In The Pale Blue Eye, Augustus Landor, formerly of the New York City police force, is living near West Point, when he’s called in to investigate the death of a cadet. Having strangled to death, the cadet’s heart was later removed. Landor soon comes across a young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe (he would only have been about 20 or 21 in 1830, the year this novel takes place), and enlists him to assist in the investigation. The two men find a complicated group of suspects, which leads them to believe that a satanic cult is involved.So often, inserting a real historical person into fiction can be a recipe for disaster. Not so in this book. Bayard’s Poe is real, likeable, and convincing. He even gets some say in the narrative himself; which although I thought was a nice touch, got a little too sentimental and ho-hum when Poe began to talk about his feelings for a suspect’s sister. The ending of the novel is more than slightly bizarre, but nonetheless, this book is wonderful psychological suspense—especially since nobody is above suspicion, even Poe. Although I preferred The Black Tower, The Pale Blue Eye was an extremely likeable novel. Louis Bayard is one terrific writer.
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