The Pale Blue Eye: A Novel (edit title)

• Rated 4 stars

“Let me preface this by saying that I'm not an avid reader of mystery novels in their pure "detective" form. I've read most of Sherlock Holmes. I've also read numerous "juvenile" mysteries over time (Hardy Boys and the like). I've also read numerous short stories including the "first" detective story, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by E.A.Poe.

That said, I'm a big fan of a good mystery that really puzzles and gets you pondering. I've also always been a good fan of Poe and the themes and tones in his stories. So, on reading the "back of the book" blurb for "The Pale Blue Eye", I knew I had to read it.

Writing Style

The writing style in this book was phenomenal. Many will claim that it's too wordy and over the top, but I personally felt it was a fairly good homage to early 19th century literature and to the literature of Poe. The language used was well crafted and flowed wonderfully. Even at the moments when the pacing was slow and the text dragged a bit, there were intriguing turns of phrase that gave me a grin.

The flowery verbosity of Poe was humorous at times and felt a little too constructed at moments. This is, after all, an earlier version of the Poe with which we are all familiar and while it's true that much of his style may have remained unchanged, there were bits that left him seeming aged beyond his years. Granted, this was possibly intended since the many trials of Poe's life did create the pensive and morbid Poe responsible for the writings we have today...and who's to say that he wasn't already deeply entrenched in that persona during his time at West Point.

Characterization

As I mentioned, the Poe character felt perhaps a bit too stylized and pat, but generally speaking I found him to be a very full and intriguing character. Distancing him from the historical Poe and just using him as a fictional character, he stands on his own. His main inconsistency seemed to be the struggle between the morbid, brooding Poe and the head-over-heels-in-love Poe. These character traits didn't reconcile well within him and left me a little disconcerted.

Although I do have some complaints about the Landor character, I'll to address later (hopefully without spoiling the ending too much). His character has had a troubled life as well and that angst carries over into his mannerisms and dialogue. I rather enjoyed Landor's character and had a lot of fun being inside his head for most of the novel. I would really enjoy seeing perhaps a spin off series outlining some of his New York cases (although that would put him pre-troubles, so he might not be as interesting)

Many of the other characters were less full but they weren't quite flat. The West Point faculty and cadets that we interact with were each imbued with their own personalities, though sometimes these overlapped more than I would have liked. I often found myself confused between Hitchcock and Thayer, for example. Doctor Marquis and his family were also well crafted but felt a little hollow behind the facade. Patsy was another intriguing character who I felt was actually better crafted than some of the other primary players despite her character being relatively minor.

Still, I was very impressed with the characterization work done in this novel and applaud Bayard his efforts in fleshing out a full cast of characters.

Story/Plot/Pacing

My wife Lynette is a more avid mystery reader than me, so I'm eager to get her perspective on this. But with my level of mystery reading and my enjoyment of 18th and 19th century literature left me thoroughly enjoying the story line and having a lot of fun with the way it played out.

The pacing was slowed down perhaps a little too often by overreaching internal monologue. The pace definitely picks up as you near the end of the story...so much so that the last hundred pages raced by. The speed of the last section of the book was almost too fast when compared with the rest of the novel.

As with any mystery novel, I was playing along with the detective and trying to solve the crime before he did. Bayard appropriately threw out plenty of red herrings and extraneous details to muddle the waters, but he also kept the primary suspects in the forefront and made sure the reader was aware of them. While I had made the appropriate jumps and deduced the criminal before Landor explicitly acknowledged his theories (and was put in imminent danger in their vicinity), I felt a little obtuse for "figuring things out" only slightly before Landor revealed his findings.

And now for the potential [span style="font-style:italic;"]SPOILER[/span]. I'll try to keep it spoiler free while also voicing my annoyance.

I really enjoy twists and turns in a novel, especially a mystery novel. It's great fun to be proven wrong. However, the degree with which this novel twisted was a little too extreme. Let's just say that in the climatic confrontation with the murderer, my eyes kept drifting to the page number and wondering why there were still 30-40 pages left in the book even though everything was about to wrap up.

I thought that perhaps the author would just become more verbose and would spend 30 pages rambling through the resolutions with minor characters.

I was very wrong. While there was a degree of "resolution" to be had, that wasn't the reason the novel was over. The novel continued so the author could raise the curtain on another aspect to the mystery that hadn't even been hinted throughout the novel. Our expert narrator Landor had obscured from the reader every possible key point that could have allowed a reader to guess at the "true" ending of the book.

I really enjoyed the conclusion and found the capstone to the story to be an intriguing and fun ending. What I didn't like was the feeling that I had been so painstakingly manipulated by the author & narrator. As one of my creative writing professors mentioned when talking about the mystery genre: "The reader wants to feel as smart or smarter than the detective. If the reader feels stupid or duped, s/he won't leave happy." I still left happy...but I left feeling a little cheated.

