"In this early serial killer novel, Ellery Queen stalks a mass murderer through the streets of 1940s New York. In the dog days of August, it is no surprise to see New Yorkers perspire. But this summer, a killer called the Cat gives the city a new reason to sweat. He selects his victims seemingly at random and strangles them, then escapes without leaving a clue. As the death toll climbs and the press whips the public into a horrified frenzy, Gotham teeters on the edge of anarchy. Ellery Queen, the brilliant amateur sleuth, ...
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"In this early serial killer novel, Ellery Queen stalks a mass murderer through the streets of 1940s New York. In the dog days of August, it is no surprise to see New Yorkers perspire. But this summer, a killer called the Cat gives the city a new reason to sweat. He selects his victims seemingly at random and strangles them, then escapes without leaving a clue. As the death toll climbs and the press whips the public into a horrified frenzy, Gotham teeters on the edge of anarchy. Ellery Queen, the brilliant amateur sleuth, has gone into retirement when the Cat begins to kill. As his father, a seasoned homicide detective, leads the investigation into the murders, Ellery tries to avoid getting involved. When Queen discovers a clue that could hold the secret to untangling the puzzling crimes, he pounces on the opportunity to crack the case. But unfortunately for him -- and for the citizens of 1940s New York City -- he's barely scratched the surface.... Combining gobsmacking deduction with plenty of period detail, Cat of Many Tails is among the most beloved of Ellery Queen's timeless mystery novels. Reissued for the first time in nearly half a century, the book retains a place in popular culture as one of the first serial killer novels ever written; and, to this day, it's still one of the best"--
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Add this copy of Cat of Many Tails to cart. $6.65, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Ballantine Books.
Add this copy of Cat of Many Tails to cart. $6.65, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Ballantine Books.
Add this copy of Cat of Many Tails to cart. $6.65, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Ballantine Books.
Add this copy of Cat of Many Tails to cart. $6.65, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Ballantine Books.
Add this copy of Cat of Many Tails to cart. $6.65, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Ballantine Books.
Add this copy of Cat of Many Tails to cart. $6.69, good condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Ballantine Books.
Add this copy of Cat of Many Tails to cart. $47.41, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Ballantine Books.
Add this copy of Cat of Many Tails to cart. $101.65, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Ballantine Books.
Ellery Queen's late novel, Cat of Many Tails, conceived and written by the original team behind the early EQ mysteries is a fantastic serial murder mystery in the "City in Peril" modality. It is interesting as an old fashioned mystery presented with new psychological nuance that heralds the modern procedure in which the detective profiler must "catch a psychopath mass murderer" through psychological analysis." Pretty interesting devices are used in this early 1950s work that foreshadows modern TV series,plotting. Although formatted as a classic Ellery Queen mystery in which the amateur detective helps his father, an important boss in New York City's Homicide Bureau, solve the murder mystery at the same time the reader is challenged to unravel the clues that EQ did, this exciting novel could have been done as a modern mystery. The plot line and murder motivation is usual and compelling. I have no evidence that this work was influential in the murder mystery field, but it could have been, especially for serial murder mysteries. It also might have made an outstanding Ellery Queen feature film. This sleeper of a mystery is among the best Ellery Queen novels of all, and almost totally forgotten. I highly recommend it. Keith Alan Deutsch
