John Katzenbach is arguably the master of the psychological
thriller. There is plenty of objective evidence for that
proposition: his novels have garnered two prestigious literary
awards, not to mention a couple of Edgar nominations and a passel
of movie adaptations. Each one of his works has been informed with
an intellectual, learned voice while being grounded in a plausible,
real-world foundation. The same --- and more --- can be said of THE
WRONG MAN, Katzenbach's newest and best novel.

There are a number of factors that contribute to making THE WRONG
MAN Katzenbach's most readable and accessible work to date, perfect
in nearly every way. The plot is strong, riveting and terrifying,
given its up close and personal manifestation of romantic
obsession. A young woman named Ashley Freeman momentarily becomes
involved with Michael O'Connell, a violent mass of contradictory
loose ends and crossed wires who at the same time is possessed with
a canny and savage intelligence. Ashley attempts to terminate the
relationship, which O'Connell will not tolerate; he continues to
pursue Ashley, both literally and figuratively.

Ashley's parents, divorced for several years and still struggling
with the issues that ended their own relationship, mean well but
are woefully ill-prepared to assist their daughter when she comes
to them for help. Scott Freeman is a college professor whose street
smarts do not extend much farther than the walls of his classroom.
Sally Freeman-Richards is an attorney toiling at the low end of a
divorce and real estate practice that requires little heavy
physical or intellectual lifting other than by rote. Sally's
relationship with Hope Frazier, her life partner, is fraying around
the edges for reasons that neither woman is able to articulate or
prevent. Sally's reliance on the rules and order of law is of
little use when dealing with O'Connell, who uses and skirts the
system with impunity. As Scott, Sally and Hope come together
uneasily to develop and execute an effective plan to deal with the
situation, they slowly begin to realize that the conventional order
of their respective lives will not provide them with a
solution.

The beauty of THE WRONG MAN, however, is not the implementation of
their plan, or even how well or badly it works. While those factors
would have been enough to create an engrossing story, what
ultimately drives this tale at lightning speed from page to page is
the quiet but electrifying interplay among the characters as they
slowly work toward a common goal. As their individual and
occasionally secretive plans threaten to inadvertently subvert it,
O'Connell's coldly brilliant actions play havoc on each of their
lives.

This is the perfect contemporary bogeyman story. People like
O'Connell exist; as I write this, the news wires are reporting that
a popular 19-year-old film and music starlet is taking action
against a man whose behavior, as described, sounds uncannily like
O'Connell's. THE WRONG MAN may be fiction, but it is all too
real.