About the Book

Now a Netflix film starring Christian Bale, Harry Melling, and Gillian Anderson

“Shockingly clever and devoutly unsentimental . . . reads like a lost classic. Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction.” — New York Times Book Review

An ingenious tale of murder and revenge at West Point, featuring a retired detective and a young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe—from the author of Courting Mr. Lincoln.

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.

Critical Praise

“Shockingly clever and devoutly unsentimental...reads like a lost classic. Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction.” — New York Times Book Review

“Another literary tour de force.…At novel’s end, the reader may want to start again from the beginning.” — Kirkus Reviews (Starred)

“(A) tour-de-force…intense and gripping …(a) beautifully crafted thriller ” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Ingenious...with a rich knowledge of Poe’s life and work.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Seemlessly blends Poe into an engrossing whodunit worthy of its inspiration. ” — USA Today

“Exquisitely rendered character study, imaginatively Gothic, compelling.” — Miami Herald

“Gracefully written...Bayard’s prose flows like silk, weightless but enveloping, and never shows its seams. — Salon.com

“Bayard has produced a nuanced, wonderfully written tale, one worthy of the old master himself.” — Baltimore Sun

“An uncanny and original portrait. Captures the imagination with exquisite details and a compelling, disquieting story.” — Denver Rocky Mountain News

“Gruesomely entertaining.” — New York Times

“Full of delightfully unexpected twists that continue to the very last pages of the novel.” — Denver Post

“Brilliantly plotted and completely absorbing, ending with the kind of shock that few novelists are able to deliver.” — Sunday Times (London)

“What makes this more than a well-crafted thriller…is Bayard’s gift for language. He paints incredibly vivid pictures.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Poe, an exacting critic...would have been impressed by Bayard’s intelligence and fluidity as a writer.” — Oregonian

“A superb, lyrically written yarn. Deft and delicious.” — Providence Journal

“Well-wrought and suspenseful.“ — Buffalo News

“Finely executed prose…An exquisitely rendered character study, imaginatively gothic, compelling.” — Memphis Commercial Appeal

“Skillful...lyrical...Moves methodically to the suspects, the motives, and the clues that twist and turn like the Hudson itself.” — Library Journal

“Worthy of...high praise.” — Bookreporter.com

“This book has it all--prose, plot and a terrifying conclusion...it will have you guessing to the very end.” — Hamilton Spectator (Canada)

“A rich and finely wrought psychological study that is a fitting tribute to Poe himself.” — The Straits Times (Singapore)

“Recommended. This novel is moody and rich in historic detail.” — Tucson Citizen

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Product Details

• ISBN: 9780061748912
• ISBN 10: 0061748919
• Imprint: HarperCollins e-books
• On Sale: 10/13/2009
• Pages: 448
• List Price: $14.99
• BISAC1 : FICTION / Historical
• BISAC2 : FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Historical
• BISAC3 : FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Private Investigators
• BISAC4 : FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Amateur Sleuth