cover image You Can’t Catch Me

You Can’t Catch Me

Catherine McKenzie. Lake Union, $24.95 (364p) ISBN 978-1-5420-1903-3

New York journalist Jessica Williams, the heroine of this twisty psychological thriller from McKenzie (I’ll Never Tell), was raised in a cult in the Adirondacks. Just before her 18th birthday, she escaped and left her family behind. In the 12 years since, anger, guilt, and alcohol have been her best friends. One day, in a bar, Jessica meets a stranger with the same name and birthday as hers. She thinks it’s cool, until a few days later she realizes her identity has been stolen and her bank accounts have been emptied. Feeling that her life has been taken from her again, she sets out to settle the score with Jessica Two. Along the way, she meets four other Jessica Williams, who have also been swindled. Together they plot to draw out Jessica Two and get back their lives and money, but Jessica Two’s a crafty foe, and the ghosts of the first Jessica’s past complicate their plan. Readers will marvel at the author’s inventiveness as the action builds to a surprise-filled showdown in Jackson, Wyo. McKenzie knows how to keep the pages turning. [em]Agent: Abigail Koons, Park & Fine Literary and Media. (June) [/em]