''Going Wrong'' is a

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

by English

crime writer Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

. The novel was published in 1990 by Hutchinson in the UK and

Mysterious Press The Mysterious Press is an American publishing company specializing in mystery fiction based in New York City. The company has been associated with various publishing companies, most recently with Grove Atlantic, where it was an imprint from 2011 ...

in the US.

Synopsis

When he was a young man, Guy Curran led a local street gang and dealt drugs before falling madly in love with Leonora Chisholm, a much more middle-class teenager whose society minded parents naturally disapproved of him. Despite an initially passionate romance, the fairy tale subsides, and Leonora agrees to remain friends. The two begin a ritual of meeting for lunch on Saturdays, ostensibly to mollify Guy's continuing

unrequited love Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep affection, or may consciously reject it knowing that the admirer admires them. Me ...

. Guy attempts to phone her daily. We gradually learn about an incident in Guy's past that led him to go straight, although his current business interests maintain an air of sleaze, and his

nouveau riche ; ), new rich, or new money (in contrast to old money; ) is a social class of the rich whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. These people previously had belonged to a lower social cla ...

sensibility contrasts sharply with Leonora's values. Despite their obvious differences, Guy becomes convinced that Leonora's rejection only stems from someone telling her about his worst moment during his days in the underworld. When Leonora tells a distraught Guy that she has found a new love, this announcement sets off a dark chain of events that will lead Guy into even more obsession, stalking, and finally murder.

References

1990 British novels Novels by Ruth Rendell Hutchinson (publisher) books Mysterious Press books {{1990s-crime-novel-stub