Jess Walter's widely acclaimed debut thriller, Over Tumbled Graves, matched a genre-bending plot with exceptional intelligence and human insight. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, it was praised in the Washington Post Book World as a work of "tremendous emotional impact," and James Patterson wrote that Walter had "just about lapped the field with his superior first novel."

Now Walter returns to up the ante once again. Land of the Blind brings back Spokane police detective Caroline Mabry — and pits her in a battle of wits against a mysterious, yet oddly familiar figure who appears one Friday night, seeming disoriented and wearing an eye patch. He has a confession to make, the man announces, but he insists on writing it out — and it may take a while.

Nineteen hours later — with the stranger still writing — Caroline finds herself scrambling 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.

The result is a novel of rich characterization and riveting suspense: by turns haunting and witty, but always compelling, Land of the Blind is that rare thing — a suspense novel that is genuinely original.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

Jess Walter is the author of the novel Over Tumbled Graves and coauthor of Christopher Darden's bestselling account of the O. J. Simpson trial, In Contempt. He has won national recognition for his reporting and writing, and his coverage of the Randy Weaver case helped the Spokane Spokesman-Review earn a Pulitzer Prize nomination. Walter lives in Spokane with his family.