I was surprised to hear someone describe my latest book, Judgement, as a cat-and-mouse thriller. I hadn’t deliberately set out to write one, even though the cat-and-mouse structure was probably my introduction to the thriller genre. Cat-and-mouse is probably the original thriller plot, in fact. It’s certainly the most useful, lending itself to all kinds of variations and permutations as predator tracks prey.
In the classic cat-and-mouse structure, the predator’s target discovers himself or herself to be in danger, but doesn’t know who the predator is. As variations have emerged over time, though, sometimes the best cat-and-mouse thrillers challenge the reader’s assumptions about who plays which role. They can even flip that dynamic back and forth a few times before the final showdown. It makes for great drama.
John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps, published in 1915, might be the first example of the cat-and-mouse thriller: Richard Hannay, returning to Great Britain after a stay in Rhodesia, becomes the target of an international manhunt by German spies who plan to—well, never mind. The underlying motive of the bad guys isn’t the point of The Thirty-Nine Steps. The point is the chase, and Hannay’s uncanny ability to turn situations against his pursuers, ultimately defeating them. Buchan’s novel, originally serialized in two parts, was the first of five novels to feature Richard Hannay, and has inspired three films, a TV show, a Broadway play, and countless imitators.
One of his earliest imitators was Agatha Christie herself, who gave her characters Tuppence and Tommy a similar cat-and-mouse chase in their debut, The Secret Adversary (1922). Christie made extensive use of the cat-and-mouse structure, adapting it freely to suit her purposes. And Then there Were None (1939) put Dame Agatha’s own unique spin on the cat-and-mouse story, with multiple mice at the mercy of one ruthless cat.
My favorite cat-and-mouse thrillers all play around with that fundamental dynamic, calling forth unexpected resources from the characters who refuse to be prey. If you’re looking for a good one, may I suggest one of the following:
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (1981)
FBI profiler Will Graham comes out of retirement to hunt a serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy—but doesn’t realize he’s the target of the even more dangerous Hannibal Lecter. Lecter goes on to prey upon Clarice Starling and others in The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising.
Rules of Prey by John Sandford (1989)
In his fictional debut, Minneapolis Police Lieutenant and part-time game designer Lucas Davenport brings both skill sets to the hunt for a killer who’s designed his own crimes as a game. Almost all of Sandford’s Prey series, now at 28 books (with the 29th due in April), are some form of cat-and-mouse story.
The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen (2002)
The first real Rizzoli and Isles novel—Jane Rizzoli was on her own in The Surgeon, published a year earlier—finds Boston police detective Jane Rizzoli the target of not one but two serial killers, one of whom she’d sent to jail.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)
Has this book been out long enough to let me reveal its predator/prey twist? Maybe not, so I won’t. I’ll just say that the hunt for Nick Dunne’s missing wife, Amy, turns into something entirely different.
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (2014)
The Mercedes Killer mowed down 23 people and got away with it—but can’t help taunting retired detective Bill Hodges, who finds new allies to help with the hunt. This book won the 2015 Edgar for Best Novel, and deservedly so. The dynamic between Hodges (and his allies) and Mr. Mercedes continues in Finders Keepers (2015) and End of Watch (2016).
