novelraw Chapter 114 The most powerful work, the most magnificent logic
Chapter 114 The most powerful work, the most magnificent logic
Chapter 114 The most powerful work, the most magnificent logic
Uyama Hideomi was intently flipping through the manuscript of "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates".
Suddenly, he heard Maishiro Kyosuke ask him a question.
He put down his manuscript, looked at Maishiro Kyosuke, and smiled helplessly, "Maki-sensei, you just asked me what suggestions I had?"
"To be honest, I'm not in a position to offer any advice."
"It's no exaggeration to say that among living writers, apart from Ms. Dana who can offer you advice, there is no other living writer who can!"
(Note: Ellery Queen was a co-author with Lee and Danna. Lee died in 1971.)
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Upon hearing Uyama Hideomi's words, Maishiro Kyosuke looked puzzled: "Then—why does Mr. Uyama look so furrowed?"
Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Uyama Hideomi smiled and said, "I'm thinking! Thinking takes a lot of brainpower, so naturally I'll have a furrowed brow."
Hideomi Uyama had been an editor at Kodansha for fifteen years and had now been promoted to the position of editor-in-chief of the third publishing department.
Although he is not as high as Yasunori Mikoshiba in terms of position, status, and influence.
However, since Yasunori Mikoshiba is the head of the sales department, he mainly manages work related to sales and publicity.
Therefore, Hideomi Uyama, the editor-in-chief who has been reviewing manuscripts for many years, is arguably the person with the most extensive knowledge of mystery novels present, apart from Kyosuke Maishiro.
Everyone had just finished watching "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates" and had many questions they wanted to discuss.
Upon hearing that Hideomi Uyama had just been thinking, everyone naturally looked at him with curiosity!
Seeing that everyone was looking at him with curiosity and expectation even though they didn't speak, Hideomi Uyama naturally understood what they wanted to ask. He took a sip of his drink and said to everyone, "Since Professor Maishiro said at the beginning that this story, 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate,' is a tribute to Professor Ellery Queen."
"Then I naturally believe that there are many Easter eggs to be found in 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates'."
"However, what I found first was not Ms. Wu's tribute to Ms. Ellery Queen, but—"
Before Hideomi Uyama could finish speaking, Kiyoshi Kasai interrupted, "Mr. Uyama, you probably meant to say the detective's name, right?"
Upon hearing Kasai Kiyoshi's words, Uyama Hideomi smiled with delight: "Mr. Kasai, as expected of a critic, you guessed it too!"
"That's right. In Ms. Maishiro's story 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate,' the most obvious homage is to the detective's name, Rintaro Hozuki."
"This name is a tribute to Rintaro Hosui, the detective in 'The Black Death Mansion Murder Case,' considered one of the four great mystery novels!"
"Apart from the detective's name, it is a tribute to Rintaro Hosui."
"Rintaro Hozuki and his father, Inspector Hozuki, one in charge of logical reasoning and the other in charge of investigation, command, and evidence collection, are also a tribute to Ellery Queen and his father Richard Queen in Ellery Queen's 'National Names Series'."
After speaking, Uyama Hideomi picked up a piece of pickled cucumber with his chopsticks, waved it in front of everyone, and then put it in his mouth: "And these tributes can only be considered as appetizers given by Teacher Maishiro."
"The reason I just said that, apart from Professor Dana, no other living writer can offer Professor Maishiro any advice!"
"This is absolutely not a joke!"
"Because Professor Wu Cheng not only paid homage to Ellery Queen, but also explored the issue of the fourth period in depth in 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate'."
"This kind of profound discussion about Professor Ellery Quinn is something that no one in the world can discuss with Professor Dana himself."
"To summarize simply, there are two main highlights."
Uyama Hideomi held up two fingers, outlining: "The first point is how the detective ensures that the logic of the reasoning is meticulous and complete."
"Specifically, how does a detective determine that a clue is not a false one, and how does he identify the murderer when he has absolutely no preconceived notions and is simply guessing at the motives of the crime?"
Uyama Hideomi's words left Kenzaki Mitsuki, Mikoshiba Yasunori, and Mikoshiba Kyoko all bewildered.
Although Kenzaki Mitsuki was a loyal fan of Ellery Queen, she was just a fan. Hearing Uyama Hideomi's professional discussion, she naturally couldn't keep up with his train of thought: "Mr. Uyama—excuse me—please allow me to interrupt."
Kenzaki Mitsuki slowly raised her hand and said in a soft voice, "Mr. Uyama, what you're saying is too technical; I don't understand it at all!"
"Could you—could you please explain this in simpler terms, Mr. Yushan?"
