Wrong Man Running (Unabridged‪)‬

Lee Child said, regarding Wrong Man Running, “Beautifully written and beautifully imagined, this dark, spiraling Kafkaesque nightmare might be the best psychological suspense you’ll read this year - or this decade.” A Booklist starred review stated, “This is a tremendously exciting book, extremely well written (the dialogue fairly sings) and extremely well constructed.... It is as good as the best offerings of Turow, Grisham, and other legal-thriller hitmakers.” And the Kirkus reviewer concluded, “It’s like some excellent Hitchcock - The 39 Steps, North by Northwest.” 

Rick Corinth, a brilliant and ambitious prosecutor who is the heir-apparent to the New York County’s District Attorney’s seat, is asked to handle a case involving a series of increasingly sadistic rapes. The case takes an unexpected turn. The victims - all prominent women at the pinnacles of their careers - begin identifying Rick as their attacker. As the evidence against him piles up, Rick goes on the run, driven to unmask the real perpetrator, before the police catch up to him. 

There are many twists to this journey - some favorable, some threatening. The first victim of these crimes - a psychologically bruised but successful and smart young woman, who is initially terrified of Rick - ends up as his principal support. But Rick himself, having had an early history of blackouts and “lost time”, and experiencing a relapse of that condition, starts doubting his own innocence. Ultimately, the issue becomes, who is he actually tracking: a brutal sadist who is devilishly framing him, or a vicious criminal closer to home?