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Dr. Twist #4
The Madman's Room
No. Harris Thorne non avrebbe mai dovuto riaprire quella stanza dopo la morte misteriosa del prozio, un allucinato scrittore chiaroveggente autore di un libro enigmatico che nessuno poteva leggere senza impazzire. Perché in quella stanza c'era qualcosa in agguato. Una presenza, segnalata solo da una macchia d'umidità sul tappeto, in grado di uccidere chiunque osasse penetrare nell'antro dell'antenato dei Thorne. E ora Harris si è suicidato, gettandosi dalla finestra della stanza maledetta. E la giovane moglie Sarah non vuole, o non osa, rivelare cos'ha visto accanto al marito quando è entrata nello studio prima della tragedia. Ma è soltanto dopo il funerale dell'uomo che il mistero inizia ad assumere un aspetto così assurdo e incredibile da richiedere l'intervento di un investigatore d'eccezione, il dottor Twist.
PAUL HALTER, alsaziano, ha sempre dichiarato la sua predilezione per John Dickson Carr, di cui si professa devoto ammiratore. Halter ha scritto il suo primo poliziesco, La quarta porta, nel 1987 e si è subito imposto, vincendo il Prix du Festival de Cognac, come uno dei maestri del "delitto della camera chiusa".
PAUL HALTER, alsaziano, ha sempre dichiarato la sua predilezione per John Dickson Carr, di cui si professa devoto ammiratore. Halter ha scritto il suo primo poliziesco, La quarta porta, nel 1987 e si è subito imposto, vincendo il Prix du Festival de Cognac, come uno dei maestri del "delitto della camera chiusa".
178 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Paul Halter
81 books61 followersPaul Halter is a writer of crime fiction known for his locked room mysteries. Halter pursued technical studies in his youth before joining the French Marines in the hope of seeing the world. Disappointed with the lack of travel, he left the military and, for a while, sold life insurance while augmenting his income playing the guitar in the local dance orchestra. He gave up life insurance for a job in the state-owned telecommunications company, where he works in what is presently known as France Télécom. Halter has been compared with the late John Dickson Carr, generally considered the 20th century master of the locked room genre. Throughout his nearly thirty novels his genre has been almost entirely impossible crimes, and as a critic has said "Although strongly influenced by Carr and Christie, his style is his own and he can stand comparison with anyone for the originality of his plots and puzzles and his atmospheric writing."
His first published novel, La Quatrieme Porte ("The Fourth Door")was published in 1988 and won the Prix de Cognac, given for detective literature. The following year, his novel Le Brouillard Rouge (Red Mist) won "one of the highest accolades in French mystery literature", the Prix du Roman d'Aventures. He has now published more than thirty novels. Several of his short stories have been translated into English; by June 2010 six will have appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine; ten were collected and published by Wildside Press as The Night of the Wolf.
His first published novel, La Quatrieme Porte ("The Fourth Door")was published in 1988 and won the Prix de Cognac, given for detective literature. The following year, his novel Le Brouillard Rouge (Red Mist) won "one of the highest accolades in French mystery literature", the Prix du Roman d'Aventures. He has now published more than thirty novels. Several of his short stories have been translated into English; by June 2010 six will have appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine; ten were collected and published by Wildside Press as The Night of the Wolf.
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June 3, 2018
Paul Halter is one of those writers who seem to divide opinions. Some readers quite clearly don't enjoy his books much, while others adore them, hailing them -- as I do -- as being like John Dickson Carr on acid. True, they have their ups and downs and they're not as well written as Carr's books generally were (although the old master had his off-days too), but they have that same knack of conjuring up an impossible circumstance (or, typically, a group of them), thrilling us with the fantastication of the proceedings, and then awing us with the ingenuity of the denouement, wherein not only is the murderer revealed but, more important, we learn that what seemed impossible can in fact be explained using strictly rational means.
In The Madman's Room Halter even offers us a little bonus in the form of a post-denouement explanation in which Alan Twist, Halter's series detective, acknowledges to his Lestrade that the sequence of events the book recounts is in effect an artifice rather than anything that could happen in real life. This breach of the fourth wall had me grinning from ear to ear.
Generations ago in an English stately pile, Hatton Manor, copiously unpublished writer Harvey Thorne went mad and, in his dying moments, cursed the rest of his family, down through the generations, to die by fire. Ever since, the study where he obsessively wrote his -- now lost -- books has been sealed up. But now his newly married great-nephew Harris, heir to the Thorne family fortunes, has decided to open it up, to the horror of Harris's brother Brian, a somewhat eremitic fellow who's given to his own prognostications of doom.
