Few of today's detective writers confuse me, but Carr always does. Carr is indeed among the three or four greatest detective novelists in English-speaking countries after Edgar Allan Poe. If Christie is the queen of reasoning, then Carl is the king. In any novel, there will be one or several "mysteries", such as: whether the couple can get together in the end, whether the young man can avenge the murder of his father, or what kind of world will develop in the future... etc.Human beings are curious.Therefore, each mystery attracts readers to continue reading until the last page is turned.

Detective novels can be said to be a type of novel that maximizes the "mystery".The whole book is a big mystery - to solve the mystery of who is the murderer.And in the process, there are all kinds of little mysteries: the beach without the murderer's footprints, the closed space that cannot be entered and exited, and the unbreakable alibi.It was not until the last chapter, when the famous detective narrated the truth of the incident, that readers suddenly realized that there was such an ingenuity in the world. Since the American writer Edgar Allan Poe published it in 1841, detective novels have experienced more than 160 years of development.During this period, not only Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dashiel Hammett, Raymond Chandler and other world-renowned masters appeared, but also derived many genres and sub-types, Such as puzzle-solving reasoning, tough guy detective, court reasoning and so on.Among them, the puzzle-solving reasoning was born in the era of Edgar Allan Poe, and has been painstakingly crafted by generations of masters. It can be regarded as the orthodox in detective novels, and it is also called "Benge School" (in Japanese terms, namely Authentic, orthodox meaning).

Puzzle-solving reasoning set off a climax in the 1920s, achieving the "golden age" in the history of detective novels.In the era of "famous detectives walking all over the street, and famous works every day", there are three most dazzling names-namely Agatha Christie, Ellery Quinn and John Dickson Carr.Their works represent the pinnacle of mystery detective fiction and are still widely sought after by readers today. The characteristics of the works in this period are advocating reasoning and mystery, and readers should be given fair clues, so that they and fictional detectives have the same chance to solve the truth of the case.The poet W. H. Auden analyzed: "The most wonderful thing about the (golden age) detective novel is that it happens to be the most attractive to the kind of people who cannot be influenced by other forms of 'daydream' literature. Doctors, priests, Scientists or artists—these fairly successful professionals are the typical detective fan; they like to think, they are well-learned in their fields, and therefore absolutely cannot stand the Saturday Evening Post, True Confessions, etc. ", movie pictorials or comic strips." Readers rely on detective novels to get the thrill of intellectual games.Once you can solve the mystery one step ahead of the detective, you will feel as excited as you have won the highest honor.

At that time, solving puzzles became the most important element of detective novels, and the enigmas and tricks that served as the carriers of "mysteries" developed to the point of dazzling people.The writers strive to expand various possibilities, whether it is the method of killing, the method of eradicating traces, the method of hiding, or the author's own story, setting up misleading "red herrings".Murder in a large family, relatively closed environment, limited suspects, different motives, hidden secrets... These constitute the most typical murder background.Conspiracies such as blizzard villas, secret room murders, and alibi were even more popular in the "Golden Age".

There is a kind of mystery in it that writers love to hate.It is a topic that every writer of detective novels wants to challenge. There is even a saying that if you don’t use it once in your work, you can’t be called a real detective writer.That's Locked Room Mystery. What is "Secret Chamber Murder"?Going back to the origin of detective novels, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", it is a secret room novel.A murder case occurred in the locked room, but the murderer not only successfully succeeded, but also quietly left the closed room.Chamber of Secrets is just so incredible.On the face of it, it doesn't make sense - a person cannot be killed in a locked room.However, once the mystery is solved, readers will find the rationality behind the unreasonableness-either the ingenious mechanical technique, or the neglected psychological blind spot.

The writers who were not satisfied with tossing around in the small room racked their brains and came up with all kinds of impossible mysteries.The victim lying in the middle of the beach, surrounded by only his own footprints, was obviously killed; the train running on the rails disappeared like air between the two stations; unbelievable murders happened in full view...etc. .These detective novels, which describe extraordinary events, form a subgenre of detective literature—impossible crimes.This kind of works has distinct characteristics: fantastical mysteries, supernatural atmosphere, ingenious techniques, and reasonable solutions.For readers, this type of work is the pinnacle of puzzle-solving reasoning. To solve the mystery, more active thinking, more rigorous reasoning and sharper insight are needed.If you can solve these puzzles, you will get several times the pleasure.

