The Blunderer
Published in 1954 and 1985, respectively, this duo offer more of  Highsmith's signature characters in plots where fairly ordinary  people perform extraordinary acts of brutality. The Blunderer  finds protagonist Walter Stackhouse, who fantasizes about  knocking off his wife, in hot water with the cops after the Mrs.  ends up at the bottom of a cliff. When Richard Alderman becomes  a born-again Christian in People Who Knock on Doors, his family  is shattered, leading to a violent outcome.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.