From a glance at the titles of Jeff Abbott's most recent novels — Cut and Run, Panic, Fear — you might expect him to be a jittery kind of guy. But lately, this Austin native has been confidently muscling his way into the top ranks of thriller writers. Fear (Dutton, $24.95), his latest, is about the hunt for a wonder drug with the potential to erase painful memories from the minds of post-traumatic stress disorder victims. Of course, in the proper thriller tradition, the novel's protagonists endure plenty of new traumas. We spoke with Abbott to figure out what has him so spooked.

City Paper: Last year, you gave us Panic. This year, it's Fear. What's on deck for 2007?

Jeff Abbott: The joke is the next book will be called I've Soiled Myself. I am working on a new thriller, but as to what the title will be, I don't know. My publisher suggested Panic, which was a perfect title, and I came up with Fear, which was also really well-suited to the story. I wasn't trying to create a title theme, but I like the simple titles; they're easy for people to remember.

CP: You earned many fans and awards with two different series. Why the switch to standalones?

JA: I had the idea for Panic — what if everything in your life was a lie? — while starting to outline the next novel in my Whit Mosley series. A week later we were in contract negotiations with Dutton and one of the execs who had been involved with my previous novels asked my agent if I would consider doing a standalone. I'd had a great idea for one and felt ready to try it. But there was no pressure to do it; it was my choice. Of course, Panic has done very well here, being developed for film by the Weinstein Company and being a best seller in Britain, and I really enjoy writing about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary danger — but I probably will do another book in the series one day. Lots of readers are asking for the next Whit novel.

CP: Let's say there is a drug that could erase traumatic memories. Would you consider taking it?

JA: It depends on the trauma. If it was one of sadness, of loss, no, I wouldn't. Grief is part of life. But if it was a memory that could only haunt me, that could only weaken me, not strengthen me, then perhaps I would. I hope we do have a medication to truly help people with PTSD soon and I hope I'm never in a situation to need it.