According to the statistics of Robert Eddy, an authoritative researcher on "Chamber of Secrets" and "Impossible Crime", as of 1991, there have been more than 2,000 novels (articles) of "Impossible Crime" in Europe and the United States throughout the ages.In addition, Japanese writers have created more than a thousand works (articles).Compared with the vast sea of ​​detective literature, this figure is simply a drop in the bucket.However, there are such a small number of writers who devote their entire lives to creating "impossible crime" works, such as American writers John Dickson Carr, Clayton Lawson, Josephine Cummins... etc.The highest achiever, of course, was John Dickson Carr.

John Dickson Carr (November 30, 1906 - February 27, 1977) was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, USA.His father, Wood Nicholas Carr, was once elected to the House of Representatives.Carr showed a talent for writing as a teenager, writing news reports on court trials and murders by the age of eleven, and later writing a boxing column for a local newspaper. In 1925, John Dickson Carr entered Harvard College.In the second year, his novels and poems were published in the school's literary magazine "Harvey Folks", and he has since become the editor of the magazine. After graduating from Harvard College in 1928, he went to study at the Sorbonne in Paris (the predecessor of the University of Paris).However, during most of his study abroad, he was writing a series of novels for the "Harvey Folks" magazine, which was revised and expanded and published as his long debut (1930).The protagonist of the novel is the French police detective Henri Beclin who appeared in the short story before.

In 1932, John Dickson Carr married a British woman, Clarice #Cliffs, and they settled in England after their marriage.Carr became so British that many readers thought he was a British writer. In 1933, John Dickson Carr published the first work in the Dr. Gideon Fell series.The following year, Sir Henry Merrillville appeared in The Plagueland Murders, which he wrote under the pseudonym Carter Dixon.Since then, John Dickson Carr has alternately written the Dr. Fell series and the Sir Merrillville series, which have become his most representative works.His works have a distinctive style: complex plot layouts, strange murder techniques, full of dramatic and supernatural atmosphere.More importantly, he focused on "Chamber of Secrets" and "Crime Impossible".Unfortunately, due to smoking, his health deteriorated in his later years and he died of lung cancer on February 27, 1977.

John Dickson Carr's first detective in the Chamber of Secrets, Dr. Gideon Fell, was based on his admired British detective writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton.Phil was a fat lexicographer with funny clothes, a cape, a meerschaum pipe, and a gangster beard.But he has a keen observation ability and is good at analyzing the psychology of criminals. The cases he solves are also quite complicated, which is an almost perfect combination of creativity, atmosphere, surprise and narrative skills.Containing two "impossible crimes" (1935), it has been voted first in all chambers of secrets.Other masterpieces include (1936), (1938), (1939), (1941) and so on.

Sir Henry Merrillville was a bit like Winston Churchill.He was even weirder than Dr. Fell - big bald head, odd expression and slovenly appearance.Merrillville was a lawyer and a doctor by profession, but he was most interested in impossible cases.The debut work "Plague Village Murder" took place in an old house in London that was rumored to be haunted. The case started with a seance, and naturally the feast of the "chamber of secrets" was indispensable.This series of masterpieces include (1935), <1938), (1943) and so on.The Chamber of Secrets case solved by Sir Henry Merivale is not inferior to that of Dr. Fell at all, but it is slightly inferior because he did not publish the "Lectures on the Chamber of Secrets". John Dickson Carr's collection of works is the culmination of European and American romances. Detective novelist Edmond Crispin summed up his achievements and said: "In terms of the subtlety of technique and the skill of creating atmosphere, Carr can indeed be among the best in English. The country, after Edgar Allan Poe, among the three or four greatest detective novelists." Impossible mysteries need an equally impossible atmosphere to set off, creating an effect that is both illusory and real.With the help of ancient legends and Gothic scenes, John Dickson Carr naturally brings out the sense of supernatural horror.In the book, it is said that the heir of the Stabbers family, who is the warden of Chatham Prison and owns a large amount of real estate here, is destined to die with a broken neck. Sure enough, under the supervision of everyone, Stubbs The parents and son fell to their deaths.The Murder of the Red Widow (1935) in the Merrillville series is also a locked room under surveillance by many people, but in that room, which is said to be able to eat people, a secret room poisoning incident really happened. John Dickson Carr was also one of the authors of "The Golden Age," the first to propose a level playing field.He fully uses fair clues and reasonable answers to make the novel finally follow the path of logic.British critic Julian Simmons said: "Today's novels, in terms of tricks, none can compare with Christie and Carl." He wrote all over the mystery of "impossible crime" and designed more than fifty kinds of secret rooms. The idea is so ingenious that even Agatha Christie sighed.Readers don't have to doubt whether the tricks in the novel can be realized, because John Dickson Carr has personally experimented to ensure the feasibility of the tricks.If you have such doubts, you can only blame your own stupid head.