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Overview
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.
Synopsis
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.
The New York Times - Ada Calhoun
Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction, rendering the 19th century as if he'd witnessed it firsthand. He employs words like "caoutchouc," "meerschaums" and "anapestic" as fluently as he uses Gothic tropes. Landor is attacked in the dark woods and in a dark closet. Messengers drive phaetons. There's black magic, phrenology, a profusion of ghosts, even a boat trip through torch-lit mist. But none of it seems musty. Bayard does what all those ads for historical tourist destinations promise: as Landor says at death's door, "the past comes on with all the force of the present."
Editorials
The Straits Times (Singapore)
"A rich and finely wrought psychological study that is a fitting tribute to Poe himself."Hamilton Spectator (Canada)
"This book has it all—prose, plot and a terrifying conclusion...it will have you guessing to the very end."Denver Rocky Mountain News
"An uncanny and original portrait. Captures the imagination with exquisite details and a compelling, disquieting story."Oregonian
"Poe, an exacting critic...would have been impressed by Bayard’s intelligence and fluidity as a writer."USA Today
"Seemlessly blends Poe into an engrossing whodunit worthy of its inspiration. "Providence Journal
"A superb, lyrically written yarn. Deft and delicious."Tucson Citizen
"Recommended. This novel is moody and rich in historic detail."Sunday Times (London)
"Brilliantly plotted and completely absorbing, ending with the kind of shock that few novelists are able to deliver."Buffalo News
"Well-wrought and suspenseful."Entertainment Weekly
"Ingenious...with a rich knowledge of Poe’s life and work."Salon.com
"Gracefully written...Bayard’s prose flows like silk, weightless but enveloping, and never shows its seams.New York Times Book Review
"Shockingly clever and devoutly unsentimental...reads like a lost classic. Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction."New York Times
"Gruesomely entertaining."Bookreporter.com
"Worthy of...high praise."Memphis Commercial Appeal
"Finely executed prose…An exquisitely rendered character study, imaginatively gothic, compelling."Denver Post
"Full of delightfully unexpected twists that continue to the very last pages of the novel."Baltimore Sun
"Bayard has produced a nuanced, wonderfully written tale, one worthy of the old master himself."Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"What makes this more than a well-crafted thriller…is Bayard’s gift for language. He paints incredibly vivid pictures."Miami Herald
"Exquisitely rendered character study, imaginatively Gothic, compelling."Ada Calhoun
Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction, rendering the 19th century as if he'd witnessed it firsthand. He employs words like "caoutchouc," "meerschaums" and "anapestic" as fluently as he uses Gothic tropes. Landor is attacked in the dark woods and in a dark closet. Messengers drive phaetons. There's black magic, phrenology, a profusion of ghosts, even a boat trip through torch-lit mist. But none of it seems musty. Bayard does what all those ads for historical tourist destinations promise: as Landor says at death's door, "the past comes on with all the force of the present."— The New York Times