Sure enough, Harris dies in the most mysterious circumstances, having seemingly hurled himself, for no good reason, from the study window. Just as there was when old Harvey died, there's an inexplicable damp patch on the carpet in front of the study fireplace, where clearly some water has been spilled.
Amateur criminologist Alan Twist and his Scotland Yard friend Archibald Hurst think Harris's death may be murder, but have no evidence to back up their suspicions. A year or so later, however, when someone else dies in an equally curious manner in the study, with once again that odd patch of moisture on the carpet, it's time for them to step in before a ruthless killer can kill again . . .
I've given an extremely simplified account of the novel's setup. Until Twist finally produced his rationalization, I was convinced that such rationalization was impossible, that this time Halter was finally going to have to chuck in the towel and fall back on supernatural elements in order to explain matters. I was wrong. I should have known better.
Characterization is not Halter's forte. I've read two or three of the Alan Twist mysteries before, yet I still have no handle on him as a human being: he's just a sort of plot convenience, really, a cipher who's there so that the author can reveal the witty intricacies of the conundrum he's set us. The same goes for most (not all) of the rest of the cast here: they're collections of characteristics rather than living, breathing characters. But, at least for this reader, that's fine: Halter's forte is the puzzle, and that's what we're here for. We didn't come for psychological insights or penetrating analyses of the human condition.
This book is another publication from the celebrated small press Locked Room International, which has done so much to bring to English-reading audiences the works of some splendid foreign detective-fiction writers who would otherwise almost certainly have remained entirely unknown to us. I know there have been criticisms of some of the Locked Room International translations, and as I was reading this one it occurred to me time and time again that the text employs a sort of offshoot of the English language, LRI Speak, that's very close to the parent tongue but not quite identical to it. Luckily I enjoy reading LRI Speak; far from finding it offputting, I find it actually adds to the charm and quaintness of Halter's novels.
If you've not read any Halter before, The Madman's Room is as good a place as any to start. (According to the cover, it's the 13th of his novels to have been published in translation by LRI.) Here you'll find all the pyrotechnics you could hope for amid a plot that's really quite jaw-dropping in its cunning.
In The Madman's Room Halter even offers us a little bonus in the form of a post-denouement explanation in which Alan Twist, Halter's series detective, acknowledges to his Lestrade that the sequence of events the book recounts is in effect an artifice rather than anything that could happen in real life. This breach of the fourth wall had me grinning from ear to ear.
Generations ago in an English stately pile, Hatton Manor, copiously unpublished writer Harvey Thorne went mad and, in his dying moments, cursed the rest of his family, down through the generations, to die by fire. Ever since, the study where he obsessively wrote his -- now lost -- books has been sealed up. But now his newly married great-nephew Harris, heir to the Thorne family fortunes, has decided to open it up, to the horror of Harris's brother Brian, a somewhat eremitic fellow who's given to his own prognostications of doom.
Sure enough, Harris dies in the most mysterious circumstances, having seemingly hurled himself, for no good reason, from the study window. Just as there was when old Harvey died, there's an inexplicable damp patch on the carpet in front of the study fireplace, where clearly some water has been spilled.
Amateur criminologist Alan Twist and his Scotland Yard friend Archibald Hurst think Harris's death may be murder, but have no evidence to back up their suspicions. A year or so later, however, when someone else dies in an equally curious manner in the study, with once again that odd patch of moisture on the carpet, it's time for them to step in before a ruthless killer can kill again . . .
I've given an extremely simplified account of the novel's setup. Until Twist finally produced his rationalization, I was convinced that such rationalization was impossible, that this time Halter was finally going to have to chuck in the towel and fall back on supernatural elements in order to explain matters. I was wrong. I should have known better.
Characterization is not Halter's forte. I've read two or three of the Alan Twist mysteries before, yet I still have no handle on him as a human being: he's just a sort of plot convenience, really, a cipher who's there so that the author can reveal the witty intricacies of the conundrum he's set us. The same goes for most (not all) of the rest of the cast here: they're collections of characteristics rather than living, breathing characters. But, at least for this reader, that's fine: Halter's forte is the puzzle, and that's what we're here for. We didn't come for psychological insights or penetrating analyses of the human condition.
This book is another publication from the celebrated small press Locked Room International, which has done so much to bring to English-reading audiences the works of some splendid foreign detective-fiction writers who would otherwise almost certainly have remained entirely unknown to us. I know there have been criticisms of some of the Locked Room International translations, and as I was reading this one it occurred to me time and time again that the text employs a sort of offshoot of the English language, LRI Speak, that's very close to the parent tongue but not quite identical to it. Luckily I enjoy reading LRI Speak; far from finding it offputting, I find it actually adds to the charm and quaintness of Halter's novels.
