John Katzenbach's fourth novel, now back in print and with a new preface
from the author, is brilliantly suspenseful, filled with the remarkable
psychological insight for which Katzenbach has become revered.
When burnt-out reporter Matt Cowart receives a letter from a death row
inmate pleading his innocence, he is tempted to dismiss it out of hand.
Sure, they're all innocent. But as the Miami newspaperman digs into the
case of Robert Earl Ferguson, an African American given the death
penalty for the brutal slaying of a white girl, he begins to believe
that Ferguson is the real victim of hate and prejudice. And if he
doesn't act, the wrong man is going to be executed. In the months that
follow, Cowart's investigative articles not only set Ferguson free, but
make Cowart a celebrity and win him a Pulitzer Prize--and set in motion
a new chain of unimaginable horror. For there is a monster out there,
and he is not through with killing. Chillingly complex, Just Cause is
a powerhouse story about confronting our worst fears, in society, and in
ourselves.