“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