This week I read another excellent recommendation from a daughter, The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard. It is a historical murder mystery centering around West Point in 1831. Retired New York constable Gus Landor has relocated to the Highlands for his failing health. He is called upon to solve a gruesome murder at West Point Academy, but he needs help from an insider. One presents himself--Cadet Poe, that would be Edgar Allen Poe. I gave this book five stars on Goodreads because it is a masterful mystery. It captures the language and metaphors of the time. When Poe speaks or writes, it is with florid expressions and exactingly careful word choices that feel like his writing. I haven't read anything else by Bayard, but I'm curious if this is his imitation of Poe's voice or an extension of his own. Did he say to chatGPT, create a mystery in the voice of Edgar Allen Poe narrated by a grizzled former police officer set in 1831? I don't think so because it has an original voice and plot. It is dark, suspenseful, and gothically creepy. I admire what Bayard has crafted. I'm not alone. This novel won the Edgar Award in 2007.
I think the book revolves around themes of death, revenge, poetry, and melodrama. It can be weighted down by its own words at times, but it has a rousing finish.
🖌️📚🔵👀🔍
Emily Hendry's newest story Happy Place sounded appealing. I had read one of her previous books, Book Lovers (https://barbpruittwrites.blogspot.com/search?q=Book+Lovers), and enjoyed it. Happy Place was disappointing. I found the characters uninspired. It starts with three college roommates, Harriet, Sidney, and Samatha, who bonded over their childhood hurts. From this inner circle, it grows to include their significant others who vacation yearly at a beach house in Maine. The house is being sold. They have spent a decade vacationing together, but this is their final summer. Everyone has secrets they're not telling, especially Harriet and her ex-financé, Wyn. They haven't told their best friends they've broken up. To make this final week perfect for everyone--but them--they decide to keep their split a secret and "act" like they're still together. Henry works hard on the atmosphere of Knott's Harbor, Maine, but the characters never animate, and the premise falls flat. There are some steamy encounters between Harriet and Wyn, but it feels gratuitous without the connection to back it up.
☀️🌊⛱️ 💔❤️🩹❤️
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