If you've not read any Halter before, The Madman's Room is as good a place as any to start. (According to the cover, it's the 13th of his novels to have been published in translation by LRI.) Here you'll find all the pyrotechnics you could hope for amid a plot that's really quite jaw-dropping in its cunning.
October 17, 2022
I've read Halter previously and enjoyed the books. This one struck me as a little too convoluted and stretched the limits of believability, though I can see why most impossible crime lovers give it high marks for originality.
January 7, 2018
Paul Halter (translated into English by John Pugmire) continues to be one of my favorite mystery novelists. The Madman's Room is yet another atmospheric tale with a brilliantly layered impossible crime story that resolves itself perfectly at the end. The slight downside to the book is that many of the characters were difficult to keep track of, but the clever mystery itself is 5 stars.
June 6, 2018
This book was first published in 1990 in French. It was translated into Italian as La Camera Del Pazzo in 2004. It was translated into Japanese as Kyōjin No Heya in 2007. There is as yet no English translation. I am however writing the review in English. (update on 13th July 2017: The book is now available in English translation as The Madman's Room).
The book features the series detectives Archibald Hurst, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard and his friend Alan Twist, a specialist in impossible crimes. However, they effectively appear late in the book.
Paula Lyle and Patrick Nolan are long-time friends living in Padstow in Cornwall. They are just friends, nothing more. Patrick assumes the role of Paula’s protector and adviser.
The Hilton family consisting of Howard and Dorothy Hilton, their son Francis and their daughter Sarah once visit Padstow as tourists. Here Francis sees Paula and falls in love with her. Later, he proposes to her. Paula is in two minds, but Patrick advises her strongly to marry Francis . Paula accepts.
On the eve of Paula’s departure to London for the marriage, she and Patrick have a get-together. Patrick realises that he is in love with Paula, but it is now too late.
Thus Paula marries Francis Hilton and two months later, his sister Sarah marries Harris Thorne, a very rich industrialist 15 years older than her . He is generous and boisterous but arrogant. His brother Brian Thorne (his only surviving relative) is completely unlike him, being quiet and reclusive.
Soon after, Howard Hilton loses his job and is in dire financial condition. The generous Harris Thorne invites the Hiltons together with Francis and Paula to stay with him. He also offers Francis a job in his company. The Hiltons have no choice but to accept.
Harris Thorne decides to settle with his wife and the extended family in his ancestral castle called Hatton Manor near Cheltenham. Brian also lives there. Among their neighbours are Dr. Mike Meadows and Miss Bessie Blount.
Brian generally spends his time with occult books. He regards himself as a soothsayer. Once he predicts to Mike and Bessie that both would soon know true love within a few days and the very next day they get engaged. This correct prediction enhances Brian’s reputation among them.
One of the rooms on the first floor of the manor has been sealed up since long, since there is a tragic incident associated with the room involving Harris’s great-uncle Harvey Thorne occurring towards the end of the last century.
From a young age, Harvey Thorne was regarded as a literary genius. A room on the first floor was exclusively allotted to him as his study. He spent most of his time in the study reading books and writing manuscripts. He became obsessively interested in the occult. The other members of the family started regarding him as mad.
One day screams were heard from Harvey’s study. Harvey was found in the doorway in a state of violent convulsions and after some time he died. Before dying, Harvey muttered that all would perish by fire. The doctor could not say how he died. There was one curious clue. A portion of the carpet in front of the fireplace was wet .
True to Harvey’s prediction, several members of the family died in fire soon afterwards. The room was sealed up. Many years later, some members again perished in fire.
Harris decides to reopen the sealed room and use it as his study. Brian advises him not to do so and warns him that misfortune would befall him. But Harris is not bothered since he doesn’t believe in superstitions. The sealed room is opened.
There are frequent quarrels between Harris and Sarah because of the jealous nature of Harris. He suspects that Sarah is paying too much attention to the handsome Dr. Meadows.
