Jess Walter's widely acclaimed first novel, Over Tumbled Graves, paired the plot of a first-rate thriller with writing of exceptional intelligence and human insight. Now, in Land of the Blind, Walter brings back police detective Caroline Mabry and pits her in a battle of wits against a mysterious yet oddly familiar figure who is dragged into her precinct house one Friday night, seeming disoriented and wearing an eye patch.</p>

"I'd like to confess, he says. But he insists on writing out his confession in longhand. And, he warns her, it may take a while.</p>

Over the next forty-eight hours, the stranger admits to far more than a crime. He confesses an entire life: a wry and haunting tale of poverty and politics, of obsession and revenge. And as he writes, Caroline pushes herself to near collapse, racing against the clock to investigate not merely a murder but the story of two men's darkly intertwined lives ... and to find the body that awaits her, somewhere in the city.</p>

The result is a novel that blends suspense with rich characterization and irresistible storytelling, one that speaks deeply to the bonds and compromises we make as children -- and the fatal errors we can make at any moment in our lives.</p>