The Pale Blue Eye - Tapa blanda

'Hardback fiction worth looking out for' -- Publishing News 20051111 'A most satisfying murder mystery' -- Bookseller 24 Feb 20051111 "In THE PALE BLUE EYE, Louis Bayard pays a stunning and fitting tribute to Edgar Allan Poe -- not only in his crafting of a twisty, Gothic mystery that would have delighted the master himself, but in his use of a young Poe as a character. A gorgeous, melancholic tale from a fearless writer. I can't wait to see what Bayard does next." -- Laura Lippman, author of To the Power of Three 'A Dickensian thriller strong on atmosphere' -- Sunday Telegraph "Louis Bayard is a writer of remarkable gifts: for language, for imagination, for that mysterious admixture of audacity and craftsmanship that signals a major talent in the making." -- Joyce Carol Oates 'A tour de force, an intense and gripping novel ! This beautifully crafted thriller stands head and shoulders about other recent attempts to fictionalise Poe' -- Publishers Weekly 20060424 'A fictional mystery in a real historical background' -- Sunday Telegraph 20060528 'The Pale Blue Eye kept me transfixed! a moody, cunning mystery ! In the course of the narrative, Bayard ingeniously weaves in motifs from Poe's work to thrilling effect' -- Observer/Review:Peter Gutteridge 20060618 'An immensely satisfying whodunit, richly imaginative! Good, clean homicidal fun.' -- The Times: Kate Saunders 20060617 'Bayard's shockingly clever and devoutly unsentimental new mystery reads like a lost classic ... Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction, rendering the 19th century as if he'd witnessed it firsthand' -- New York Times Book Review 20060701 'As gory and melodramatic as Poe's own writing! brilliantly plotted and completely absorbing, ending with the kind of shock that few novelists are able to deliver.' -- Sunday Times / Culture 20060709 'Dazzling' -- Scotsman 20060624 'Pearl's clever factional-fictional story fits together perfectly' -- Saga 20060624

'April 19th, 1831. In two or three hours I'll be dead.' So begins the chilling last testament of Gus Landor, a retired New York City police constable, whose numerous talents include code-breaking, riot control and the 'gloveless interrogation'. A young cadet has been found hanged at a military academy on the shores of the Hudson River. Before his body could be buried, however, it was stolen and his heart brutally carved out. Fearing a scandal, the top brass at West Point have summoned Landor to help catch the culprit, and keep his discoveries away from prying eyes. As Landor embarks on a thrilling adventure to solve the case, he uncovers a series of dark secrets and finds unlikely assistance in the form of a mischievous young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe.THE PALE BLUE EYE is a brilliantly atmospheric historical mystery, full of drama and unexpected twists. From the events of one seemingly ordinary afternoon, Louis Bayard conjures a tale as haunting as it is entertaining.