Two weeks after the reopening of the sealed room, tragedy strikes. Sarah goes up to the study followed by Mike and Bessie. Sarah knocks on the study door and receiving no answer, she opens it. Mike and Bessie, who are at some distance from her on the corridor, see her staring in the direction of the fireplace with unspeakable terror on her face. She then faints. They rush to her and place her on the couch. They see that there is no one in the study. However, the portion of the carpet in front of the fireplace is wet. At exactly the same time, Paula and Francis coming from outside, see the dead body of Harris lying just below the study window. He has fallen out of the window on the rocks below and the consequent head wound is the cause of death. Dr. Meadows rushes down and on examining the body finds that he has been dead for atleast half an hour. Hence Sarah could not have seen this incident of falling out of the window. Did he throw himself out of the window or someone else did so ? When Sarah regains consciousness, she only remembers that she knocked on the study door and after that her mind is a complete blank.
Harris is buried in the crypt along with his ancestors. As per his will, everything goes to Sarah who thus becomes a very rich widow.
The Police are not able to make any headway in the case and it is treated as suicide’
One year passes. One day, Sarah announces her engagement to Mike Meadows who in turn has broken off his engagement to Bessie. Her announcement causes great surprise to everyone. A further surprise is caused by the engagement of Bessie to Patrick Nolan.
Soon after her engagement, Sarah starts seeing what she believes to be the ghost of Harris. She believes that Harris has come back to torment her since she has become engaged to Mike. Others treat it as her hallucinations due to bad nerves.
One day, Brian proposes to read the future of Francis with tarot cards. He makes two predictions, one that Francis will soon win a large amount in horse racing and the other that Francis will have an accident, but nothing serious. Both predictions come true. The second one happens as follows.
Francis tells his father that he will go to the study to do some work. Howard hears him open the creaking door and then there is a thud. He rushes to the study door and finds the inert body of Francis with his temple bleeding. However, it is nothing serious. Francis had fainted and while falling, his head had hit the door jamb. Others come there by this time and they find that the study is empty. However, a portion of the carpet in front of the fireplace is wet. Francis on regaining consciousness simply remembers opening the door and after that his mind is a blank.
After this incident, Sarah becomes a nervous wreck. She believes that Francis saw the ghost of Harris in the study, but he insists that he does not remember anything.
About a month later, Brian makes another prediction, this time a dire one. After a game of bridge, he points a finger at a person and predicts serious danger, perhaps even death, for the person. Two days later, the prediction comes true and the person dies. The circumstances are similar. The person opens the study door and is terrorised. But instead of just fainting, the person dies of a heart attack. As before, a portion of the carpet in front of the fireplace is found wet.
The Cheltenham Police decide to call in Scotland Yard and thus Archibald Hurst and Alan Twist enter the scene.
There are sightings of Harris by others. Sarah’s sightings were regarded as hallucinations due to bad nerves, but now there are reliable witnesses. The Police therefore decide to exhume the corpse from the crypt. When the coffin is opened, they apprehend that they may see either an empty coffin or another body in the coffin, but what they see is much more shocking ! The readers will definitely get a jolt.
All the mysteries are ultimately solved by Twist and he gives his solution.
There are so many crazy events here that one wonders how Paul Halter will be able to explain all rationally. But we must credit his ingenuity that he is able to give a rational explanation for each and every event including the death of Harvey and the correct predictions of Brian.
The book is highly suspenseful and engrossing and virtually unputdownable. The supernatural atmosphere is conveyed well. The book is highly recommended.
The book features the series detectives Archibald Hurst, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard and his friend Alan Twist, a specialist in impossible crimes. However, they effectively appear late in the book.
Paula Lyle and Patrick Nolan are long-time friends living in Padstow in Cornwall. They are just friends, nothing more. Patrick assumes the role of Paula’s protector and adviser.
The Hilton family consisting of Howard and Dorothy Hilton, their son Francis and their daughter Sarah once visit Padstow as tourists. Here Francis sees Paula and falls in love with her. Later, he proposes to her. Paula is in two minds, but Patrick advises her strongly to marry Francis . Paula accepts.
On the eve of Paula’s departure to London for the marriage, she and Patrick have a get-together. Patrick realises that he is in love with Paula, but it is now too late.
Thus Paula marries Francis Hilton and two months later, his sister Sarah marries Harris Thorne, a very rich industrialist 15 years older than her . He is generous and boisterous but arrogant. His brother Brian Thorne (his only surviving relative) is completely unlike him, being quiet and reclusive.
Soon after, Howard Hilton loses his job and is in dire financial condition. The generous Harris Thorne invites the Hiltons together with Francis and Paula to stay with him. He also offers Francis a job in his company. The Hiltons have no choice but to accept.
Harris Thorne decides to settle with his wife and the extended family in his ancestral castle called Hatton Manor near Cheltenham. Brian also lives there. Among their neighbours are Dr. Mike Meadows and Miss Bessie Blount.
