A strangler is killing Manhattanites, seemingly at random. The only common thread is the unusual silk cords that are used for the killings; blue for men and pink for women. Other than that, the victims come from all social classes and backgrounds, ethnicities, races, neighbourhoods, etc. The city is in a panic. Ellery Queen forms together a small group of people related to some of the victims, and some consultants, and works to determine the killer's reason for selecting these particular victims. When he finally realizes the thread that connects the victims, the murderer is revealed and peace returns to the city.
After many popular mystery novels, a radio program and a number of movies, the character of Ellery Queen was at this point firmly established. This novel is an early and unusual example of what has become known as a serial killer novel, but before the term "serial killer" was coined and before criminals such as the "Boston Strangler" came to the attention of the American public. (The phrase "multiple murderer" is used in this novel as a synonym for "serial killer".) Considerable time is spent describing the reaction of the city at large to the events of the novel, almost as if Manhattan itself were a character, and the novel employs narrative techniques unusual for Ellery Queen specifically and for mystery novels in general, such as extensive quoting of (imaginary) newspaper reports and an afterword that is "A Note on Names".
EQ seems to have first used the Q.B.I. approach – brief, synopsized tales about realistic New York City residents – in the opening chapters of his Cat of Many Tails. They stress realistic accounts of the lives of all classes of New Yorkers, people who are "typical" of some segment of life in the city, and little eccentricity. ... There are so many brief vignettes in the opening chapters ... that the book can seem more like a story sequence than a novel. ... The book becomes ... much less like a true detective story.[1]
"A departure for EQ: more of a manhunt than a mystery, although with a neat twist. [And] there's that extraordinary sequence with Ellery and the psychiatrist."[2]
many, tails, novel, that, published, 1949, ellery, queen, mystery, novel, york, city, united, states, first, editionauthorellery, queencountryunited, stateslanguageenglishseriesellery, queen, mysteriesgenremystery, novelpublisherlittle, brown, gollancz, public. Cat of Many Tails is a novel that was published in 1949 by Ellery Queen It is a mystery novel set in New York City United States Cat of Many TailsFirst US editionAuthorEllery QueenCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishSeriesEllery Queen mysteriesGenreMystery novelPublisherLittle Brown US Gollancz UK Publication date1949Media typePrint hardcover and paperback Preceded byTen Days Wonder Followed byDouble Double Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Literary significance and criticism 3 Footnotes 4 External linksPlot summary editA strangler is killing Manhattanites seemingly at random The only common thread is the unusual silk cords that are used for the killings blue for men and pink for women Other than that the victims come from all social classes and backgrounds ethnicities races neighbourhoods etc The city is in a panic Ellery Queen forms together a small group of people related to some of the victims and some consultants and works to determine the killer s reason for selecting these particular victims When he finally realizes the thread that connects the victims the murderer is revealed and peace returns to the city Literary significance and criticism editMain article Ellery Queen After many popular mystery novels a radio program and a number of movies the character of Ellery Queen was at this point firmly established This novel is an early and unusual example of what has become known as a serial killer novel but before the term serial killer was coined and before criminals such as the Boston Strangler came to the attention of the American public The phrase multiple murderer is used in this novel as a synonym for serial killer Considerable time is spent describing the reaction of the city at large to the events of the novel almost as if Manhattan itself were a character and the novel employs narrative techniques unusual for Ellery Queen specifically and for mystery novels in general such as extensive quoting of imaginary newspaper reports and an afterword that is A Note on Names EQ seems to have first used the Q B I approach brief synopsized tales about realistic New York City residents in the opening chapters of his Cat of Many Tails They stress realistic accounts of the lives of all classes of New Yorkers people who are typical of some segment of life in the city and little eccentricity There are so many brief vignettes in the opening chapters that the book can seem more like a story sequence than a novel The book becomes much less like a true detective story 1 A departure for EQ more of a manhunt than a mystery although with a neat twist And there s that extraordinary sequence with Ellery and the psychiatrist 2 A simplified version of this novel was made into a 1971 TV pilot film titled Ellery Queen Don t Look Behind You Footnotes edit A review of Cat of Many Tails Archived 2007 10 13 at the Wayback Machine Ellery Queen A Website on DetectionExternal links edit Ellery Queen is the American detective story nbsp This article about a mystery novel of the 1940s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cat of Many Tails amp oldid 1219622918, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
