The Judas Window

约翰·迪克森·卡尔 / 蔡妙New Star Press · ChinaJun 2019

Rating 4.2
Word count
142K words
Chapters
23
ISBN
9787513334334

Tags

Mystery and Suspense Locked RoomCourtroom DramaLegal ElementsClassic MysteryCrime PuzzleDetective FictionTwist EndingTrick DesignGolden AgeMystery Fans

Summary

James Answell plans to visit his future father-in-law, Avery Hume, in London. Hume invites the prospective bridegroom into a sturdy room fitted with metal shutters and a thick wooden door. The room displays prizes and arrows from Hume's archery hobby. As Hume pours wine from a glass bottle, the two talk about archery. Before crashing to the floor, Answell realizes he has been drugged. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself and Hume locked in the room from the inside, and Hume dead, struck by an arrow. Within a quarter of an hour, the young man becomes the sole suspect in this locked-room murder. Will the scales of justice tip in his favor? Can the legendary brilliant lawyer Sir Henry Merrivale prove his innocence? What unspeakable conspiracy lies behind this astonishing impossible crime? The hidden Judas Window slowly opens, and the wheel of fate begins to turn...

Editor's review

The Judas Window is one of the representative works of John Dickson Carr, a master of the golden age of detective fiction, and a pinnacle of locked-room mystery. This translation from New Star Press is of high quality, and the design has a classical detective flavor. The book's core appeal lies in its extreme fairness and logical rigor—Carr presents the structure of the crime scene, a room with only one door and one window, entirely to the reader through a floor plan at the very beginning, with all clues laid out. How did the murderer, in full view, commit murder in a room locked from the inside? This puzzle, known as an "impossible crime," constitutes the book's most fascinating intellectual challenge.

Carr's writing style is distinctive: he does not rely on lengthy atmospheric description or complex character relationships to drive the plot, but focuses all his energy on constructing and solving the puzzle itself. The reasoning of the supremely wise Dr. Gideon Fell is not wild conjecture but strictly built on physical evidence and chains of logic, with every step able to withstand repeated scrutiny. This creative philosophy of "challenging the reader" makes reading like taking part in a high-level chess game, intensely immersive.

Beyond the ingenious locked-room trick, the courtroom debate is equally superb and can be considered an early model of legal reasoning. The fierce contest between prosecution and defense not only drives the case forward but weaves tiny clues into a deadly net of logic. For contemporary readers, the book's value goes far beyond appreciating a classic trick: it offers a taste of the pure logical beauty and intellectual pleasure of classical honkaku detective fiction. It reminds us that the core appeal of detective fiction has always been the brilliant collision of human reason and imagination.

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Reading tips

  1. While reading, be sure to study carefully the floor plan of the room provided at the beginning; it is the key map to solving the puzzle.
  2. Try to reason from all the clues in the text before Dr. Fell reveals the truth, and enjoy the pleasure of the "challenge to the reader."
  3. Pay attention to every evidential detail and contradiction in testimony during the courtroom debate, and enjoy the pleasure of the logical puzzle gradually coming together.

About the publisher

New Star Press China · Founded in 1989

New Star Press focuses on classic works, mystery and detective fiction, science fiction, history, foreign literature and art, and its 602 titles in the library show a balance between popular reading and humanistic depth. Representative books include The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Illustrated Collector's Edition, And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, The Player of Games, Local Government in Qing China, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and A Collection of Fine Ukiyo-e Prints, spanning classic literature, detective fiction, science fiction, local history and visual art. Its authors and contributors include William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie and Iain M. Banks, as well as translators such as Zhu Shenghao and Su Fuzhong and illustrators such as John Gilbert and George Cruikshank. Known for the detective series Midnight Library and for social-science and humanities titles, the press emphasizes edition design and reading experience; public information is limited, so this profile highlights the publishing features reflected in the library's books.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 作者简介
  3. 约翰·迪克森·卡尔 重要作品年表
  4. 序 可能发生过之事
  5. 第一章 法庭上的真实证言
  6. 第二章 请看五号照片
  7. 第三章 在那黑漆漆的小走廊
  8. 第四章 要么有一扇窗，要么没有
  9. 第五章 并非食人魔的洞穴
  10. 第六章 一片蓝色的羽毛
  11. 第七章 站在天花板附近
  12. 第八章 老熊还没有瞎
  13. 第九章 红袍不慌不忙
  14. 第十章 传被告出庭做证
  15. 第十一章 秘密行事
  16. 第十二章 从发现到搜查
  17. 第十三章 印台是关键
  18. 第十四章 弓箭手的时间表
  19. 第十五章 犹大之窗的形状
  20. 第十六章 我亲手染的色
  21. 第十七章 在窗口
  22. 第十八章 全体的判决
  23. 尾声 真实发生之事

FAQ

I haven't read other works by Carr; will reading this one directly be a problem? Not at all. This is a standalone series work, and the character of Dr. Fell is fully developed in the story; no background knowledge is needed to enjoy the complete reading experience.
Is the book's reasoning process very obscure and hard to understand? Carr's narration is clear and highly organized. Although the puzzle itself is complex and ingenious, all clues are fairly presented to the reader, and the solution proceeds step by step with strict logic; as long as you follow the pace of the narration, it is not difficult to understand.
As a work from decades ago, is its trick outdated today? Quite the contrary. The book's locked-room trick is hailed as a "perfect design"; its core conception rests on a double ingenuity of physics and psychology and does not depend on technology specific to any era, so it remains fresh and is still regarded by many detective writers and readers as a model, rewarding rereading.

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About the author

约翰·迪克森·卡尔 Author

John Dickson Carr is a suspense and mystery author carried by this Chinese book site, with five of his works currently in the collection. Public information is limited, and his birth and death years, nationality, and English name have not yet been confirmed, so only his works are introduced here. Carr is known for intricately constructed locked-room mysteries, in which stories often unfold in enclosed spaces, clues are laid out layer by layer, and solutions emphasize logic and mechanical design. The Three Coffins, The Judas Window, He Who Whispers, The Lady Died, and the five-volume "King of the Locked Room" Carr impossible-crime series all belong to this vein, reflecting a sustained interest in the "impossible crime" subgenre of detective fiction. His works are tense in atmosphere and pay attention to the symmetry between puzzle and solution, giving him a certain influence among suspense and mystery readers.

蔡妙 Author

Cai Miao is an author for whom limited public information is available. The records currently accessible contain little detail, and no clear information has been found regarding nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, or an English name. According to the available data, only one work is listed under Cai Miao, namely The Judas Window, which is classified as suspense and mystery fiction and serves as the main basis for understanding this author's writing. Judging from the category, Cai Miao's work involves mystery and suspense, a genre that typically emphasizes the construction of puzzles, the concealment of clues, and the revelation of truth, with attention to narrative pacing and logical deduction. The title The Judas Window carries a strong sense of suspense, suggesting a story that may revolve around a locked room, peeping, or hidden spaces. Because biographical and creative materials remain unpublished, further details about Cai Miao's life, writing trajectory, and influence are difficult to describe at present; readers may explore The Judas Window itself to better appreciate the author's narrative approach and thematic interests.