Brian generally spends his time with occult books. He regards himself as a soothsayer. Once he predicts to Mike and Bessie that both would soon know true love within a few days and the very next day they get engaged. This correct prediction enhances Brian’s reputation among them.
One of the rooms on the first floor of the manor has been sealed up since long, since there is a tragic incident associated with the room involving Harris’s great-uncle Harvey Thorne occurring towards the end of the last century.
From a young age, Harvey Thorne was regarded as a literary genius. A room on the first floor was exclusively allotted to him as his study. He spent most of his time in the study reading books and writing manuscripts. He became obsessively interested in the occult. The other members of the family started regarding him as mad.
One day screams were heard from Harvey’s study. Harvey was found in the doorway in a state of violent convulsions and after some time he died. Before dying, Harvey muttered that all would perish by fire. The doctor could not say how he died. There was one curious clue. A portion of the carpet in front of the fireplace was wet .
True to Harvey’s prediction, several members of the family died in fire soon afterwards. The room was sealed up. Many years later, some members again perished in fire.
Harris decides to reopen the sealed room and use it as his study. Brian advises him not to do so and warns him that misfortune would befall him. But Harris is not bothered since he doesn’t believe in superstitions. The sealed room is opened.
There are frequent quarrels between Harris and Sarah because of the jealous nature of Harris. He suspects that Sarah is paying too much attention to the handsome Dr. Meadows.
Two weeks after the reopening of the sealed room, tragedy strikes. Sarah goes up to the study followed by Mike and Bessie. Sarah knocks on the study door and receiving no answer, she opens it. Mike and Bessie, who are at some distance from her on the corridor, see her staring in the direction of the fireplace with unspeakable terror on her face. She then faints. They rush to her and place her on the couch. They see that there is no one in the study. However, the portion of the carpet in front of the fireplace is wet. At exactly the same time, Paula and Francis coming from outside, see the dead body of Harris lying just below the study window. He has fallen out of the window on the rocks below and the consequent head wound is the cause of death. Dr. Meadows rushes down and on examining the body finds that he has been dead for atleast half an hour. Hence Sarah could not have seen this incident of falling out of the window. Did he throw himself out of the window or someone else did so ? When Sarah regains consciousness, she only remembers that she knocked on the study door and after that her mind is a complete blank.
Harris is buried in the crypt along with his ancestors. As per his will, everything goes to Sarah who thus becomes a very rich widow.
The Police are not able to make any headway in the case and it is treated as suicide’
One year passes. One day, Sarah announces her engagement to Mike Meadows who in turn has broken off his engagement to Bessie. Her announcement causes great surprise to everyone. A further surprise is caused by the engagement of Bessie to Patrick Nolan.
Soon after her engagement, Sarah starts seeing what she believes to be the ghost of Harris. She believes that Harris has come back to torment her since she has become engaged to Mike. Others treat it as her hallucinations due to bad nerves.
One day, Brian proposes to read the future of Francis with tarot cards. He makes two predictions, one that Francis will soon win a large amount in horse racing and the other that Francis will have an accident, but nothing serious. Both predictions come true. The second one happens as follows.
Francis tells his father that he will go to the study to do some work. Howard hears him open the creaking door and then there is a thud. He rushes to the study door and finds the inert body of Francis with his temple bleeding. However, it is nothing serious. Francis had fainted and while falling, his head had hit the door jamb. Others come there by this time and they find that the study is empty. However, a portion of the carpet in front of the fireplace is wet. Francis on regaining consciousness simply remembers opening the door and after that his mind is a blank.
After this incident, Sarah becomes a nervous wreck. She believes that Francis saw the ghost of Harris in the study, but he insists that he does not remember anything.
About a month later, Brian makes another prediction, this time a dire one. After a game of bridge, he points a finger at a person and predicts serious danger, perhaps even death, for the person. Two days later, the prediction comes true and the person dies. The circumstances are similar. The person opens the study door and is terrorised. But instead of just fainting, the person dies of a heart attack. As before, a portion of the carpet in front of the fireplace is found wet.
The Cheltenham Police decide to call in Scotland Yard and thus Archibald Hurst and Alan Twist enter the scene.
There are sightings of Harris by others. Sarah’s sightings were regarded as hallucinations due to bad nerves, but now there are reliable witnesses. The Police therefore decide to exhume the corpse from the crypt. When the coffin is opened, they apprehend that they may see either an empty coffin or another body in the coffin, but what they see is much more shocking ! The readers will definitely get a jolt.
