When the body of famed true-crime writer Julian Wells is found in a boat drifting on a Montauk pond, the question isn’t how he died, but why. The death looks like an obvious suicide, but why would Wells take his own life? And was this his only crime? Wells’ best friend, Philip Anders, wants to know more. His first clue is an Argentinean crime, which may have been Wells’ last book idea. As Anders gathers the missing parts of Wells’ life, the man he knew—or thought he knew—becomes increasingly obscured, and the ever-deepening puzzle threatens to consume him entirely.

A mystery of identity, or assumed identity, The Crime of Julian Wells spans four decades and traverses three continents. Richly plotted, brilliantly told, it’s a voyage into the depth and darkness of a man’s heart.