Tiger By the Tail
Tiger by the Tail is a 1954 thriller novel written by British author James Hadley Chase. There are several films based on this book.
Synopsis[edit]
Banker Ken Holland, encouraged by his close friend Parker, decides to visit a hooker when his wife Ann is away, despite his conscience warning him not to, and ends up in a muddle when the hooker is murdered mysteriously in her apartment, and he is left alone to deal with it.
Plot[edit]
Ken Holland is advised by colleague Parker to enjoy time with a hooker by name Fay Carson as his wife Ann is away, and throwing caution to the winds, Ken goes to visit her. Fay Carson and Ken enjoy each other's company throughout the evening, and Fay introduces him to her acquaintances at the bar as well, including the owner Darcy. Later that night on returning to her apartment Fay is murdered silently by an unknown assailant in her bedroom with an ice pick, with Ken left all alone. Fearing the police, he wipes off all his traces and flees the apartment. He is noted by Fay's neighbor Mr Raphael Sweeting, a small time offender looking for a big break. Ken also flicks the vehicle parking register stealthily from the security guard as he departs.
Soon the police and politicians in California are on the case when Fay's murder is discovered. The police find no reason to suspect Ken despite visiting him at his bank and house and questioning him. Parker is soon questioned by the cops as well and he learns that Ken was present at Fay's apartment when she was killed, and tells Ken not to mention his name ever regarding Fay.
Lieutenant Harry Adams and Sergeant Donovan are put on the case, each trying to solve it for their personal interests in advancing their careers. Police commissioner Paul Howard and his despised brother-in-law Captain of police Motley are not in good terms, and Motley has married his glamorous sister Gloria to Howard only for his own promotion, to get Howard to toe the line. Adams visits Sean O'Brien, an drug peddler from France, now politician who owns Fay's apartment building which is actually a brothel, and is going to marry Gilda Dorman, who is sister of Fay's ex-boyfriend Johnny Dorman who once assaulted Fay. Adams warns O'Brien that his reputation is at stake if the building activities come to light. It is strongly suspected that Johnny is back in California and he is the one who murdered Fay. O'Brien takes matters into his own hands; he evicts the brothel and finds and kidnaps Johnny with his henchman Tux, keeping him in seclusion in a cruiser named Willow Point. Johnny admits to O'Brien that he was the one who killed Fay.
Local goon Paradise Louie tries to blackmail Gilda into sleeping with him in exchange for his silence, as it is revealed that Johnny visited Louie to ask for Fay's whereabouts and that information can lead to Johnny's arrest; but O'Brien learns of this and gets Louie fatally assaulted by Tux. Sweeting follows Ken to blackmail him to keep silent in the case. But Ken refuses to oblige and throws him out viciously, and finally decides to visit and confess his deeds to the cops. Donovan and subordinate detective Duncan find Ken's discarded suit and the parking register and search his house, and conclude Ken is the killer, with Donovan issuing a look out notice for arresting Ken in the city. Ken fortunately meets Adams and tells his entire story, and Adams gives him shelter at his own house from the cops, knowing that if Ken is arrested, O'Brien being a key politician may make Ken the fall guy to save his future brother-in-law Johnny from the electric chair. He also learns of Louie and takes his statement as he is dying in hospital regarding O'Brien's men. Unknown to Adams, knowing that Johnny is a nuisance, O'Brien actually contemplates eliminating him.
Adams visits a shady Washington hotel to find Yarde but sees that his room is ransacked and he has fled. Ken learns that Johnny is in Willow Point and goes there himself to investigate without informing Adams, finding a boat with a salesgirl's help, on time to secretly see that O'Brien has come to meet Johnny there m at Willow point, asking him to write a letter to Gilda saying he is going to Paris for a few days, promising him a flight to Paris for his safety, and then leaves the cruiser. Ken realises that O'Brien wants Tux to kill Johnny and dispose him into the sea. He frantically jumps in to warn Johnny but both are attacked by Tux, and in the ensuing fight, Tux is knocked out by Johnny. The two scamper away but soon cops find and chase them. They are then given shelter by the salesgirl unexpectedly, who nurses Johnny's wounds.
Adams questions Sweeting, and he says Gilda's ex boyfriend Maurice Yarde may be the killer as he saw Yarde threatening her a few months ago when they broke up. When Adams leaves, Sweeting gets the idea of blackmailing Gilda. He visits her apartment but Gilda shows him a gun and threatens him, he tells her about Johnny and Yarde, after which she gives him 20 dollars and tells him to leave. But Sweeting overhears O'Brien visiting the apartment and telling Gilda that "Johnny has left for Paris", and later at night sneaks in and discovers Yarde's dead body in Gilda's refrigerator.
Critical response[edit]
Neil Baran, writing for the British newspaper Truth accused Chase of being predictable, but admitted that the book had a firm grip on the reader.[1]
Australian critic Zelie McLeod writing for The Daily Telegraph noted “a slightly moralising atmosphere” of the book and compared the last chapter to some of Shakespeare's dramas due to “a tidy little massacre of almost everyone engaged in the plot”.[2] The Farmer & Settler observed that the book follows the usual Chase's “pattern of sex, crime, fast living and improbability”.[3]
In film[edit]
In 1957, Julien Duvivier directed a French-Italian comedy-thriller film The Man in the Raincoat based on this book.[4] In 2003, Kushan Nandy directed an Indian murder mystery film 88 Antop Hill loosely based on the book.[5]
In literary research[edit]
Several literary critics noted that the novel follows the usual Chase theme of sexual obsessions of rather weak men, dominated and lured by femmes fatales.[6][7]
References[edit]
- ↑ Baran, Neil (September 10, 1954). "Recent fiction: Tiger by the Tail". Truth. p. 1130. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
For a long time I have tried to cultivate a dislike for James Hadley Chase. His thrillers are synthetic, brutal and depressing. The corrupt characters are always tough, smart, rich and practically indestructible. His hero is usually weak, poor and unsympathetic. Almost every action in the books is based on self-interest and fear. Yet if the test of novelist is the creation of a world which is recognizable and convincing within its own borders, then Mr Chase must be awarded a palm. He grips you against your will like a mantrap and doesn’t let go until you have sweated terror.
(subscription required) - ↑ McLeod, Zelie (August 14, 1954). "Whodunits". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). p. 20. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Trove.
- ↑ "Another Chase Thriiler". The Farmer & Settler. August 6, 1954. p. 20. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Trove.
- ↑ Crowther, Bosley (July 15, 1958). "Screen: Grisly Comedy; Man in the Raincoat' Stars Fernandel". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ↑ Sharma, Dhiraj (May 14, 2006). "The fading thrill of Chase". The Tribune (Chandigarh). Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ↑ Gerrig, Richard J. (1988). "Text comprehension". In Sternberg, Robert J.; Smith, Edward E. The Psychology of Human Thought. Cambridge University Press. p. 254. ISBN 0-521-32229-4 – via Google Books. Search this book on
- ↑ van Dijk, Teun A. (2019). "Macrostructures in discourse". Macrostructures: An Interdisciplinary Study of Global Structures in Discourse, Interaction, and Cognition. Routledge. p. 52. ISBN 9780429657856 – via Google Books. Search this book on
External links[edit]
- Tiger by the tail at Fantasticfiction.com
- Tiger by the tail editions and translations at Worldcat
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