Upon hearing Kenzaki Mitsuki's words, Uyama Hideomi realized that he hadn't considered that Mikoshiba Yasunori, Mikoshiba Kyoko, and Kenzaki Mitsuki, whom he didn't know very well, were also present, and a somewhat embarrassed expression appeared on his face.
But even after opening my mouth twice, I still couldn't convey this way of thinking in a simple and easy-to-understand way.
Seeing that Uyama Hideomi was in an awkward situation, Jiang Liu Meili spoke up to save the day for the senior: "Mr. Uyama's words may sound complicated, but once you put them into the context of the story of 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate,' they become very easy to understand."
"Does everyone remember?"
"The story of The Death Row Inmate has two layers of logical reasoning."
"The first logical deduction is that the housekeeper Minami was asked by Director Matsuyama to buy cakes and prepare tea, but the housekeeper Minami also needed to deal with discarded documents, which led to the discovery of the paper shredder."
"Because Inspector Hei-yue found syringes and test tubes in the main garbage bin, and there was an incinerator next to the main garbage bin, it led to the claim that the incinerator was unusable."
"Ultimately, these hidden clues came together to show that the killer didn't use the shredder to destroy the syringes and test tubes, but instead chose to throw them in the main trash can. The killer was someone who didn't understand the internal structure of the detention center!"
"The most outstanding aspect of 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates,' which Mr. Yushan also praised, is not its powerful logical reasoning, because that logical reasoning is actually meant for laymen to appreciate."
"The truly powerful aspect of 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate' lies in the vast amount of foreshadowing that Mr. Mai Cheng has laid out throughout the text."
"The cake used for the farewell ceremony, the tea used to eat the cake, the thermos used to pour the tea, the paper shredder used to process documents, the murderer's weapons—syringe and test tubes—and the abandoned incinerator."
"These seemingly useless foreshadowing elements are all detonated within the first layer of logical reasoning, allowing the reader to truly feel that every sentence and every detail is useful!"
"Only by laying such a huge foreshadowing can a detective determine whether a clue is false, and how to identify the murderer when there is absolutely no preconceived notion and only wild guesses about the motive!"
After hearing Eri's explanation, Kenzaki Mitsuki gained a completely new understanding of "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate" and her admiration for Maijo Kyosuke grew even stronger!
Even the way she looked at Maijo Kyosuke was somewhat affectionate.
Uyama Hideomi gave Jiang Liu Meili a grateful look, and then stated his second point: "What Ms. Jiang Liu just explained is the first major highlight of Professor Mai Cheng's article 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate'."
"Next, I'll talk about the second major highlight."
"In Ellery Queen's early works, the detective was mostly given the responsibility of revealing the truth of the story."
"Of course, to some extent, Ellery Queen was following in the footsteps of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, which made the detective a god-like figure in the work."
"But in Ellery Queen's later works, he chose to demystify the detective, bringing him back to a cautious pursuit of the truth, making him a character who can also make mistakes!"
"This approach makes the whole story more intriguing, more dramatic, and more difficult; after all, detectives are no longer gods!"
After Hideomi Uyama finished speaking, Yasunori Mikoshiba, Kyoko Mikoshiba, and Mitsuki Kenzaki all looked puzzled, clearly not understanding Hideomi Uyama's professional words.
Having exhausted all other options, Uyama Hideomi could only look at Jiang Liu Meili with pleading eyes once more.
However, this time, before Jiang Liumei could speak, Otto Penzel, standing to the side, gave a detailed explanation in his somewhat broken Japanese: "I understand what Mr. Yushan means, to put it simply..."
"If this story had been written by the early Ellery Queen, the murderer would have been caught after the first layer of logical reasoning, since the detective is, after all, a god in the story."
"God does not make mistakes."
"However, Ms. Mai didn't place Rintaro Hozuki in a god-like position; instead, she portrayed him as a detective who also makes mistakes."
"This processing method has a very powerful logical structure."
"Although the first layer of logical reasoning failed to catch the real culprit, it led to a second, even more magnificent feast of logical reasoning!"
"In other words, if Professor Mai Shiro only wrote one layer of logical reasoning, then this 'Mystery of the Death Row Inmate' can only be called a masterpiece."
"But Teacher Maishiro repeatedly used the first layer of logical reasoning to trigger a second layer, ultimately identifying the only true culprit!"
"This process of repeatedly examining clues, scrutinizing physical evidence, and considering countless possibilities ensures that the conclusion of the case is as rigorous as possible."
"This is the real reason why Teacher Wucheng surpasses Teacher Ellery Queen!"