Just finished a re-read of "Murders in the Rue Morgue." A few things struck me.
One, the story starts with an extended preamble in which Poe talks in general terms about human psychology and behavior. Several pages of it, none of it necessary to the story. It would never make it past an editor today.
Two, this guy pre-invented Sherlock Holmes. It was so striking I had to do some research, and sure enough there a numerous essays on exactly this. I read this story when I was a kid so of course had no clue then, but it was un-missable. The tone, the method, even the presentation of the detection, was very much Holmes. If you, like me, have not read the story in a long time, try re-visiting it. But skim that long first section; it really is not needed.
Three, underneath the cleverness and the formality of the prose, there's some unblinking gruesomeness. There are a couple of points where I was brought up short. Deft work, for something from so long ago.