Cat of Many Tails

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.

Marvelous . . . one of his best.”
―Classic Mysteries

The impact of mass murder on the soul of a city has never, that I can recall, been depicted with such convincing vividness.”
―Anthony Boucher, New York Times

Probably the best New York mystery of all time.”
―Edward D. Hoch

Ellery Queen was a pen name created and shared by two cousins, Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred B. Lee (1905–1971), as well as the name of their most famous detective. Born in Brooklyn, they spent forty-two years writing the greatest puzzle-mysteries of their time, gaining the duo a reputation as the foremost American authors of the Golden Age “fair play” mystery. Eventually famous on television and radio, Queen’s first appearance came in 1928 when the cousins won a mystery-writing contest with the book that would eventually be published as The Roman Hat Mystery. Besides co-writing the Queen novels, Dannay founded Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential crime publications of all time. Although Dannay outlived his cousin by nine years, he retired the fictional Queen upon Lee’s death.

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Introduction by Richard Dannay. Richard Dannay (1939– ), one of Frederic Dannay’s sons, is a New York City lawyer and litigator specializing in copyright and publishing law. His copyright cases have involved matters such as John Steinbeck’s works, the novel and movie Jurassic Park, Dorothy Parker’s poems, and Grateful Dead concert posters. He has published articles on copyright law’s controversial “fair use” doctrine, and is a past president of The Copyright Society of the USA. He’s also a book collector and member of The Grolier Club.