The Blackest Bird: A Novel of Murder in Nineteenth-Century New York

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W. W. Norton & Company, Mar 17, 2008 - Fiction - 480 pages

"Irresistibly seductive…a masterpiece." —Anthony Bourdain

In the sweltering New York summer of 1841, five people are found brutally murdered. At the center of it all is High Constable Jacob Hays, the young city’s first detective and the novel’s "likeable, crusty narrator" (Time Out New York). His investigation spans years, involving gang wars, graverobbers, and clues hidden in poems by that hopeless romantic and minstrel of the night: Edgar Allan Poe.

The Blackest Bird is a gripping and atmospheric historical thriller of murder and deceit in nineteenth-century New York.

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About the author (2008)

Joel Rose is the author of Kill the Poor, Kill Kill Faster Faster, and New York Sawed in Half. He founded the literary magazine Between C&D and lives in New York City and on the Jersey shore.

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