All the mysteries are ultimately solved by Twist and he gives his solution.
There are so many crazy events here that one wonders how Paul Halter will be able to explain all rationally. But we must credit his ingenuity that he is able to give a rational explanation for each and every event including the death of Harvey and the correct predictions of Brian.
The book is highly suspenseful and engrossing and virtually unputdownable. The supernatural atmosphere is conveyed well. The book is highly recommended.
June 26, 2020
As a John Dickson Carr fan I of course had to try one of Paul Halter's. I found this one very skillfully wrought and quite enjoyable, though the characters weren't as credible as Carr's usually are. I will probably sample one more, hoping it to be better.
March 31, 2023
Spinto dai suggerimenti di qualche utente Facebook e dalla mia predilezione per i gialli, ho deciso di scegliere un titolo di Paul Halter. Mi ha attratto e incuriosito La camera del pazzo e credo di doverlo bocciare su tutta la linea.
L'autore scimmiotta nemmeno troppo velatamente la Christie, dando al suo investigatore Twist le caratteristiche più indisponenti - e solo quelle - di Poirot, prima tra tutte quella di imbeccare l'Hastings di turno con frasi sibilline o dar peso a gesti accidentali con un "ha appena risolto il caso!" che chiaramente agli occhi del lettore non significherà proprio nulla fino al finale rivelatorio.
Quanto poi alla trama, le forzature sono tali e tante da rendere la storia totalmente inverosimile con fantasmi che tornano in vita, profezie che si realizzano e coincidenze che si sommano impunemente come terni al lotto sulla stessa schedina. A rendersene conto è lo stesso scrittore che nel finale sembra sbeffeggiare il lettore rimarcando proprio l'incredibile concentrazione di forzature nella stessa storia.
Mi permetto di insozzare la memoria della Christie con un altro parallelismo che stavolta verte a favore di Halter: entrambi non hanno una prosa raffinata. Vanno letti per intrattenimento, non per affilare la propria cultura letteraria.
Insomma, Halter è la brutta copia della Regina del Giallo e riesce a eguagliarla solo nell'unico aspetto in cui era auspicabile - e persino facile - far meglio.
Morale della favola? Credo che questo sia il mio primo e ultimo libro di questo autore. Se avete un solo valido motivo perché cambi idea, questo è il momento per dirlo.
L'autore scimmiotta nemmeno troppo velatamente la Christie, dando al suo investigatore Twist le caratteristiche più indisponenti - e solo quelle - di Poirot, prima tra tutte quella di imbeccare l'Hastings di turno con frasi sibilline o dar peso a gesti accidentali con un "ha appena risolto il caso!" che chiaramente agli occhi del lettore non significherà proprio nulla fino al finale rivelatorio.
Quanto poi alla trama, le forzature sono tali e tante da rendere la storia totalmente inverosimile con fantasmi che tornano in vita, profezie che si realizzano e coincidenze che si sommano impunemente come terni al lotto sulla stessa schedina. A rendersene conto è lo stesso scrittore che nel finale sembra sbeffeggiare il lettore rimarcando proprio l'incredibile concentrazione di forzature nella stessa storia.
Mi permetto di insozzare la memoria della Christie con un altro parallelismo che stavolta verte a favore di Halter: entrambi non hanno una prosa raffinata. Vanno letti per intrattenimento, non per affilare la propria cultura letteraria.
Insomma, Halter è la brutta copia della Regina del Giallo e riesce a eguagliarla solo nell'unico aspetto in cui era auspicabile - e persino facile - far meglio.
Morale della favola? Credo che questo sia il mio primo e ultimo libro di questo autore. Se avete un solo valido motivo perché cambi idea, questo è il momento per dirlo.
July 13, 2022
I’m not sure how this got on my list but once I started it I realise that it wasn’t for me and was going to bin it and move on. But, it was so gripping I could not put it down. It’s not often I’ve come across a book that is tedious, but so cleverly crafted, that every time the thought of giving up on it was over-ruled by wanting know the answer.
I thought it was written in the 1920’s, instead of just being set there (?)
So here we have 5 stars with no recommendation that you read it unless you are into this particular genre of crime fiction, the locked room mystery.
I thought it was written in the 1920’s, instead of just being set there (?)
So here we have 5 stars with no recommendation that you read it unless you are into this particular genre of crime fiction, the locked room mystery.
June 23, 2019
Un'ottima camera chiusa firmata Halter. La storia della "camera che uccide", molto classica, è piacevole. Halter sa giocare con i vari elementi soprannaturali, facendo credere che non possa esserci alcuna spiegazione razionale. Ed invece Paul riesce sempre a stupire con una soluzione semplice eppure ingegnosa.
