Crime & Mystery
The Blunderer is Highsmith doing what she does best: making everything feel a bit off without raising her voice about it. Not a tidy crime novel, more a slow leak of dread. Very little sparkle, which is frankly the point.
Best for readers who like their mysteries to get under the skin rather than race to the finish. If you want neat answers and a cheerful little moral lesson, this is probably not your book.
Best for readers who like their mysteries to get under the skin rather than race to the finish. If you want neat answers and a cheerful little moral lesson, this is probably not your book.
That “bit off” quality is often what makes Highsmith stick, isn’t it. I’m usually more interested in that creeping unease than in a tidy puzzle, though I do like a mystery to leave me with at least one properly satisfying turn at the end. A book can be slippery without being vague, which is a nicer trick than it sounds.