Mystery Fiction Discussion

[ghagler]

I’d be rather surprised if the majority of 07th Expansion fans weren’t interested in the mystery fiction genre, given the prevalence of mystery in a lot of Ryukishi’s works to varying degrees. In fact, Ryukishi stated that Agatha Christie’s novel And Then There Were None had been one of his major inspirations in his writing. [1] You can see similarities between the two.

That same novel also happens to be the bestselling mystery of all time, and within the top 10 bestselling novels of any genre; and for good reason: it’s an awesome read. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s already public domain, so go read it!

In any case, there’s bound to be plenty of locked room and mystery fiction fans around, so let’s discuss the genre!

Has there been a mystery novel you’ve read recently that you enjoyed? Are you looking for any recommendations? Did you start writing locked room mysteries yourself after Umineko?

I’ll just toss out a few authors I’ve read that are fantastic:

1. Agatha Christie, as mentioned previously. Along with #2 and #3, they founded the Detection Club, from which came many of the mysteries of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. And Then There Were None and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd are considered among her most incredible works.

2. Monsignor Ronald Knox. A Catholic priest who wrote mysteries and codified the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) of Detection Fiction.

3. G.K. Chesterton. He met with the above two for brunch every few weeks in London, which is kind of amazing. He wrote the Father Brown mystery short stories, many of which concerned locked rooms and great wit. He didn’t write the normal “detective fiction” as #1 and #2 did; they’re also more character and locked room focused. And they’re in Chesterton’s prose, which is always glorious. Check out his many public domain works here! I recommend The Man Who Was Thursday and the Father Brown series. I believe the first collection book of short stories is The Innocence of Father Brown.

As for what I’m currently reading: nothing in the mystery genre; working on a WWII history book. But I plan to go back for some more Christie sometime soon.

[tanasinn]

This is not a novel itself, but BBC recently aired a production of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, which I watched as each episode came out. It was my first experience of the story (although it was post-Umineko) and I absolutely loved it. I’m not sure how the adaption compares to the original story, but the mystery seemed to rendered in a clear manner; enough clues were given, and viewers were given a clear indication of when all of the clues had been revealed. I actually watched this with family members and together we debated the culprit before the reveal (I “guessed” correctly, but there were a few mistakes in my reasoning). Overall it was a very enjoyable experience and I now see how heavily the story influenced Umineko’s mystery. It has heightened my interest in Christie’s work, which I haven’t had a chance to try before but will definitely check out in the future.

[ghagler]

This is not a novel itself, but BBC recently aired a production of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, which I watched as each episode came out.

I haven’t watched that myself; I’ll have to go look it up. I do remember hearing about it…

[Aulin]

Well, I read And There Were None a lot of time before Umineko, I can say that it is a really great novel, I recommend it to everyone who has read Umineko.
I’d also recommend on the mistery genre, Gastou Leroux’s “The mistery of the yellow room”, it is a really nice novel to read and the mistery is really a good one

[technololigy]

Ooh, I didn’t know Christie’s work was public domain now, no excuse not to read the rest of them then.

[Edo_nagori]

For those who are in general fans of mystery fiction, which novels are you working on now? For me I am considering reading the ABC murders, however I prefer stories with their own standalone detectives, rather than a pre-established character. It’s odd but I haven’t read too much of Christie’s work aside from and then there were none, so I’m looking forward to digging into more of her novels.

[RedEspeon]

A good work of Christie to read is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. As for things I’m reading, I’ve been putting off reading Murder on the Orient Express for way too long, and I think I have the Maltese falcon lying around somewhere…

[ghagler]

For those who are in general fans of mystery fiction, which novels are you working on now?

I’ve been getting back into the Father Brown mystery short stories. Just re-read the first one and was reminded of why I loved it so much, haha.

I’ll probably try and see if I can find any of Msgr. Knox’s stories soon.

[ghagler]

I’m not a fan of double posting, but it’s been a few days, and I wanted to update this with something new I just learned.

In Japan, it seems there was a revival of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, with the introduction of Christie and the rest via translation.

