All-rounder Artist

Chapter 323: Chapter 302: Who Else Is There_1

Shen Jiarui’s bluffing left many writers in the detective circle flabbergasted.

Shen Jiarui…

Would this be considered the highest level of online troll in history?

If you, Shen Jiarui, have read this book, then it’s acceptable, but you clearly haven’t. You are so audacious and unashamed, aren’t you afraid of embarrassment afterwards?

Not only are the mystery writers dumbfounded.

The publishing circle is also a bit confused.

While being perplexed, they also can’t help but be wary, especially those few publishing houses that are on par with Silver Blue Books——

Chu Kuang is going to write a detective story?

Everyone knows Silver Blue Books’ mystery department is just for show, are they planning to bring in Chu Kuang to save the day?

But then again.

After Chu Kuang has crossed several genres, nobody dares to say that Chu Kuang absolutely can’t write a good detective story, so many people are somewhat panic-stricken.

Regardless of the public’s perception, after a few days of promotion, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” was finally released.

Not following the trend to release at the beginning of the month, given the growing number of authors in various fields as a result of the consolidation of multiple states, everyone has learned to avoid each other, and will not deliberately choose to release new books on any specific day——

For instance, the release date of “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” is set on the 12th of March.

With Chu Kuang’s reputation, numerous major booksellers in the industry have stocked up substantially.

Reality has also proven that their choice was extremely right.

On the morning of the 12th.

As soon as the bookstore opened, eighty percent of the customers who flocked in were here specifically for “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”!

“I want a copy of Chu Kuang’s new book…”

“I can’t recall the title, but it’s Chu Kuang’s new book, right, right – “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.”

Apparently, some people noticed the promotional stand at the bookstore. On the stand was a gorgeous poster, with this line of words:

[GOAT Chu Kuang’s new work “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” officially released, store manager recommends!]

“I’ll buy this one – “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.”

“Chu Kuang released a new book? I’ll buy one then.”

“Three copies of “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.”

It seemed evident that some were buying on behalf of others.

At the front desk of a certain bookstore.

The manager, who was specifically observing the sales situation, couldn’t help but smile after seeing the sales of “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” and made a profound remark:

“The literary circle has gained another author who can live off his fame.”

This is no small praise!

Usually, readers will flip through a book before buying it.

Although a novel is not expensive, it is still money spent, so caution is always needed.

But there are some authors, whose works the readers don’t even flip through, but directly purchase!

Because they trust this author’s level of skill tremendously!

The previous’s “Ghost Blows Out the Light” did not have such power, and many readers would still flip through it before deciding whether or not to buy it.

However, when it came to “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” readers basically had no hesitation!

Even though Chu Kuang, as he had done in the past, wrote on a theme he had never touched before, it didn’t affect readers’ enthusiasm to buy.

This is a typical example of authors who can live off their fame!

“It also has to do with Chu Kuang becoming a GOAT.”

The secretary next to the manager mused, referring to the GOAT award established by the Literature and Art Association.

Those who received the GOAT award saw their value double.

Authors who could make readers decisively spend money were usually of the same calibre who started with the GOAT award.

“We might have to restock.”

After observing for a while longer, the secretary revealed a smile.

The manager nodded. The first-day sales of “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” would likely be quite impressive in the data, and the first-day data is the most direct reflection of an author’s influence!

…

Sure enough.

When the first-day sales of “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” were announced, the entire Silver Blue Books was quite thrilled!

Because on the first day this novel was released, including online book shopping channels, it directly sold 914,000 copies!

Almost one million on the first day!

There is a dedicated agency to keep track of this, under the direct control of the Literature and Art Association, like the movie box office, official counts are announced daily.

Keep in mind this is just the first day!

Given the confidence in the reputation of “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” Silver Blue Books’ mystery department does not believe that the subsequent sales of this book would be weak——

“What was it again?”

Cao Dezhi laughed like an 84.26 kg fool:” A big shot is a big shot wherever they go!”

The same conclusion also appeared in the Fantasy Department of Silver Blue Books.

Although Chu Kuang’s new book has little to do with the Fantasy Department, the department is still closely following the news of this novel. Looking at the official sales data, the editors in the department have somewhat complex expressions.

“The Mystery Department is right, a big shot is a big shot wherever they go…”

“It’s crude, the correct saying should be, a wolf travels a thousand miles to eat meat!”

“I was originally hoping that this novel would receive a lukewarm response, and that Teacher Chu Kuang would return to our arms and continue writing fantasy novels…”

“Looking at the feedback on the Internet, we can’t depend on that.”

