Publisher: Putnam Adult
Year: 1987
Synopsis: This suspenseful classic from John Katzenbach, now back in print, reaffirmed his status as one of the best new thriller writers on the scene. Miami detective Mercedes Barren, recovering from a traumatic shooting, has transferred to the relative quiet of the forensics department to get her life back on track. Yet this peace is put on hold when she gets a wrenching phone call: her niece has been brutally murdered. Soon she uncovers the shocking truth: the killer—a professional photographer—is engaging in “copycat” murders across the country, while forcing a young student to document every horrific crime. The woman—he calls her “Boswell”—is his stenographer of cruelty. And if she drops her pen, she’ll end up being his next “subject.”
As her already fragile life begins to fall to pieces, Mercedes makes it her mission to track down this cold-blooded killer—even if it means enlisting the help of his brother, a psychiatrist specializing in sex offenders. But can they catch him before his camera flashes next and snuffs out another life? Unbearably suspenseful, with believable characters and dialogue second-to-none, The Traveler is pure John Katzenbach.