Allan Poe and his Watson/Boswell, August Dubbins, track down a serial killer of young women.... Silvis' sly symbolism, intellectual play and literary allusions make his novel an appropriate portrait of the twin-souled, enigmatic man whose detective stories have shown us both the dark motives of the soul and the power of reason to penetrate its mysteries." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The brash, budding city (of Pittsburgh)--a mere sapling to New York City--breeds chaos in its developing neighborhoods, industry and identity...the perfect backdrop for 17-year-old Augie Dubbins' struggle with manhood. The novel offers intrigue--the mysterious disappearance of five women from the city's gritty working class--but is most compelling when exploring Dubbins' growing pains and the depths of his disquiet heart." - The Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"The novel's appeal lies in its haunted atmosphere and its morally nuanced portrait of Poe himself. Silvis creates a flawed Poe who vividly embodies the moral polarities." - Washington Post Book World
"Disquiet Heart is atmospheric and engaging...especially noteworthy for its accurate and evocative portrayal of early 19th century Pittsburgh. What's more, the climax to the story-and the absolutely chilling solution to the mystery-reads almost like something out of one of Poe's own stories.... The final pages with Poe and Dubbins together on the trail of the miscreants literally vibrate with energy, tension and electricity.... Part ratiocinative detective story, part literary thriller, and part gothic horror tale, Disquiet Heart succeeds on any number of different levels. This is a richly textured story, vivid with emotion and period detail that is not afraid to probe both the heights and depths of human experience." - The Mean Streets Journal
