Traveler [Mass Market Paperback]

John Katzenbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 1988

A man, a woman, a car, and a camera on a sentimental journey through the past. He kills, he photographs, she writes about it -- or she dies, too. Detective Mercedes Barren has a reason to give chase: her niece was a victim. So does psychiatrist Martin Jeffers, a specialist in sex offenders and a more than passing acquaintance of the killer.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As a jaded detective at the Miami Police Department, Mercedes Barren isn't phased by much. That is, until a late-night phone call awakens her from one nightmare and catapults her into another: her niece has been murdered. Within days, Detective Barren has a surly Islamic fundamentalist in custody cutting a plea bargain--for a series of murders. As much as she would like to believe he murdered her niece, instinct tells her otherwise. Enter Douglas Jeffers, a disgruntled photojournalist who's seen one too many killers, courtrooms, and shredded cadavers. His mission? To commit a series of "copy cat" murders with a twist: he's forcing a young English major to document his journey. Barren catches on, Jeffers's brother (a psychiatrist who specializes in sexual offenders, of course) gets involved, and the motley cast races to a hypertension-inducing finish. Not recommended for those with delicate sensibilities, The Traveler casually throws out descriptions of mutilated organs and vicious assaults with the bored ease of a maître d'. Although it has a tendency to veer into melodrama, the caffeinated cadence and memorable one-liners make for a respectable beach read: "Killers were the Kleenex of the drug industry; they were used a few times and then discarded unceremoniously." --Rebekah Warren

From the Inside Flap

A man, a woman, a car, and a camera on a sentimental journey through the past. He kills, he photographs, she writes about it -- or she dies, too. Detective Mercedes Barren has a reason to give chase: her niece was a victim. So does psychiatrist Martin Jeffers, a specialist in sex offenders and a more than passing acquaintance of the killer.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345347099
• ISBN-13: 978-0345347091
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #333,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Psychopathic Killer Kidnaps Coed to Chronicle his Murders, August 4, 2002

By 

Silver Springer "mary1anne2" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Traveler (Mass Market Paperback)

In an early work, John Katzenbach weaves a tale of sadistic murder and mind control.

Mercedes Barren, a Miami cop who transferred to the forensic division after her traumatic shooting, is called in the middle of the night and told her only niece has been brutally murdered. Thought to be the work of the serial "Campus Killer" Mercedes works with her fellow officers to track down the killer. When a suspect is found, who rambles that Allah told him to kill the evil women, she finds evidence that someone else killed her niece. As her life begins to fall apart, Mercedes takes a medical leave to look for "the real killer"

Midway through the novel, the author reveals ... the killer .... Through the narrative, we finds what drives him to kill. Not satisfied that he has escaped detection, the murderer's ego needs to have someone to document his murders and thinking. He kidnaps a Florida co-ed who he nicknames Boswell and brutualizes and tortures her until she is brainwashed and frightened to displease him or try to escape.

Barren picks up Jeffries' trail, finding his psychiatrist brother along the way and enlisting him in the chase.

The unique aspect of this novel was the mind control the killer had over his kidnapped victim, so much so she could not ask a state trooper for help when she saw him. He lectures her on his experiences and takes her on a "sentimental journey" of childhood sites and murders that meant a lot to him....

My advice to you if you have not read any of Katzenbach's work, is to try a more recent work, such as the Analyst. While the Traveler is a suspenseful story, it lacks the fast pace, character development and satisfying ending of his later works.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Traveler Isn't Worth The Trip!, November 27, 1999

By 

bobbewig (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Traveler (Mass Market Paperback)

Although Katzenbach has become one of my favorite authors, you can tell that The Traveler is only his second book.While the story is interesting, his dialogue is weak and he doesn't move the story along at a fast enough pace. He's come a long way since The Traveler. If you like really good thrillers, try these books by Katzenbach--Hart's War (his latest), The Shadow Man and Just Cause.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining, Great Concept!, May 18, 2002

By 

"mockingbird73" (Lee's Summit, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Traveler (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read a lot of books in this genre. The concept was original and gave me a good week of reading. Not for the reader with a weak stomach.