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by: Louis Bayard  List Price: $14.95 Amazon.com's Price: $10.17 You Save: $4.78 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 813 EAN: 9780060733988 ISBN: 0060733985 Label: Harper Perennial Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 448 Publication Date: June 01, 2007 Publisher: Harper Perennial Release Date: June 12, 2007 Studio: Harper Perennial Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: 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. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Preposterous, but funIf this book becomes a movie, Tom Wilkinson would be great as the semi-retired investigator who is assisted by Edgar Allan Poe in solving a series of murders at West Point. Those more knowledgeable about Poe and his tales will probably find many allusions that escaped me, and I'm not really sure I followed all of the plot's twists and turns, but I was entertained. Rating: - Oh, how I wanted to like this book...I just finished M. Bayard's "The Black Tower" recently and loved it. I mean, I really LOVED it. So I picked this up from the library this week. And up until the second-last chapter, I did love it! But the last chapter ruined it for me. I won't put any spoilers but there was a completely unnecessary plot twist. Bah. Unfortunately it distressed me to the point where I must take off two stars for it. I read it straight through, staying up much later than usual to finish it, but, I feel very ... Read More Rating: - A literary snack with some substanceIt's summer. When I'm looking for books to read in the summer - I'm looking for something that will suck me in, grab my attention during a lazy, sunny afternoon and yet not ask too much of me. And yet, I've moved past the days of my twenties where I could grab the latest mass market paperback from the grocery story and enjoy a story that's been written a million times in a way guaranteed not to provoke a single thought. So...a murder mystery involving Edgar Allen Poe seemed a perfect ... Read More Rating: - THE PALE BLUE EYEWell written, well plotted (make sure you read to the very end before deciding the full mystery has been explained), and I give it points for taking very seriously an often-overlooked Poe piece that on its surface seems more like an essay than a tale or short story. I'm probably a little understated, some might even say stingy, on assigning stars -- have even been accused of writing a bad review when I thought I'd written a very favorable one. But that's just my way. As an aficionado of mysteries ... Read More Rating:  - Riveting!This novel is unique, enthralling, and just well-written. It's written in first-person point of view, which is always my favorite. The characters are well-developed and the plot tightly constructed. Once I started this, I could not put it down. The style of writing is like the 19th century (which is brilliant since that's when the novel is set), so if you're not used to that style, you may be put off a bit in the beginning. But take my word for it: If you just keep reading, you'll be hooked. 
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