John Katzenbach is an American author known for his popular fiction, particularly his psychological thrillers. Born on June 23, 1950, he is the son of Nicholas Katzenbach, the former United States Attorney General. John Katzenbach initially worked as a criminal court reporter for the Miami Herald and the Miami News, and was a featured writer for the Herald's Tropic magazine.

He is married to Madeleine Blais, and they live in western Massachusetts. Katzenbach left the newspaper industry to focus on writing novels. His first novel, In the Heat of the Summer (1982), was a bestseller and was nominated for an Edgar Award before being adapted into the film The Mean Season (1985), starring Kurt Russell and Mariel Hemingway.

Two more of his books have been adapted into films: Just Cause (1995), featuring Sean Connery, and Hart's War (2002), featuring Bruce Willis. Another novel, The Wrong Man, was adapted into the French TV film Faux Coupable in 2011.