Man Who Walks Behind, The-Jack Vance mystery novel, book review

 

Man Who Walks Behind, The-Jack Vance mystery novel (author’s preferred title)

AKA: The Madman Theory

The Madman Theory is a mystery novel that was written by Jack Vance under the pseudonym of Ellery Queen, a fictitious author that was used by the publisher for a series of mystery novels.  It was first released as a 191 page novel in a Signet paperback edition that was published in 1966.  Kinnell press released a hardcover edition in 1998.  The novel was later released in 2006 as a supplement to the Vance Integral Edition under the title “The Man Who Walks Behind”.  That VIE book was published as a leather bound very limited release and is quite rare.  All releases except the VIE were heavily edited.  The VIE edition is the only one approved by Vance.

Inspector Omar Collins of the Fresno Sheriff's office is called to King's Canyon park to investigate a probable murder.  Five men, all good friends, had gone backpacking in the park when one of them was ambushed and killed with a shotgun. The killer disappeared and left no evidence. The men had noticed being followed by a mysterious stranger who was camping alone but near to them, and this unknown camper initially becomes the main suspect. 

There appears to be no motive for the killing, however, and the idea is advanced that it was possibly a madman who engaged in a random murder.  This is referred to as the “madman theory.”  Collins and his team search the immense park area and write down the license plates of all vehicles parked in the park’s parking lot.  They then look up the owners names and addresses after checking to see when the vehicle’s owners had arrived and departed.  While checking out these clues one of the potential suspects is reported to have been found mutilated and murdered out of state in a train boxcar.  This turns out to be the same man who was camping alone and seemed to have been shadowing the group that the victim was with. 

As Collins and his small team continue to investigate the clues that they find lead to additional suspects and possible motives. The plot for this novel is fairly complex with good suspense and there is some minimal character development during the murder investigation by our down to earth inspector.  I enjoyed reading The Madman Theory, more so after rereading it, but suspect it will mostly be of interest to Vance fans and perhaps some mystery novel readers.  I’ve read it three times so far and rate it a 4 (Really liked it.)

As of this writing there are no editions of this novel that are in print.  The out of print releases below were all under the author name of Ellery Queen except for the VIE edition that was under Jack Vance.

The Madman Theory, 1966, Pocket Books, paperback

The Madman Theory, 1975, Signet, paperback

The Madman Theory, 1982, Signet, paperback

The Madman Theory, 1988, Kinnell, hardcover

The Man Who Walks Behind, 2006, Vance Integral Edition, hardcover