Overall

I would heartily recommend this book to any fan of a good mystery or of late romantic or gothic era literature from the 18th and 19th centuries. The descriptions and characterizations are exquisitely presented through wonderful use of language. The intrigue and details of the mystery are very entertaining and engrossing and make for an immersive read. My one caution would be to those of a more squeemish nature. The climactic confrontation scene is a bit gruesome. I physically shuddered at one of the descriptions. It wasn't much more gruesome than something from a prime time CSI or Law & Order show, but it was definitely a bit over the top considering the rest of the novel.

Still, if you're a fan of Poe, mysteries, or early American literature, I think you'll enjoy this dark mystery.

****

4 stars
”

• Rated 4 stars

“Great plot, great characters, and twists till the end. Very enjoyable read.”

• Rated 3 stars

“A terrific little mystery set at West Point in the 1830's during the brPointief time in which Edgar Allan Poe was a cadet there. Augustus Landor, a retired constable, has been engaged by the West Point authorities to investstigate a murder/mutilation of one of the cadets. Landor surprisingly enlists the help of Poe. Very complex mystery with surprising denouement left to the very last page.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Well crafted story featuring West Point and Edgar Allen Poe.”

• Rated 5 stars

“In October 1830, officials at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., discover the hanged body of a cadet. Hours later, after the cadet’s body has been moved to an ice house for storage until burial, they make an even more shocking discovery: The cadet’s heart has been stolen, carved out of his body. Enter Gus Landor, a New York City constable who has retired to the nearby Hudson River town of Buttermilk Falls. Based on Gus’ legendary reputation for code breaking, riot control, and “the gloveless interrogation,” the Academy’s commander enlists his help in solving the crime and saving the reputation of the school, which at less than 30 years old “had not earned the distinction of permanence.” As Gus begins his investigation, hampered by the Academy’s many rules about his access to the campus and the cadets, he meets Cadet Fourth Classman Poe … Edgar Allan Poe. Gus observes that “nothing about him was quite right. Or would ever be.” Poe makes a proposal about the culprit’s identity: “To remove a man’s heart is to traffic in symbol. Who better equipped for such labor than a poet?” And after several of Poe’s suggestions prove helpful, Gus receives permission for him to serve as his assistant, giving Gus an insider’s perspective on the Academy. In Gus and Poe, Bayard has drawn a compelling and likable “odd couple” with distinctly different voices. As the narrator, Gus creates a disarming, intimate tone, addressing us throughout as Reader. Much like Peter Falk’s Columbo character, Gus uses his Everyman demeanor, feigned ignorance, self-deprecation, and keen powers of observation to put his interview subjects at ease and elicit telling details about the case. Poe, on the other hand, is a bombastic, poetry-spouting, French-translating nerd with a wildly sophisticated vocabulary that makes him social poison … sort of a West Point version of Steve Urkel. After asking Poe a question, Gus notes, “No simple yeses or nos with him. Everything had to be freighted down with allusions, appeals to authority.” Poe’s many written reports to Gus, which appear as chapters in the book, are delightfully overwrought. In one, for example, a simple smile becomes “dentate effluence.” The plot contains many twists and turns, including additional deaths, missing hearts, failed romances, and quite literal cliff-hangers. The possible suspects are numerous too, including at some points Gus and Poe themselves. The final 100 pages are so suspenseful that I read nonstop. The mysteries continued to unravel until the very last page, with Poe and poetry ultimately holding the key to the solution. Bayard masterfully combines character, plot, and language to create a spellbinding story that will appeal to fans of mystery, suspense, thrillers, historical fiction, and of course Edgar Allan Poe. ”

• Rated 0 stars

“old fashioned detective story reminded me of The Alienist. Plus you get accurate descriptions of old New York”

• Rated 4 stars

“One of my favorite historical novels with Edgar Alan Poe as the subject character.”

• Rated 2 stars

“I expected more from this book. It started off really well - only to flounder and really struggle at the end.”

• Rated 5 stars

“The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard is the finest book I've read using Edgar Allen Poe as a fictional character, and one of the better suspense stories I've ever read. Gus Landor is a former NYC detective living a quiet life in the Hudson Valley when the heads of West Point approach him to investigate the mysterious death of a cadet, along with the removal of his heart. The academy has just opened and has multiple detractors ready to bring it down in 1830, so they want the detective to work quietly and quickly. Landor quickly recruits Cadet Poe (who really did attend West Point) to aid in his search for the truth. But then another cadet dies and his heart is taken too. Bayard gives a terrific characterization of both Landor and Poe using historical documents to back up Poe's habits. Eventually Landor suspects Poe of involvement, and the conversations between the two are electric. Ultimately there is a major twist that I won't give away, but Bayard carries it off with skill and writes an ending that will haunt long after you've put down the book.”