The wrong man by Kate White

Kit Finn is used to taking the safe option - not always by choice, and not always with the best consequences.  Lessons from her past keep her on the straight and narrow, and have helped her lead a safe and stable adult life.  While visiting the lovely Islamorada for work and for pleasure, she makes the rather rash decision to do something a little dangerous and out of character - something that involved a tall and mysterious man she literally bumps into on her last day in the Florida Keys.  It seems like a harmless dalliance, but when he invites her to dinner back in New York where they both happen to live, it seems as though the fates may be toying with them.  When Kit turns up for their dinner she discovers that the man she met in Florida was not who she thought he was, and the man who he was impersonating seems very eager for Kit to actively help him and the company he works for solve the mystery of who the man is.

Suddenly Kit finds out that sometimes you really do need to be careful what you wish or dream for, because her carefully structured life is about to fall apart at the seams.  In a matter of days she becomes the target of some very unwanted attention - and known to the police in both Miami and New York.  At a time when she should be concentrating on building her client base for her business she is instead having to circle the wagons and desperately hold on to the clients she has.  Kit is at the centre of a game where she doesn't know the rules and all the players - and where someone is playing for keeps.  Just when she thinks she may have figured out what is going on the impostor reappears with a far fetched story that on the surface could be genuine, but they have some serious trust issues.  

I picked up The wrong man because I saw it in a new books list and the blurb seemed intriguing - although I didn't expect very much when I saw the physical book and the rather cliche cover.  What I got was a thoroughly enjoyable read that tested my ability to sift through the clues dropped like little bread crumbs - trying to solve the mystery and guess what would happen next before the author revealed the next clue.  I read a fair amount of crime fiction - some by the big names, and some by the new names - and The wrong man easy holds it's own in terms of delivering an intriguing read that has a 360 degree approach, creating a whole world for the characters to live in rather than a 2 dimensional landscape.  Kit is a fantastic character to see the world through, partly because I have to sheepishly admit that if I was in her shoes I wouldn't have left the mystery alone either!

This is something of a genre bending book because while at the core it is essentially a whodunnit, it also borrows quite a bit from the romance genre.  Kit's potential love life is somewhat left to the whims of fate here, and it is easy to see why she makes the choices she does.  Without ruining plot lines and surprises, there are some classic moments from the romance genre here.  I would recommend The wrong man to anyone who likes a good whodunnit that is not too heavy and not too gory - especially if you like to match wits with the author and try and figure out who the bad guys are before the author reveals all.

If you like this book then try:

• Eeny meeny by M.J. Arlidge
• City of fear by Alafair Burke
• Murder past due by Miranda James
• Dipped, stripped, and dead by Elise Hyatt
• Lending a paw by Laurie Cass
• Pies and prejudice by Ellery Adams
• Death of a kitchen diva by Lee Hollis
• Death of a country fried redneck by Lee Hollis
• One step too far by Tina Seskis
• Vodka doesn't freeze by Leah Giarratano
• The edge of normal by Carla Norton

Reviewed by Brilla