Officially the first ever detective story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" laid down foundation, format and archetype for what would forever be imitated as the epitome of the detective. Dupin's investigations are told in articles written in the second-person perspective and the Sherlock Holmes similarities do not stop there. Dupin is meticulous in his detail but not in imagining the incredible but by working the ordinary into incredible detail. He also uses the powers of supposition and probability rather than limit himself to the cold hard facts as done by the inferior local law.
The only thing stopping this getting five star is the language, which eases as the reader is brought fully into the investigation, for it is stifling and hazardous at the outset. It may just be me being a cretin, or just a sign of changing times, but it felt prohibitive and served to shroud the details in literary clouds.
Still, a great case with a great man investigating it.
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