"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe follows C. Auguste Dupin, a brilliant amateur detective, who investigates the brutal murder of two women locked inside a Paris apartment. Witnesses hear voices in conflicting languages, and the sealed room baffles police, who arrest an innocent suspect. Using his extraordinary powers of ratiocination—analytical reasoning—Dupin examines overlooked clues and determines that the killer is not human at all, but an escaped orangutan belonging to a sailor. Widely regarded as the first modern detective story, the tale established foundational conventions of the genre, from the eccentric genius sleuth to the admiring narrator companion.
