Just Cause

Reporter Matt Cowart has seen this before, a letter from a Death Row inmate pleading innocence. Sure, they're all innocent. Young girls are raping and killing themselves all the time. But the more Cowart digs into the case of Robert Earl Ferguson, the more he believes that, as a black man, Ferguson is a victim of hate and prejudice, and that the wrong man is going to be executed.

Cowart lets fly a series of hard-hitting investigative articles that ultimately not only free Ferguson, but win Cowart a Pulitzer. He's a hero, a celebrity, a big-hearted guy -- who has unwittingly set in motion a scenario of horror and death....

The spellbinding new psychological suspense thriller by the bestselling, Edgar-nominated author of In the Heat of the Summer and Day of Reckoning. Reporter Matt Cowart's explosive investigative journalism succeeds in freeing a convicted rapist and murderer. But has his dedication to freeing "an innocent man" actually turned a ruthless killer loose again? Soon to be a major movie. Previous publisher: Putnam.

A noble pursuit. A deadly result.

Reporter Matt Cowart has seen this before, a letter from a Death Row inmate pleading innocence. Sure, they're all innocent. Young girls are raping and killing themselves all the time. But the more Cowart digs into the case of Robert Earl Ferguson, the more he believes that, as a black man, Ferguson is a victim of hate and prejudice, and that the wrong man is going to be executed.

Cowart lets fly a series of hard-hitting investigative articles that ultimately not only free Ferguson, but win Cowart a Pulitzer. He's a hero, a celebrity, a big-hearted guy -- who has unwittingly set in motion a scenario of horror and death....

Publishers Weekly

The criminal mind, racial bias, journalistic ego and the flawed fabric of the American criminal justice system are potent raw materials for psychological suspense master Katzenbach ( The Travelers ) in this riveting, provocative story. Matthew Cowart is lonely since his divorce and bored with writing editorials for the Miami newspaper where he was once an ace crime reporter. Then he receives a letter from a black inmate of Florida's death row, Robert Earl Ferguson, who claims he is innocent of the crime for which he has been convicted, the raping and slashing of a young white girl. On Ferguson's promise to reveal the identity of the real killer, Cowart spearheads a crusade that frees Ferguson and names another inmate, Blair Sullivan, as the murderer. Cowart wins a Pulitzer for his efforts, but his celebration is short-lived. Sullivan gives the reporter a pre-execution confession, and Cowart discovers that he has been duped. Black homicide detective Tanny Brown convinces Cowart to team up against the killer who has outmaneuvered them both. The horror of psychopathic murder and the limitations of the legal system become clear as the pair jousts with the killer on his own turf. Despite some extraneous subplots, the story generally proceeds at a breakneck pace, enhanced by ear-perfect dialogue and complex characterization. Film rights to Warner; major ad/promo. (Feb.)

John Katzenbach has written three other novels: the Edgar-nominated In the Heat of the Summer, which was made into the movie The Mean Season; the New York Times bestseller The Traveler; and Day of Reckoning. He is also the author of the true-crime story First Born. Katzenbach has been the criminal court reporter for The Miami Herald and a featured writer for The Herald's Tropic Magazine. His work has appeared in many other newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He lives in western Massachusetts.