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.