Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, but in the wrong hands, it can open doors to spheres of infinite evil. When a murderer stalks the streets of Paris on the trail of Erich Zann, only Europe's greatest criminal investigator, Auguste Dupin, can hope to foil an insane scheme to take up where the mad violinist left off. With deft craftsmanship that transcends pastiche, Stableford introduces a brilliant reincarnation of Poe's seminal detective to the cosmic irrationality of Lovecraft's Mythos, with explosive results.

Following the sad demise of Ernest Valdemar, as related in the story by Edgar Allan Poe, his mortal remains are dispatched to his daughter in Paris—but they do not arrive on schedule, and the Chevalier Auguste Dupin is forced to play detective yet again in tracking them down. The mesmerists of the Philosophical Harmonic Society of Paris seem to be implicated in the mystery, most especially the society's enigmatic President, the Comte de Saint-Germain. In the meantime, Honoré de Balzac lies at death's door, convinced that only the magic of Valdemar's remains can save him. Dupin must race to solve the puzzle, if the great writer's life is to be saved. Will he thwart his adversary in the nick of time?

The Comte de Saint-Germain has come into possession of a copy of The Mad Trist, the book from which Edgar Allan Poe and Roderick Usher read aloud before the collapse recorded in “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The Comte wants to make a present of it to detective Auguste Dupin, but Dupin’s faithful companion is en route for England, and cannot deliver the volume immediately.In any case, he is certain that his friend, Richard Carstairs, will be just as interested in reading the supposedly accursed volume as he is. Despite the warnings issued by a rival bibliophile, Stephen Coningsby, Dupin’s friend is unintimidated by the prospect of reading a forbidden book. After all, Dupin has a whole shelf full of them, and has never sustained any harm therefrom...!A classic tale of horror.

During an August heat-wave, the Comte de Saint-Germain seeks the help of detective Auguste Dupin. Someone—or someTHING—is trying to kill him! The Comte has inherited a magical cello and a mysterious sealed box. A psychic vampire (an "egregore") intends to use the cello and a magical musical composition to steal another soul. Can Dupin and his faithful companion unravel the puzzle in time to save the Comte?

The Shoggoths "They had been so horrible before that I dare not say that they were any MORE horrible when they came again.... They were still unspeakable, still unthinkable—but whether I could speak or think of them or not, they were HERE." Auguste Dupin is one of the few persons who can identify the rare Cthulhu Encryption etched in the flesh of a dying woman. The Comte de Saint-Germain owns a companion cryptogram that he believes is the key to finding a fabulous treasure buried by the pirate Levasseur. Harassed by Shoggoths and tracked by Saint-Germain, Dupin must find the key to the complex puzzle. Can the might of Cthulhu be held at bay? And even if he finds an answer, can he and his friends escape with their lives? A riveting horror novel.