The Pale Blue Eye
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1.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
Soon to be 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
“Seamlessly blends Poe into an engrossing whodunit worthy of its inspiration.” — USA Today
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.
When the body of a suicide victim disappears at West Point Military Academy in 1831, only to be discovered hours later missing its heart, the Academy calls on retired detective Gus Landor to investigate. Landor is something of a legend among his peers, noted for an uncanny, Holmesian ability to read people. When Edgar Allan Poe, a new cadet, comes forth with his own cryptic conclusion—that the man Landor is looking for is a poet—Landor is intrigued and enlists Poe as his assistant. Working together, Landor and Poe narrow down the suspects, all the while dealing with their own personal demons.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In this imaginative historical mystery, a detective pairs up with a young man destined to become one of America’s greatest writers. It’s 1830, and Gus Landor is a hard-drinking former New York police constable investigating a grisly crime committed at West Point, where a cadet appears to have hung himself, only to have his heart torn from his body later. Imagining that this violent act might have hidden meaning, Landor teams up with another West Point cadet by the name of Edgar Allan Poe. Author Louis Bayard has a blast imagining Landor’s astonishment as he discovers Poe’s brilliant and poetic mind. Actor Charles Leggett’s superb narration gives each character just the right personality (and accent to match)—and he nails the story’s humor. If you love history, literature, crime stories, or all three, dive right in.
