Top-notch artist in entertainment

Chapter 692 Manor Massacre
The news that Karl and other authors were present at the book signing soon aroused enthusiastic attention on the Internet.

After all, it is very rare to see the characters in the novels cosplayed by Karl and others.

It has indeed played a publicity role to a certain extent, and has also made the popularity of the "Sherlock Holmes" series, which has just been released in this world, even more intense.

The autograph session lasted until nightfall, and the on-site bookstore was the world of fans.

However, outside the bookstore, there are more book fans who are attentively opening the title pages of the physical books and immersing themselves in the new mystery stories.

Or you may have finished reading early and started sharing your analysis and evaluation of the stories in the book on reasoning forums or other social media platforms.

Especially the novella "Uncanny Valley", which opens the second part of the detective collection, has been the most discussed.

Unlike other previous works, most mystery fans first pay attention to the quality of the work and conduct evaluation and judgment.

With the blessing of the Golden Dagger Award and the popularity of the first part of the detective series, as soon as the second part was published, the discussion threads opened were basically analyzing the progress of the plot.

For example, what is the purpose of a certain paragraph in the book, who appears on the scene may be the introduction of the story, key clues in the plot, and even a specific sentence can become a point of discussion and analysis.

The characters and cases in the book, even though a relatively long time has passed since the previous reading, still make Barry feel vivid.

The publication of the first volume of "The Sherlock Holmes" gave Barry a huge surprise. It once made Barry feel like he was returning to his youth when he read detective novels.

Obviously, he didn't expect that this volume actually included so many short stories.

26 Birlstone 9 47 171]

But the reason why I haven't taken any action is partly because I'm not very familiar with Jiang Yuan, and also because I haven't read any of Omega's short stories.

It doesn't matter who Pollock really is. According to the introduction, Pollock was an undercover agent developed by Holmes in a criminal organization called the Moriarty Criminals.

At this age, in addition to serving as a judge for the Golden Dagger Award, Barry still has some goals he wants to achieve in the editing industry.

At home and abroad, there are also many book critics or related practitioners who are also reading the second part of this detective collection for the first time.

This is obviously a coded letter, and if you want to crack it, you must get the so-called codebook to get the key to the final answer.

The format of the coded letter made Barry's eyes light up. With the opening of a few conversations and such a letter, the mysterious and tense feeling of a detective novel was instantly created.

If Omega can be invited, with his reputation and traffic, coupled with the quality of his works, and the connections he has accumulated over the years, Barry feels that he is more likely to start a magazine.

He selected one of the books and opened it with great interest. It was rare for Barry to open a catalog with a bit of impatient mood.

As a well-known figure in the industry, the publisher also sent Barry a large gift package in one go.

At the beginning of the story, Moriarty, the villain of the Sherlock Holmes series, was successfully introduced.

It is not difficult for Barry to see that such a character should not be ordinary in subsequent stories.

While checking related reasoning information on the Internet through his mobile phone, Barry also saw a group photo of Carl and others cosplaying, and then he slowly remembered that among a bunch of packages sent by the publishing house, there seemed to be the second part of the detective series. The presence.

【534 C2 13 127 36 31 4 17 21 41
Douglas 109 293 5 37 Birlstone

A copy of the package was sent to Barry along with a signed and gold-edged limited edition.

So the first issue of the magazine, Barry had already made up his mind to make it the last one.

Barry nodded. Sometimes the beauty of detective novels is that watching the detective show his clever side can also bring pleasure to people.

But the most curious thing at the moment is still the letter sent by Pollock. According to Holmes's description, receiving such a letter must mean that something big has happened.

Although he is nearly eighty years old, he maintains exercise all year round and has the habit of reading mystery novels. Barry does not look like his peers at this age.

【The Valley of Fear】

This reminder also made Barry quickly find the place where the package was placed and start rummaging around.

Making inferences based on the clues of the password obviously did not trouble Holmes, and he quickly deduced the corresponding codebook based on the password.

The content of the letter was quickly revealed to readers.

The title Moriarty was given to Moriarty through the dialogue between Holmes and Watson is similar to "famous criminal", "unprecedented conspirator", "leader of the evil forces" and other seemingly exaggerated code names. .

The story still begins with the conversation between Holmes and Watson, and goes straight to the topic. Holmes receives a letter from Pollock.

Among them is Barry. As one of the judges of the Golden Dagger Award, Barry has been paying close attention to subsequent works after he voted for Omega in the final selection and witnessed the other party winning the award.

For example, starting a mystery magazine of his own was an idea that Barry had conceived when Omega won the Golden Dagger Award.

But after thinking it over, Barry suppressed his excitement for the time being, gently turned the pages of the book, and decided to read the story first before making any further considerations.

According to his reading habits, although he wanted to jump directly to the short stories, Barry felt that the arrangement of the book should be logical, so he started reading the first story called "Uncanny Valley" in order.

Although it is not impossible to launch a serialization, according to Barry's vision, judging from his age group, it is estimated that such a magazine will be one less than one.

The layout of the entire book is the same as what Jiang Yuan introduced before the book signing, but this is the first time Barry has seen it.

After opening a few packages, Barry found the physical form of the second part of the detective series.

But after noticing the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes section, Barry's eyes suddenly lit up.

This kind of arrangement is no less than telling everyone in the latest trailer that this is the most expensive card when the mobile card drawing game is updated.

I nodded subconsciously when I saw the article "Uncanny Valley", thinking that it should be similar to the first part of the detective series.

The popularity of the novel is evident.

Rubbing the letters and symbols on the page with his fingertips, Barry began to think subconsciously.

