Local crime genre aficionado and award-winning screenplay author Percy Lallemang has launched his latest novel, In the Land of the Blind, which comes out on 22 January.

Lallemang describes the novel as a “crime or even psycho-thriller” set up as a hunt for a serial killer operating all over Europe, with a final showdown in Belval, Luxembourg.

As with many such crimes, the murders involve collecting mementoes from victims, and this killer has a special affinity for their eyes.

Inspiration struck after writing an epistolary short story, “written by a serial killer who’s feeling neglected by the authorities to a Europol investigator,” in which he described his many murders. The killer indicates a special package, containing the eyes of the investigator’s ex-wife, is currently on its way, and this sets off the hunt for the perpetrator.

“It was a sort of homage to the ending of (the movie) Seven, so I thought, why not take it from there and make it into something new and original?” explained Lallemange. The book includes a bonus short story, The Steel Road, set in 1980s Luxembourg.

The crime genre and Luxembourg

Lately, Lallemang has been dedicating his writing time mainly to the crime genre, citing his fascination with dark stories without happy endings and the psychology of twisted minds as the main draw. “I’m really interested in exploring the mind of someone who’s considered deranged by most people,” he said.

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“I also enjoyed writing out the whole investigation, the way it spreads across Europe and all the details that have to interlink,” he said. The author describes the trio of investigators as “quirky and a bit eccentric in their own way, “there’s also humour in the story.”

The novel is published via the website crime.lu, part of publisher Baobab Luxembourg. Operating since 2023, they have already published over thirty titles with an exclusive focus on crime fiction, and their mission includes featuring stories set in or wih a link to Luxembourg. As Lallemang observed, Luxembourg boasts a readership hungry for such stories and crime.lu have stepped in to fill that need.

In the Land of the Blind will be the first English-language novel published on the site, as their previous titles were all in German or French. Lallemang discovered the project by chance and decided to send in his manuscript; “to my delight, they immediately wanted to get in touch.”

If readers enjoy Jo Nesbo’s and Jean Christophe Grangé’s books, which the author names as his main inspirations, “they will definitely enjoy mine”.

How to get the book and meet the author

Intrigued? If so, you will have the chance to purchase the book and chat with the author at the Ernster: All English Bookstore in Luxembourg City on Saturday, 24 January, from 11:00 to 12:00. Lallemang will also attend a crime-night event at Trifolion in Echternach on 14 February, starting at 19:00.

The book is already available to pre-order on crime.lu, Ernster, and Amazon, and will be available in most Luxembourgish bookshops thereafter.