“I bought a copy too, I’ll read it tonight. I have a buddy in the Mystery Department who keeps telling me that this book is going to explode.”

“…”

Inside Silver Blue Books, rumors had been circulating about Chu Kuang’s incredible new book. However, due to the pre-publication confidentiality principle, those outside the department could not access the specific content.

But as one editor put it.

With the release of ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ and the first batch of readers finishing the novel, the online reviews have exploded!

Blue Star’s mystery readers experienced narrative trickery for the first time!

On a certain book website.

The first popular comment about ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’, which avoids spoilers as much as possible, resonated the most:

“The murderer is him!!!”

This popular comment got: 34566 likes

Though a kind of useless correct statement, which is like saying nothing, but considering it avoids spoilers, this comment is a strong hint.

The second popular comment is even more interesting.

Simply two words, and a lot of exclamation marks:

“Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

And a warmer reminder: “To the reader who sees this comment, I suggest you should read ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ before reading online reviews. You’ll thank me for reminding you afterward.”

Anyway, most early comments were implicitly positive.

“If only Poirot hadn’t retired here to grow pumpkins…”

“When I got to the ending, I was dumbstruck.”

“No need for fluff words, this is a must-read, you’d regret it if you don’t experience it.”

“No exaggeration, I had cold sweats reading the ending.”

“Damn old rascal Chu Kuang fooled me well, and I was still willingly fooled.”

“Anyone who predicted the killer beforehand, I bow to you!”

“Ahhhhh! The murderer is Xie Shepherd!!!!!!!!”

“The person above is too unkind, I suggest the administrator monitors comments, with spoilers this book’s reading experience drops directly by 50%.”

“People are actually liking the short review with spoilers… are you guys serious?”

“Folks, I love Poirot!”

“A well-structured mystery, the ending resolves all case doubts; no clues are left, the setup in the early details is perfect too. I can’t believe this is Chu Kuang’s first attempt at mystery! When it comes to cross-genre writing, no one does it like Chu Kuang!”

“…”

In the mystery circle, many chatting groups were also going off instantly, many people had read ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ at the first possible moment.

In a chat group for mystery writers.

The administrator suddenly said: “Just a reminder for those who haven’t started reading ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ to mute the chat history, or life would seem questionable after getting spoiled.”

Some did as suggested, others possessed the curiosity of a cat.

Then the members who didn’t mute saw many usually inactive writers show up, all discussing ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’—

“Silver Blue Books’ promotion didn’t exaggerate, respect, truly started a new genre!”

“Unprecedented creative method in the history of mystery novels.”

“The case can only be described as decent, the murderer is virtually unpredictable, Chu Kuang set a text trap, fooling readers, but this novel is the type that even after being fooled, you’re still amazed at the ending.”

“Who’d have thought that the murderer is ‘I’ in the first person narrative?”

“Enough, I’m inspired for my next book.”

“Not just you, I bet many authors in the circle are inspired.”

“If this writing method becomes popular…damn, the readers will die from exasperation after reading too much of it!”

“Mystery is about digging a plot hole, ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ is the biggest hole I’ve ever seen. Even in the antepenultimate chapter, 99% of readers still can’t guess the murderer!”

“…”

This group member who didn’t mute the chat out of curiosity sent an ellipsis: “Now how am I supposed to read the book?”

Suddenly, the group chat sprouted unkind “hahaha” +1 signs.

Due to some kind of habit, or perhaps compelled, he could only shed a tear and join in the “+1”.

Curiosity killed the cat.

For other novels, knowing the ending in advance decreases the readability at least by 30%.

But for ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’, being spoiled in advance might cause a drop in readability by almost 50%—

A deadly murder on the reading experience!

With the time sliding into the next day and word of mouth fermenting quickly, the sales of ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ exploded, jumping straight to 1.6 million copies!

Higher than the first day!

Even though Blue Star had started merging, and the reader base is growing, the second-day sales genuinely surprised countless people!

Bestseller!

Sensation!

This is a storm belonging to the mystery genre, henceforth everyone stopped doubting the Silver Blue Books’ blurb about Chu Kuang “inventing a new type of mystery genre”!

Yes, it did create a new type of writing style.

The murderer can indeed be ‘I’—

The breakthrough in this thought process made many mystery writers realize, tricks are not only for the case itself but also for every word readers read!

Truly crafty!

And the most terrifying thing is…

Even if ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ is fooling readers throughout, they are still willing to be fooled by the ending!

On this day.

The latest update that Shen Jiarui posted on the Tribe may only be a simple three words, but it showcased the essence of ego-boosting, those three words were:

“Who’s next?!”