''Flying Blind'' is a

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

novel by American writer

Max Allan Collins Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic novels. His work has been published in several formats and his ''Road to Perdition'' series was the basis for a film of the same name. He wrote the '' Di ...

that was first published in 1999. The book was part of Collins's ongoing series of novels featuring

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Nathan Heller. In the Heller series, the lead character is frequently featured interacting with historical figures of the 1930s and 1940. In ''Flying Blind'', set in the mid-1930s, Heller is hired by book publisher and publicist George P. Putnam to act as a bodyguard for his wife, strong-willed celebrity

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

, and at the same time investigate who might be sending her threatening letters. Heller is initially reluctant to act as a "babysitter" and he and Earhart have a rocky relationship at first, but eventually their relationship progresses to the point where they become lovers. (This reflects historic evidence that in real life Earhart asked Putnam for an

open marriage Open marriage is a form of non-monogamy in which the partners of a dyadic marriage agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded by them as infidelity, and consider or establish an open relation ...

). Before Heller is able to solve the case, Earhart leaves on her ill-fated attempt to fly around the world and disappears. The book picks up again several years later when Heller learns that Earhart is being held captive by the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese (which in reality is often suggested in speculations about her ultimate fate). Heller then attempts to rescue her from her prison.

The Putnam connection

In ''Flying Blind'', Collins does not paint a positive picture of George P. Putnam. Ironically,

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publishe ...

, the first American publishers of the book, is affiliated with

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

, the publishing firm established George P.'s grandfather. The back cover of the 1999 Signet Books edition (Signet being an NAL

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

) includes the

URL A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identifie ...

"www.penguinputnam.com" but although Earhart's husband is described on the cover

blurb A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dust jacket of a book, and are now also fou ...

as "publicity-hungry", he is never identified by name. 1999 novels Historical mystery novels Novels set in the 1930s Aviation novels Cultural depictions of Amelia Earhart Signet Books books {{1990s-mystery-novel-stub