From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, not a few mystery writers who were influenced by the Golden Age style made their debut one after another in Japan. They are referred to as “new traditionalists” (新本格ミステリ作家 shin honkaku misuteri sakka?, lit. new orthodox mystery writers) or “new orthodox school” (新本格派 shin honkaku ha?).[9][10][11] Representative “new traditionalists” include writers such as Yukito Ayatsuji, Rintaro Norizuki and Taku Ashibe.[12]

Source

They even have a modern equivalent of the Detection Club I spoke about in the beginning: the Honkaku (Orthodox) Mystery Writers Club of Japan.

So any of you (like me) who are interested in reading Japanese might want to look into these authors!

[Edo_nagori]

Oh man thanks for the info. I always like foreign writing (Japanease being a pretty popular one for me) so it’s nice to be able to check out some Japanese mystery fiction out sometime.

[C.I.Helrul]

Im not a big reader, and most of the books that ive read were imposed to me so i didnt enjoy them all that much. But, after reading umineko, recently ive started to read books of the mystery genre, just a few tough. Id recommend “The murders on the rue morgue” which is said to be the father of detective fiction and if you are into anime id say also “Another Note: The los angeles BB murder cases”, its in the universe of Death Note, and it was surprisingly good in my opinion (I didnt expect much, i supose).
As for what im currently reading, actually i started already with Chesterton’s Father Brown recently and im pretty much enjoying the character of Brown. I cant help but tod compare it to Sherlock Holmes, and since its more based on intuition most of the time and not as cold and logical as Holmes I find refreshing to read his stories.

[ghagler]

actually i started already with Chesterton’s Father Brown recently

I’m proud of you.

[cjlim2007]

Idk if this counts but has anyone read utsuro no hako to zero no Maria aka The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria. It’s a light novel series completed fairly recently. While it may be on more of the psychological side, it still has mystery and stuff going on.

[ghagler]

has anyone read utsuro no hako to zero no Maria aka The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria.

I’ve read that. I wouldn’t exactly call it a mystery in the sense that we’ve been speaking; it’s not something the reader really has a chance to solve. But it’s definitely a great series and has a lot of mysterious and psychological elements; had me hooked from book one. Kind of related to how the Monogatari series is a mystery & psychological, I guess.

[Edo_nagori]

Kind of related to how the Monogatari series is a mystery & psychological, I guess.

It’s a mystery in a different way than a typical mystery, yeah. Most of the mystery stems from what kind of oddity is affecting Person X, and how to get rid of it.

[kyuketsukimiyu]

So it occurred to me that people in this kind of community might really be interested in The Mysterious Package Company. They send you stories over various numbers of mailings that include artifacts rather than a straight narrative that you use to more experience the story rather than just read it. It is pretty cool. I don’t know their international shipping policy though - they are in Canada I think (I’m US)
https://www.mysteriouspackage.com

[Edo_nagori]

Oh thanks for the tip, that actually sounds like a unique way to tell a mystery, sure as heck way more hands on. The inclusive nature of it makes me a little nervous about trying to apply though.

[kyuketsukimiyu]

The application is mostly for ambiance. Every communication the site sends is “in character” - it’s really cool!

[Kuchisakeonnanoko]

After Umineko, I read Death on the Nile and And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I enjoyed them very much!

@ghagler What theories did you come up with when you were reading And Then There Were None? Here’s my favorite theory! Beatrice Taylor Mass Murder Theory! Miss Brent drove her over the edge, and she almost died drowning herself. But she survived, while her child died. After that, she took up swimming so that she could overcome her fear of water, which slowly turned into a clinical condition. She started going to extreme lengths in her training because she thought it wasn’t ever going to be enough and that she would drown if she didn’t practice more vigorously.
Beatrice met Wargrave after speaking with and being rejected by countless lawyers, accusing Ms. Brent of mental abuse, and the murder of her unborn child. Wargrave heard rumors about her and took an interest in her story. When the time came, he sought her support, telling her about his condition. That’s how they became accomplices.
And the reason everyone decided that there couldn’t be anyone else on or around the island is because they didn’t believe. That was a mistake.

[ghagler]

I’ll be the first to admit that I hadn’t the slightest idea what the solution could have been, haha. It was a pretty insane ride. The reveal at the end was really quite fun.