The Blunderer

by Patricia Highsmith

First published 1986

A woman's sudden death leaves two men under suspicion: Melchior Kimmel, who confesses to killing his wife, and Walter Stackhouse, whose wife's death eerily mirrors Kimmel's crime. As the police investigation closes in, Stackhouse finds himself trapped in a nightmare, with no way to prove his innocence. Caught in a web of circumstantial evidence and a detective's relentless pursuit, the two men must confront their own demons and the chilling possibility that one of them may be a ruthless murderer.

Genres: fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, detective, psychological-thriller

Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: cat-and-mouse, unreliable-narrator

289 pages · Paperback · Farrar Straus & Giroux

Content warnings: violence

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