As of now, Barry has received several high-quality short stories. Now that he sees the catalog of the second part of the detective collection, Barry once again has the urge to invite Jiang Yuan for contributions.

After locking the codebook, Holmes quickly learned the true content of the coded letter.

After the corresponding words were matched one-to-one with the names of the people in the letter, we finally got such a seemingly fragmented sentence.

[There will be danger that may soon befall someone, Douglas, the wealthy country house now Birlstone Village Birlstone Manor, letter. Urgent. 】

Although the information conveyed is fragmented, the subject is obviously very specific and clear even if the recipient thinks a little.

At this time, Detective McDonald of the Metropolitan Police Department appeared on the scene. Due to the timeline of the story, McDonald was not yet a nationally famous detective at this time. Macdonald's arrival also brought a very dramatic news.

After seeing the information deduced by the two Holmes, the detective was shocked and explained that just the night before, Mr. Douglas of Birlstone Manor was murdered.

It was for this reason that Holmes came to seek help.

The dramatic scene fits Barry’s impression of detective novels.

At least this is a pattern where cases come to you on their own initiative, rather than where someone dies wherever the detective goes.

After learning the news, Holmes and others did not rush to the scene of the crime immediately.

Instead, they began to discuss Pollock who sent the warning letter and Moriarty behind it, and gave Mike and others some examples of Moriarty's criminal record.

Although it was told to Mike and others, in Barry's eyes, with just a few words, Moriarty had already created the impression that Moriarty was a resourceful and powerful genius criminal before he even appeared on the scene. character.

After understanding the power of the villain, I subconsciously developed a certain curiosity about this character.

Macdonald was obviously no exception. He almost forgot about the business while listening, but fortunately he brought the topic back to the subject in time, and they were about to set off to the scene of the crime, which was Birlstone Manor.

On the way, Mike also talked about the details of the case.

The need to hire a detective like Holmes is obviously enough to show that the case is extraordinary.

The so-called details of the case are actually not very detailed.

It was just a local police detective friend who sent MacDonald a letter.

The letter described that Mr. Douglas was shot at around twelve o'clock the night before. He was hit in the head by a shotgun and needed the support of Holmes.

Other than that, there are no other clues yet.

For such clues, Holmes did not give any definite inferences.

The carriage continues to drive, as if it is heading to a gorgeous stage that has been set up, making people involuntarily look forward to witnessing this "performance".

After just flipping through a few pages, Barry was very happy when he realized this.

Suddenly I felt that such a plot was compelling. Even if I didn't see the short story, serializing it in my own magazine would be quite attractive content.

Thinking of this, Barry had secretly made up his mind to get Jiang Yuan to participate in his magazine.

Even if it's a novella, his magazine should at least be the issue where the novella is serialized. Thinking of this, Barry's motivation suddenly burned brightly.

With this feeling, I continue to turn the pages of the story.

Like the first one, the story in this one is always told and recorded from Watson's perspective.

All records are events that have already occurred, so the next part is a further detailed description of the case.

Birlstone Manor, where the case occurred, is located in the countryside. It was established to meet the needs of the war, so a moat was built.

Because of the moat, there is only one way in and out of the manor - the suspension bridge. The suspension bridge is raised every night and lowered the next morning.

As a result, the crime location formed a closed "isolated island" condition.

Barry raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw it. After all, the last film "No Survival" that amazed him with a direct voting gold dagger was also a typical island mode.

Immediately, I continued to read with anticipation.

Now that the location of the case is known, the next step is the characters. There are only two people living in the manor, namely Douglas and his wife, in addition to the housekeeper Eames and the housekeeper Mrs. Allen.

According to local impressions, Douglas was a brave and friendly good man, about fifty years old, while his wife was twenty years younger. As for the other servants, they were not related to the case that night.

According to friends, the two of them did not seem to trust each other, and Mrs. Douglas also had a small problem of appearing nervous from time to time.

In addition, the other person present that night, Buck, was Douglas's friend and occasionally stayed at the manor.

He was very friendly to Douglas and even Mrs. Douglas. According to the butler's description, sometimes he was so friendly that Douglas was jealous.

On the night of the incident, Buck also went to the police station to report the incident.

Police detectives and forensic doctors also arrived at the scene of the crime immediately.

The situation at the scene was a bit complicated. Douglas was shot in the head with a modified shotgun and died. His head was no longer open. Almost the entire head was broken into pieces, and his death was tragic.

There was a bloody footprint on the window sill, and a mysterious card was left next to the deceased.

The card release reads "VV, 314"

There was a fallen hammer on the ground, and there were several muddy footprints behind the curtains. The housekeeper testified that the deceased's wedding ring was also missing.

The situation at the scene was so complicated that people seemed confused, so they asked Holmes for help.

The complex scene is like a well-prepared stage, waiting for the protagonist to appear.

After the review of the case was completed, Holmes also arrived at the scene. After hearing such an introduction, he was amazed and very interested. The drama was about to begin. Barry watched intently and full of anticipation.

……

While Barry was immersed in reading, Jiang Yuan stretched for a long time at the autograph session.

The autograph signing, which took nearly half a day, finally came to an end.

The first day of autograph signing ended and the scene was still lively.

Many fans were still present, but Jiang Yuan stood up at the end and took photos with the audience again before leaving.

The signing lasted from day to night, and fans understood Jiang Yuan's fatigue, so they didn't bother him too much.

When he arrived at the bookstore, he waved to the fans outside the venue again before Jiang Yuan got in the car and left to have dinner.

At the same time, after the signing, I picked up my phone and paid attention to the live reactions on the Internet.

(End of this chapter)