What is John Katzenbach reading?

Featured at Writers Read: John Katzenbach, author of The Architect.

His entry begins:

Fact is, I like to read my friends. After them if I have any spare energy, re-read some classics. And then, from time to time, I try to work in something that my wife – a far more accomplished and ardent reader than I am – recommends.

Very rarely do I read anything in my own genre of “psychological thrillers.” This is because even after many writing decades and publishing many books in many languages, I still possess the lurking fear that all those other thriller writing men and women lurking out there are... well... better? Cleverer? More adept with words and phrases? Smarter when it comes to plots and twists? Or maybe just luckier?

I just don’t want to prove the accuracy of this paranoia to myself. I am very happy in my ignorance.

That said, on my desk now are two collections of short stories.

The first Wandering Souls is by Phil Caputo – who passed away a few short weeks ago, so this is his last work in an extraordinarily distinguished writing career. Bestsellers, Pulitzers and respect. What more could one ask for? The stories in this collection often return to the themes of war and emotional conflict and the impact experienced by men after battle that characterizes much of Phil’s output. The writing is brisk, intense and always spot-on. Each character and every setting in each story is painted with his typical prose vibrancy. As I said, Phil was a great friend – forty plus years with only a couple of life-threatening activities – and his voice, so strong and often elegant on these pages, is one that will be sorely missed and is...[read on]

About The Architect, from the publisher:

From #1 internationally bestselling author John Katzenbach comes this pulse-pounding thriller that proves there’s nothing more dangerous than digging up secrets from your own family’s past.

“Remember what your name means. I’m so sorry.”

Just two weeks before her final architecture exams, Sloane Connolly receives this cryptic handwritten note from her estranged mother. When her calls go unanswered, Sloane returns to her hometown in northwest Massachusetts to discover that her mother has vanished. A thorough search turns up no trace of her—and the police are ultimately forced to give up and rule her disappearance a suicide.

As Sloane deals with the aftermath, she distracts herself by taking on a mysterious commission: to design a memorial for six strangers whose connection to her anonymous client—known to her only as The Employer—is deliberately kept in the dark. To complete this project, Sloane must trace the lives of all six individuals and uncover the hidden links between them. With the promise of a multimillion-dollar payday and a prestigious jump start to her career, it’s an opportunity too important to pass up.

But as the trail pulls her from Maine to Miami, Sloane begins to realize that the memorial is far more than just an academic exercise. The secrets she uncovers begin to weave dangerously into her own family’s tragic history, forcing her to question everything she thought she knew—and to discover for herself just how far she’s willing to go to survive.

Visit John Katzenbach's website.

My Book, The Movie: Red 1-2-3.

Writers Read: John Katzenbach (January 2014).

The Page 69 Test: Red 1-2-3.

Writers Read: John Katzenbach.

--Marshal Zeringue