Man and Wife [Paperback]

A wife who's too good to be true usually isn't--and the cliché holds true in Klavan's engrossing little thriller Man and Wife. Psychiatrist Cal Bradley is married to Marie, an adoring and sensuous helpmate, and he's happier than he ever thought he'd be. In fact, he's surprisingly content to ignore the signs that something in her past is still troubling her deeply--until he sees his wife in the arms of a stranger. Then young Peter Blue, accused of battering his girlfriend and setting a church on fire, comes under Cal's care. When Peter discloses his relationship with the stranger Cal saw in the woods with his wife, Marie's past suddenly explodes into the present, threatening to turn Cal's world upside down. There's not a lot of subtlety here--the conclusion is practically handed to the reader on the first page, with its heavy foreshadowing. But the novel works anyway, due to Klavan's deft characterisation of Peter, a complex, spiritual adolescent who forces Cal to confront his own conscience and his conflict between love and duty. --Jane Adams

Psychiatrist Cal Bradley runs a highly respected clinic in New England and shares a contented life with his wife and three children. He is convinced that a patient of his is not guilty of the murder with which he's been charged, but revealing the identity of the real killer will destroy Cal.

Andrew Klavan was born in New York City. Before becoming a full-time writer he worked as a newspaper reporter and radio news-writer and editor. He is also the author of five novels under the pseudonym Keith Peterson.