Knocking at the Door of the Locked Room (2 Volumes)

青崎有吾 / 丁灵 / 赵婧怡New Star Press · ChinaJan 2023

3.9

Word count: 205K words
Chapters: 52

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Summary

He thought it was a locked-room murder, but a large hole had been smashed through the wall—what was the killer after?

A young woman is murdered in a park; why has her "never wrong" watch stopped at such an odd time?

A high-school girl enters an underground passage and never comes out the other side—she simply vanishes…

Six baffling cases, solved through flawless teamwork by two young detectives: Ranma Hira, who specializes in motive analysis, and Tōri Gotemba, who focuses on method.

Editor's review

This two-volume collection lays out six seemingly unsolvable puzzles: a gaping hole smashed through a locked room's wall, a watch stopped at an odd time, a high-school girl who enters an underground passage and never emerges. Yugo Aosaki's approach leans toward the intellectual game of honkaku mystery, and the division of labor between the two young detectives is a clever design—Ranma Hira specializes in motive analysis, Tōri Gotemba in method—making their partnership read like a logical dialogue that lets readers eliminate possibilities step by step. The puzzles often grab attention first, while the solutions depend on dissecting both scene details and character psychology; the pace is brisk, well suited to reading one case at a time in spare moments. For readers who enjoy guessing and the process of deduction itself rather than gore, this series offers ample participation; those expecting deep social-school depictions or complex human analysis may need to adjust expectations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love honkaku mystery and enjoy puzzles and deducing methods
Those who want lightweight short-form mystery for commutes or bedtime
Readers interested in a two-detective partnership and logic-dialogue narrative
Young readers new to contemporary Japanese mystery who prefer brisk pacing

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer social-school mystery with deep human critique and period context
Those impatient with locked-room tricks and logical deduction who want only fast-paced thrills
Readers who dislike short-story cycles or episodic cases and want one long continuous story

Reading tips

Read one or two cases first to get a feel for the two detectives' division of labor, then proceed in order to appreciate how their partnership develops.
When you hit a puzzle, resist flipping to the solution—list possibilities on paper yourself for a stronger sense of participation.
Keep notes on method and motive analysis separately, comparing the two detectives' angles of approach.
Leave a short gap between the two volumes to avoid fatigue from similar puzzle structures in continuous reading.

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.

版权信息
敲响密室之门
敲响密室之门
头发变短的尸体
回旋转盘W！
廉价诡计
所谓的“雪地密室”
十元硬币太少了
无限接近精确的毒杀
敲响密室之门2
开了洞的密室
1
2
3
4
5
关于手表的几个谎言
1
2
3
4
穿地警部补，有案子
1
2
3
4
5
消失的少女追寻的少女
1
2
3
4
5
最愚蠢的溺死者
1
2
3
4
5
6
密室之门打开时
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

FAQ

Do these books need to be read in order?

It's best to start with volume one and read in order. Although each case is relatively self-contained, the detectives' division of labor and partnership unfold gradually as the cases progress; reading in order lets you better appreciate how their teamwork changes and keeps you from missing relationship threads planted earlier.

Can I read this without having read other works by Yugo Aosaki?

Yes. This is a standalone story collection that doesn't depend on prior events from the author's other works. If you're interested in the puzzles themselves, starting here poses no comprehension barrier—it may even help you quickly get used to the author's logic-driven narrative style.

Are the cases very gory?

Judging from the puzzles presented, the focus is on locked rooms, time contradictions, and disappearances rather than graphic bloodshed or violence. The author tends to spend more space on motive analysis and method deduction, suiting readers who dislike heavy content but want the pleasure of solving puzzles.

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About the author

青崎有吾 Author

Qingqi Youwu is a Japanese mystery writer, best known among Chinese readers for the Sera Tenma series and the Knock on the Locked Door series. Ten of the author's works are included here, spanning novels and short-story collections, with representative titles such as The Gymnasium Mystery, The Library Mystery, The Aquarium Mystery, The Windmill Hill Fifty-Yen Coin Mystery, and the two volumes of Knock on the Locked Door. The writing is grounded in orthodox detective fiction, often combining closed spaces and everyday settings with logical deduction; clues are laid out carefully, the solution prizes fairness, and the pace stays brisk without losing the pleasure of puzzle-solving. On this Chinese book site the works are usually shelved under suspense and mystery and foreign literature. Public information about the author's nationality, date of birth, education, and awards is limited, so no speculation is offered here.

丁灵 Author

Ding Ling is an author about whom limited public information is available; three works can currently be identified, including The Stranger in a Foreign Land and Knock on the Door of the Locked Room (including a two-volume edition). Judging from these works and their common classifications, her writing spans foreign literature and mystery and detective fiction, combining emotional writing about the experience of being away from home with the solving of locked-room puzzles. The title The Stranger in a Foreign Land suggests a work possibly centered on the experiences and state of mind of a wanderer in unfamiliar surroundings, while the Knock on the Door of the Locked Room series clearly points toward locked-room tricks and case-solving in classic detective fiction. Because her dates of birth and death, nationality, and English name are not clearly recorded, details of her life cannot yet be given, and readers may chiefly come to know her creative profile through the works mentioned above.

赵婧怡 Author

Zhao Jingyi: public information is limited, and her creative direction can currently be understood only from her works and their common categories. The library holds four of her works, including Knock on the Door of the Secret Room (2 volumes), Knock on the Door of the Secret Room 2, The Red Lotus Mansion Murder Case, and Deep in the Bones. These works are classified under foreign literature and mystery and suspense. Judging from the titles and categories, Zhao Jingyi's writing focuses on familiar conventions of orthodox mystery fiction such as locked rooms and mansion settings, and she is good at building suspense through enclosed spaces and puzzle structures, advancing the deductive narrative layer by layer around each case. Her output is not yet large, but her subject matter is concentrated, and her style leans toward the plotting and puzzle-solving pleasures of traditional mystery and suspense, making her work suitable for readers who enjoy locked-room mysteries and a Japanese-style mystery atmosphere. Because the author's nationality, dates of birth and death, English name, and specific experiences are not clearly recorded, no speculation is made here; this introduction briefly addresses only the themes and writing orientation of her existing works.