December 30, 2018
The second Halter for me and he doesn't disappoint .The epilogue is the most sincere form of acceptance of the myriad coincidences present. The solution to the one central puzzle element is handled elegantly and simply.
September 4, 2022
This is one of the more enjoyable impossible crime novels that offers a crackable puzzle to the reader. I remember thinking that the criminal overcomplicated things here, but that was Dr. Twist's opinion too at the end.
August 8, 2017
Utterly bonkers and slightly brilliant. Full review at classicmystery.wordpress.com
July 20, 2018
Great Who Done It
I was really amazed at the intricacy of the plot and how long to it took to unravel. Very satisfying British mystery.
I was really amazed at the intricacy of the plot and how long to it took to unravel. Very satisfying British mystery.
June 15, 2020
Very clever solutions to the puzzles and one of the acts by the murderer being crazy too
May 31, 2022
I have enjoyed most of Paul Halter's impossible crime books, but found this one surprisingly uninvolving. It's as convoluted as many of these types of mysteries are, and the solution to everything we've been presented with is sort of clever. But I just found it a bit off-putting and the idea of the mysterious room a little silly. Not a complete waste, but some of Halter's other books are better.
November 22, 2024
Reasonable mystery but slow due to the number of twists and turns
February 24, 2025
Paul Halter's books are highly enjoyable and this one is no exception.
Most importantly, he knows what "economy of words" means.
Most importantly, he knows what "economy of words" means.
September 5, 2023
FIRST READING 11/24/19: 5 Stars
This may be my favorite Halter yet. All of the strengths of his previous efforts remain: twisty whodunnit setups in the Golden Age style, devilish hints, ingenious explanations—but the prose is richer and the characters and their world is much more defined. Not lushly by any means, but previous Halters felt a little mechanical, like he only gave you enough character to make the plot go.
This one has it all. It’s somehow more Carr than a lot of Carrs I’ve read. In a perfect world there would have been more suspense but there was enough to keep the pages turning at a quick pace. The only single drawback for me was that the romance got so sudsy at times I felt like I might choke.
I hope someday we get to see adaptations of Halter’s work because I think there’s an audience in the non-reading public for fun stories like these. The production team behind Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie should look into this.
(After reading a review on “The Green Capsule” website I have to agree about the cover. It’s laughable and if I saw someone reading that on a train I’d wonder just what the f they were reading but not in a good way. The acting of the model is very unprofessional. Literally. I would believe you if you told me the photographer sat on his doorstep and asked the first guy he saw to scream, snapped one photo, and called it a day. The covers to these translations of Halter, while distinct, have never been very good, but they’ve also never been this bad. How this cover was greenlit is the true mystery here.)
SECOND READING 9/20/22: 5 Stars
Make fun of it all you like but I find the Google Translated-esque prose damn charming! I didn’t at first but there’s something otherworldly about it, especially when combined with my personal conceit—that these characters are all speaking English with French accents, in France stage-dressed as England.
This Halter was very enjoyable the second time around. Thankfully, I forgot all the details. One thing I wish LRI would do, besides our more effort into the book design, is include introductions, maybe written by Paul Halter’s French editor, or by a French writer or critic, someone capable of describing the reaction to the book and give us some context.
Anyone else convinced that the water by the fireplace was part of a trick mechanism that could be turned on to electrocute someone opening the door? Modernizing the manor by wiring it for electricity was mentioned a few times early in the novel, but nothing came of it. Right? But then suddenly there was electricity and people were casually using light switches. Not sure if I missed something, or if something got lost in translation, or if a passage or two was inadvertently cut. Most probably I missed something.
I still think the cover is unfortunate. The romance didn’t bother me this time around. It is, after all, present in Carr, too.
Great mystery and I wish Paul Halter’s works could be translated at least slightly faster.
This may be my favorite Halter yet. All of the strengths of his previous efforts remain: twisty whodunnit setups in the Golden Age style, devilish hints, ingenious explanations—but the prose is richer and the characters and their world is much more defined. Not lushly by any means, but previous Halters felt a little mechanical, like he only gave you enough character to make the plot go.
This one has it all. It’s somehow more Carr than a lot of Carrs I’ve read. In a perfect world there would have been more suspense but there was enough to keep the pages turning at a quick pace. The only single drawback for me was that the romance got so sudsy at times I felt like I might choke.
I hope someday we get to see adaptations of Halter’s work because I think there’s an audience in the non-reading public for fun stories like these. The production team behind Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie should look into this.
