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How to commit murder inside a locked room

tedgioia.substack.com

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Re: How to commit murder inside a locked room

#91
post #25

Umineko: When They Cry has a great deconstruction of the locked-room trope. It’s a very long story (5 gigabytes of voiced lines!), but a hugely entertaining deconstruction for any fan of the detective/mystery genre. One of the best mysteries I’ve ever read. https://umineko-project.org/en/ is the definitive version, but please support the author by also buying the game on steam or elsewhere.

I really like Umineko, and that is the first thing that came to mind from this article. I gotta say the first episode (or was it the first two?) was rather off-putting for me because -- after a slow start -- it pretty much drags you through the mud with apparent fantasy elements that don't really seem to make any sense. I almost stopped reading. I'm still not entirely sure what to make out of the whole story, but I'm…

I think the question and answer arcs are about 1 million words each, putting the total closer to 2 million words. But once it was finished I wanted more.

For myself the biggest problem was the very long peaceful intro in episode 1. It’s a long time before anything happens (lots of world building and setup)… although when the “fishy aroma” music track finally drops the impact is amazing. And it just gets crazier and crazier from there.

Re: How to commit murder inside a locked room

#92

See Vanity Fair's excellent long-form article "The Body in Room 348" for a real life example! https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/05/true-crime-elegan...

Calling that article excellent is almost understatement. One of the most fascinating true crime articles I've read. Thanks for reminding me of it.

Excellent read indeed. Do you know any more that wood be at least in the same league?

Re: How to commit murder inside a locked room

#94
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling that article excellent is almost understatement. One of the most fascinating true crime articles I've read. Thanks for reminding me of it.

Excellent read indeed. Do you know any more that wood be at least in the same league?

Don't know where to find it, but I read another such mystery involving the same real life detective, that involved a girl who when into a motel, and never came out. I'm sure someone will know what I'm referring to.

OK, found it. And Ken Brennan is the stuff legends are made of. https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/12/vanishing-blonde-...

Also, I read "In Cold Blood" in its original serial format in the New Yorker, and it was quite good (and long -- for a magazine).

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