The Blunderer
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| The Blunderer | |
|---|---|
 1st UK edition |
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| Author | Patricia Highsmith |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Suspense |
| Publisher | Coward McCann |
| Publication date | 1954 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 288 pp |
| ISBN | 0-393-32244-0 |
| OCLC Number | 48053872 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 21 |
| LC Classification | PS3558.I366 B58 2001 |
The Blunderer (1954) is a psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith.
The Blunderer was Highsmith's second book, written in between Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr Ripley.
[edit] Synopsis
For years, mild mannered lawyer Walter Stackhouse has suffered as a result of his neurotic, unstable wife Clara, whose constant alienation of all his friends, coupled with her penchant for overly dramatic gestures, has slowly driven him to hate her. After he becomes infatuated with the sweet and sensuous music teacher Ellie Briess, Clara jealously attempts suicide via an overdose, forcing him into her arms once again. However, he eventually stands his ground and demands a divorce. When Clara subsequently turns up dead, having fallen off a cliff during a bus trip to see her dying mother, Walter finds himself blundering around in the dark as the official investigation ensues. He admits that he stalked her bus in his car, whilst daydreaming about the possibility of killing her at the first stop, just as Melchior J. Kimmel, a 40-year-old bookshop manager, murdered his own domineering partner Helen, an unsolved crime that Walter had read of in the paper and grown fascinated by.
Both men soon encounter the formidable, possibly psychotic Lieutenant Lawrence Corby, a police officer with savage ambition who is convinced of their guilt and believes that they are somehow in cahoots with one another. He soon begins encroaching on his suspects' lives, sowing the seeds of doubt into the minds of those they care for and even ferociously assaulting Kimmel.
[edit] References
- 2001, The Blunderer, W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN 0-393-32244-0
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