05-21-2012, 08:14 AM | #1 | |
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BBC: Why are locked room mysteries so popular?
I don't know. Are they?
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05-21-2012, 11:04 AM | #2 |
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Some people like puzzles.
Locked room mysteries are just that: puzzles. A puzzle to assemble, a puzzle to solve. A quick clean way for a quickie murder mystery: just add characters with, uh, character. (And a few red herrings.) |
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05-21-2012, 09:12 PM | #3 |
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Americans claim that the first mystery was Murder on the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe, which was a locked room mystery.
I wonder if the countries which claim earlier books to be the first mystery are also referring to locked room stories. |
05-21-2012, 09:50 PM | #4 |
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Locked room mysteries are always resolved by the end of the book. There's no ambiguity about the ending. The author presents a puzzle and the reader has the opportunity to solve it as he/she reads the book and learns additional facts about the setting and the personalities, but even if the reader can't figure out the puzzle, he/she knows that all will be revealed by the end of the book
It's sort of as comforting as a warm cup of cocoa on a cold winter's night. |
05-21-2012, 11:06 PM | #5 |
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It's been a staple of the mystery genre and the conflict is evident: there's a locked room, so how could the crime have been perpetrated?
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05-24-2012, 11:43 AM | #6 |
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It's a shame that so few of John Dickson Carr's books are available as eBooks. There are only about half a dozen available.
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05-24-2012, 05:53 PM | #7 |
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It's a mystery, isn't it ...
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05-25-2012, 12:44 AM | #8 |
Treachery of images ...
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Well I like the locked room mysteries that I've read ..... though they're vintage books/authors and are usually considered classics in the genre, so they've been very well written in that timeless style.
As to why I like them is probably due to the fact that the crime/mystery genre is my favourite, and the early 20th C authors were so jolly good at them!! |
05-25-2012, 04:19 AM | #9 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
Carr is my favorite author of all times, and no other author has given us more intricate and intriguing puzzles. I have solved puzzles by Agatha Christie, Q. Patrick, P. D. James, Ellery Queen and others, but I have never even managed to solve even one puzzle by Carr. And when it comes to impossible crimes, Carr is simply the mastermind of all times. He managed to compose mysteries of the utmost ingenious type in only a couple of months; from the middle of the thirties up to the second world war, when paper rationing started, he published four and even five books a year (!), together with some other material. Top quality books and high production: in my opinion, no one else has ever come close to his level of brilliance Last edited by Iznogood; 05-25-2012 at 09:13 AM. Reason: Typo |
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05-25-2012, 05:49 AM | #10 |
Treachery of images ...
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Thank you Norway 1456!!!!
Carr was unknown to me prior to reading your post - I now look forward to reading him. Thanks again!! |
05-25-2012, 08:47 AM | #11 |
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The brain likes puzzles. The goal is always clear and strong (murder!). From the writer's point of view, they are easy to write.
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05-25-2012, 09:23 AM | #12 |
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Are you sure of that? First you need to find a way to kill someone in a locked room. Of course, you will need to do it in a way that hasn't been done before, or at least have a plot that you are confident that your readers does not recognize.
Second, you must provide enough red herrings so that the reader doesn't find the solution. Remember that the reader must get all the clues, all the facts that is needed to find the solution of his/her own, the only thing you [the writer] can do to prevent the reader from guessing the truth is to try and make the reader misinterpret the clues that are given him/her. When the truth is revealed at the end, you want the reader to react with the words "Oh, why didn't I think of that myself " and not the words "the author cheated ". Keeping information back and using a too improbable plot is two of the deadliest sins in the puzzle genre |
05-25-2012, 09:27 AM | #13 |
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You are most welcome. I hope you like his books. Feel free to post back here or PM me with your first impression of your first book from the pen of mr. Carr
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