Among writers of elegant suspense stories perhaps none has been as erratic in the quality of his performances as Geoffrey Household. A reader might, with some confidence, slap grades on them—an A for this, but no more than C-minus for that—though the disparities are difficult to detect in early chapters. In one specialized subspecies of thriller, however, Household remains pre-eminent: the manhunt novel. No one has written a better chase story than "Rogue Male," though many have imitated it, including Household himself in "Watcher in the Shadows"—certainly the next best of its kind—and in other stories.

Manhunt novels are exceedingly difficult to write well. In addition to the usual suspense paraphernalia of plot, pace and minimal stabs at characterization, a good chase story provides a contrast between the terror of what is happening and the cozy familiarity of the landscape within which it happens...