THE PALE BLUE EYE

Investigator Gus Landor tells how in 1831 he investigated a ghastly murder with ritual overtones at West Point, enlisting the aid of an eccentric young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe. Unlike Landor, the listener knows that the dissolute alcoholic youth will one day invent the detective story. Therein lies the central intrigue of this novel, the reason you'd buy or rent this title. What keeps you listening is the nuanced, imaginative performance of Charles Leggett. He makes you forgive his hit-or-miss Southern accent and the author's anachronisms by virtue of his total immersion in the material, which he keeps fresh and surprising. Leggett has the potential to mature into a master narrator. Y.R. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 06]