The latest and best novel yet from the always reliable Tim Ayliffe begins with veteran reporter John Bailey travelling at gunpoint far out to sea. The ten-kilogram weight attached to the chain around his ankles, not to mention the corpse leaking blood beside him, underline the severity of his situation.

How exactly Bailey got here is the ticking time bomb that forms the basis of “The Wrong Man,” which introduces Detective Holly Sutton to the ‘Ayliffe-verse.’ Following the murder of Sydney socialite Tottie Evans, Sutton has been seconded to the New South Wales Homicide Squad to aid the investigation, which is connected to property developer Alec Blacksmith, and the nebulous and maleficent affairs of Sydney’s high society.

Bailey is drawn into this web after a break-in at the house he inherited from his former girlfriend, Sharon Dexter, a cop murdered in the line of duty. The would-be burglar turned the place over professionally, but left with nothing, suggesting they couldn’t find what they wanted—a decade-old case file about the murder of a waitress at an exclusive gentleman’s club, for which a serial killer is already serving a life sentence for the crime.

As Bailey digs deeper, he finds himself working in parallel with Sutton and the Homicide Squad—until their dual investigations collide spectacularly.

“The Wrong Man” is a sharply-plotted, unflaggingly entertaining thriller. Following on from “Killer Traitor Spy,” it really feels like Ayliffe has found his rhythm as a thriller writer. Meticulously plotted, rigorously controlled, and sublimely suspenseful. A-Grade stuff.