The Wrong Man

This story of obsession, which could be called "Fatal Attraction Plus," needs a special voice. Jonathan Davis is the right man for the job. Ashley Freeman, a young woman, has a one-night stand with Michael O'Connell, and he's smitten with her beyond belief. Michael not only stalks Ashley, but awful things begin to happen to those around her. After a detective hired to discourage Michael is murdered, Ashley's family formulates the only solution possible. Davis turns in a highly credible performance as the deliciously evil stalker who won't be deterred. The only negative about this story is its endless dialogue, which certainly isn't Davis's fault. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

Starred review from July 31, 2006
Bestseller Katzenbach (The Traveler
) manages the impressive feat of taking a thriller cliché and using it as the basis for a powerful and complex story. The one-night stand that Ashley Freeman, a Boston art history grad student, has with Michael O'Connell, a determined psychopath, leads to dire consequences. O'Connell quickly moves to obsessively control every aspect of Ashley's life, coupling a relentless will with ingenuity and computer skills that soon ensnare Ashley's loved ones as they seek to protect her from him. When their feeble attempts to buy or scare off O'Connell fail, Ashley's divorced parents, as well as her mother's lesbian partner, embark on a convoluted but ingenious plot of their own. The author deftly shifts perspective among his central characters, raising this page-turner above the run-of-the-mill by making all of them emotionally credible.