The Pale Blue Eye - by Louis Bayard (Paperback)

About the Book

In this ingenious tale of murder and revenge at West Point, a retired New York City detective recruits a young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe to help him narrow down the suspects, even as they deal with their own personal demons.

Book Synopsis

Now a Netflix film starring Christian Bale, Harry Melling, and Gillian Anderson

"Shockingly clever and devoutly unsentimental . . . reads like a lost classic. Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction." -- New York Times Book Review

An ingenious tale of murder and revenge at West Point, featuring a retired detective and a young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe--from the author of Courting Mr. Lincoln.

At West Point Academy in 1830, the calm of an October evening is shattered by the discovery of a young cadet's body swinging from a rope. The next morning, an even greater horror comes to light. Someone has removed the dead man's heart.

Augustus Landor--who acquired some renown in his years as a New York City police detective--is called in to discreetly investigate. It's a baffling case Landor must pursue in secret, for the scandal could do irreparable damage to the fledgling institution. But he finds help from an unexpected ally--a moody, young cadet with a penchant for drink, two volumes of poetry to his name, and a murky past that changes from telling to telling.

The strange and haunted Southern poet, for whom Landor develops a fatherly affection, is named Edgar Allan Poe.

From the Back Cover

At West Point Academy in 1830, the calm of an October evening is shattered by the discovery of a young cadet's body swinging from a rope. The next morning, an even greater horror comes to light. Someone has removed the dead man's heart. Augustus Landor--who acquired some renown in his years as a New York City police detective--is called in to discreetly investigate. It's a baffling case Landor must pursue in secret, for the scandal could do irreparable damage to the fledgling institution. But he finds help from an unexpected ally--a moody, young cadet with a penchant for drink, two volumes of poetry to his name, and a murky past that changes from telling to telling. The strange and haunted Southern poet for whom Landor develops a fatherly affection, is named Edgar Allan Poe.

Review Quotes

"Worthy of...high praise." - Bookreporter.com
"Poe, an exacting critic...would have been impressed by Bayard's intelligence and fluidity as a writer." - Oregonian
"Brilliantly plotted and completely absorbing, ending with the kind of shock that few novelists are able to deliver." - Sunday Times (London)
"A superb, lyrically written yarn. Deft and delicious." - Providence Journal
"Well-wrought and suspenseful." - Buffalo News
"Shockingly clever and devoutly unsentimental...reads like a lost classic. Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction." - New York Times Book Review
"Poe himself walks and talks so convincingly throughout the pages of this novel." - Washington Post
"Gruesomely entertaining." - New York Times
"Ingenious...with a rich knowledge of Poe's life and work." - Entertainment Weekly
"A rich and finely wrought psychological study that is a fitting tribute to Poe himself." - The Straits Times (Singapore)
"Recommended. This novel is moody and rich in historic detail." - Tucson Citizen
"An uncanny and original portrait. Captures the imagination with exquisite details and a compelling, disquieting story." - Denver Rocky Mountain News
"Full of delightfully unexpected twists that continue to the very last pages of the novel." - Denver Post
"Gracefully written...Bayard's prose flows like silk, weightless but enveloping, and never shows its seams. - Salon.com
"What makes this more than a well-crafted thriller...is Bayard's gift for language. He paints incredibly vivid pictures." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Bayard has produced a nuanced, wonderfully written tale, one worthy of the old master himself." - Baltimore Sun
"Finely executed prose...An exquisitely rendered character study, imaginatively gothic, compelling." - Memphis Commercial Appeal
"This book has it all--prose, plot and a terrifying conclusion...it will have you guessing to the very end." - Hamilton Spectator (Canada)
"Seemlessly blends Poe into an engrossing whodunit worthy of its inspiration. " - USA Today
"Exquisitely rendered character study, imaginatively Gothic, compelling." - Miami Herald
"Another literary tour de force....At novel's end, the reader may want to start again from the beginning." - Kirkus Reviews (Starred)
"Skillful...lyrical...Moves methodically to the suspects, the motives, and the clues that twist and turn like the Hudson itself." - Library Journal
"(A) tour-de-force...intense and gripping ...(a) beautifully crafted thriller " - Publishers Weekly (starred review)