(After reading a review on “The Green Capsule” website I have to agree about the cover. It’s laughable and if I saw someone reading that on a train I’d wonder just what the f they were reading but not in a good way. The acting of the model is very unprofessional. Literally. I would believe you if you told me the photographer sat on his doorstep and asked the first guy he saw to scream, snapped one photo, and called it a day. The covers to these translations of Halter, while distinct, have never been very good, but they’ve also never been this bad. How this cover was greenlit is the true mystery here.)
SECOND READING 9/20/22: 5 Stars
Make fun of it all you like but I find the Google Translated-esque prose damn charming! I didn’t at first but there’s something otherworldly about it, especially when combined with my personal conceit—that these characters are all speaking English with French accents, in France stage-dressed as England.
This Halter was very enjoyable the second time around. Thankfully, I forgot all the details. One thing I wish LRI would do, besides our more effort into the book design, is include introductions, maybe written by Paul Halter’s French editor, or by a French writer or critic, someone capable of describing the reaction to the book and give us some context.
Anyone else convinced that the water by the fireplace was part of a trick mechanism that could be turned on to electrocute someone opening the door? Modernizing the manor by wiring it for electricity was mentioned a few times early in the novel, but nothing came of it. Right? But then suddenly there was electricity and people were casually using light switches. Not sure if I missed something, or if something got lost in translation, or if a passage or two was inadvertently cut. Most probably I missed something.
I still think the cover is unfortunate. The romance didn’t bother me this time around. It is, after all, present in Carr, too.
Great mystery and I wish Paul Halter’s works could be translated at least slightly faster.
July 30, 2021
Impossible crime novelist Paul Halter and his English translator John Pugmire strike again. This book is probably not for those unable to read prose like this without cringing:
"Bessie’s father had been crushed by the weight of a heavy wardrobe which had fallen on him as a result of a faulty manoeuvre." (p. 67)
"He shot a glance at his companion who, head turned to one side, appeared to be asleep. Noticing a frown on her normally smooth forehead, he asked light-heartedly: ‘Any worries, my sweet? An affair of the heart?’" (p. 69)
"‘Allow me to introduce myself,’ said the man, bowing slightly, ‘Mike Meadows, at your service, and this is my fiancée, Bessie Blount.’" (p. 21)
"[H]e would have been hard put to judge her repugnant. Light brown hair, high cheekbones, an adorable chin and mischievous blue eyes with long black lashes. Medium height and seemingly very well proportioned. Of course, to be sure, he’d have to see her without that annoying swimsuit covering her anatomy. He tried to forget about that obstacle.
‘I say,’ observed Paula, ‘if you’re going to undress me with your eyes, you could at least do it more discreetly. You’re like an entomologist in front of a new species of insect!’" (p. 7)
Aside from the hilariously bad writing, the characters are annoying, and the mystery is one of those where somebody with a bad heart appears to have been murdered by being frightened to death. It's all derivative of a similar thing Carr did in He Who Whispers, and it doesn't persuade for a second (and seriously, what if seeing the thing she saw didn't kill her? people would have a lot of explaining to do. . .).
"Bessie’s father had been crushed by the weight of a heavy wardrobe which had fallen on him as a result of a faulty manoeuvre." (p. 67)
"He shot a glance at his companion who, head turned to one side, appeared to be asleep. Noticing a frown on her normally smooth forehead, he asked light-heartedly: ‘Any worries, my sweet? An affair of the heart?’" (p. 69)
"‘Allow me to introduce myself,’ said the man, bowing slightly, ‘Mike Meadows, at your service, and this is my fiancée, Bessie Blount.’" (p. 21)
"[H]e would have been hard put to judge her repugnant. Light brown hair, high cheekbones, an adorable chin and mischievous blue eyes with long black lashes. Medium height and seemingly very well proportioned. Of course, to be sure, he’d have to see her without that annoying swimsuit covering her anatomy. He tried to forget about that obstacle.
‘I say,’ observed Paula, ‘if you’re going to undress me with your eyes, you could at least do it more discreetly. You’re like an entomologist in front of a new species of insect!’" (p. 7)
Aside from the hilariously bad writing, the characters are annoying, and the mystery is one of those where somebody with a bad heart appears to have been murdered by being frightened to death. It's all derivative of a similar thing Carr did in He Who Whispers, and it doesn't persuade for a second (and seriously, what if seeing the thing she saw didn't kill her? people would have a lot of explaining to do. . .).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2023
最后一页值得一星！
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