Patricia McGerr
Encyclopedia
Patricia McGerr (1917–1985) was an American
crime
writer
, primarily known for her puzzle mystery
novels. She won an Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine/MWA prize for her 1968 story Match Point in Berlin and was awarded the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in 1952 for her 1951 novel Follow, As the Night. Her first novel, Pick Your Victim (1946), was selected as one of the Fifty Classics of Crime Fiction, 1900-1950.
She was born in Falls City, Nebraska
and grew up in Lincoln
. She earned a bachelor's degree at University of Nebraska, Lincoln and a master's degree in journalism at Columbia University
.
She is principally known for having created a hitherto-unknown twist on the traditional whodunnit. Her best-known novel, Pick Your Victim (1946), tells the story of a small group of American soldiers in an isolated Arctic base who are desperate for reading material and diversion. They find a torn scrap of newspaper which has arrived as the cushioning for a parcel. The torn scrap tells part of the story of a man who has been convicted of a murder, and who is known personally by one of the GIs—the murderer is identified, but the name of the victim has been torn away. The GIs form a betting pool and pump their informant for every bit of information about any potential victim to enable them to better place their bets, and the story told by the informant is the body of the novel. At the end, the name of the victim is revealed.
McGerr's other novels were sometimes ingenious but rarely commercially successful. The Seven Deadly Sisters (1947) attempts a similar inversion of the whodunnit formula, with less success. The reader learns that one of seven sisters has murdered her husband, but which sister is not known until the end. Near the end of her writing career, McGerr created a continuing character, Selena Mead, who became involved in espionage-based plots in and around Washington D.C.
McGerr also wrote Johnny Lingo and the Eight Cow Wife, which was the basis for the 1969 movie Johnny Lingo made by the BYU film studio. More recently, the 2003 film, "The Legend of Johnny Lingo," was also based upon her story. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367960/
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, primarily known for her puzzle mystery
Puzzle mystery
The puzzle mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction where the emphasis is on the "whodunnit" aspect. The entire novel or film is oriented to the puzzle and its solution, and characterization takes a distinctly secondary place....
novels. She won an Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine/MWA prize for her 1968 story Match Point in Berlin and was awarded the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in 1952 for her 1951 novel Follow, As the Night. Her first novel, Pick Your Victim (1946), was selected as one of the Fifty Classics of Crime Fiction, 1900-1950.
She was born in Falls City, Nebraska
Falls City, Nebraska
Falls City is a city in Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Richardson County.-Geography:Falls City is located at ....
and grew up in Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
. She earned a bachelor's degree at University of Nebraska, Lincoln and a master's degree in journalism at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
She is principally known for having created a hitherto-unknown twist on the traditional whodunnit. Her best-known novel, Pick Your Victim (1946), tells the story of a small group of American soldiers in an isolated Arctic base who are desperate for reading material and diversion. They find a torn scrap of newspaper which has arrived as the cushioning for a parcel. The torn scrap tells part of the story of a man who has been convicted of a murder, and who is known personally by one of the GIs—the murderer is identified, but the name of the victim has been torn away. The GIs form a betting pool and pump their informant for every bit of information about any potential victim to enable them to better place their bets, and the story told by the informant is the body of the novel. At the end, the name of the victim is revealed.
McGerr's other novels were sometimes ingenious but rarely commercially successful. The Seven Deadly Sisters (1947) attempts a similar inversion of the whodunnit formula, with less success. The reader learns that one of seven sisters has murdered her husband, but which sister is not known until the end. Near the end of her writing career, McGerr created a continuing character, Selena Mead, who became involved in espionage-based plots in and around Washington D.C.
McGerr also wrote Johnny Lingo and the Eight Cow Wife, which was the basis for the 1969 movie Johnny Lingo made by the BYU film studio. More recently, the 2003 film, "The Legend of Johnny Lingo," was also based upon her story. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367960/