Book Review: The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard

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“There’s a bit of rot in all of us.”

📚

In October 1830, a cadet is found hanging from a West Point Academy tree, having presumably died by suicide. But when the corpse’s heart is cut out and stolen afterward, the Academy enlists retired former police detective Augustus Landor to solve the mystery and help the institution avoid damaging publicity. Reclusive widower Landor agrees, discovering an unexpected friend and wingman in a quirky, moody young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe. United by their intelligence, keen observation and reasoning skills, buried pasts, and fraught existences, the two develop a close bond as they dig into hidden worlds and macabre secrets. Can they catch the killer and come to terms with their own dire histories, and will they — and their friendship — survive to tell the tale?

The Pale Blue Eye is an absolute delight from start to finish, an odd yet entirely true descriptor for such a tragedy- and horror-filled novel. Landor’s narrative voice lends vital humor and levity, as does Poe, whose quirks and struggles often produce unintended hilarity. Simmering beneath, however, is intense grief and a darkness most acute and heartrending that steadily unfolds as the plotline progresses. Intermingled within are captivating chapters penned by Poe (his “reports” to Landor) that legitimately feel as though they capture the famed author’s essence and passion.

Louis Bayard’s writing is gripping, atmospheric, and cinematic, employing delicious gothic elements, cryptic mysteries, and suspenseful, terrifying moments that increase in intensity as the storyline builds to its breathtaking climax. The degree to which Landor and Poe’s relationship is developed is also moving and hugely satisfying, as, despite their age difference, each man finds much-needed solace and kinship in the other’s company.

And while the Netflix movie adaptation is outstanding, The Pale Blue Eye serves as a classic example of how much better the book (almost always) proves to be. Depth, detail, and reality are presented in a spellbinding manner that only the written word can manage, producing a spectacularly harrowing, utterly gutting, infinitely haunting, thoroughly unforgettable story tailor made for Poe enthusiasts and historical mystery/crime fans.

🖤Amanda

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