Blindsighted by J.L. Hillam introduces us to 38-year-old Joe Wills, a Houston detective who works in the “Cold Case Squad.”  Cold cases are cases which have never been solved, and his daughter’s brutal murder over a decade before is among them.  Originally a Houston homicide detective, the loss of his daughter greatly affected him and led to a “major meltdown,” which included a transfer to the cold case squad with a slower pace and more regular hours.  

      As the story begins, Wills continues to be haunted by his daughter Ariel’s death and her killer who has never been apprehended.  His loss helps him take personal interest in other cold cases too, particularly closely empathizing with the victim’s parents.  As a top notch investigator, he is also always anxious to discover new clues and evidence that will help him reopen investigations.  

     One day, Wills receives a tip from the father of a cold case victim, Elizabeth Arlene Allen.  Elizabeth’s father discovered and purchased a macabre painting at an auction which mysteriously resembles Elizabeth’s death and the crime scene photos of her brutal murder.  Using information about the painting, Wills discovers it was painted by an unusually gifted and well-known blind artist in Atlanta.  Wills is paired up with a police psychometrist named Virginia Assyr, and the two, at first reluctantly, team up and travel to Atlanta in search of more clues.  As they investigate the unusual painting which links the blind artist to the brutal slaying of the young girl, their investigation takes unexpected twists and turns.  Frustrating the Atlanta Police Department who are also trying to investigate the crime, Wills is surprised by the cases similarities to his own daughter’s murder.  Will Wills be able to solve the mystery of the blind artist and his macabre paintings of murder victims and their crime scenes?  Will he be able to catch the killer, bringing closure to the Elizabeth’s cold case and to his own personal torment?