血色迷雾

by Paul Halter, 保罗·霍尔特, 戴辉 (Translator)

《血色迷雾》由法国著名作家保罗·霍尔特写于1988年，获得了当年的欧洲惊险小说金球奖。一名自称为记者的年轻人回乡调查九年前的一桩悬案，不料牵涉出一连串离奇恐怖的不可能犯罪，凶手犯下罪行后总能成功逃脱消失……一百多年前，在伦敦重重迷雾中，一个善用手术刀的杀人魔鬼，连续杀害伦敦妓女，其杀人手法残忍至极……这样的惨剧接二连三地发生，使整个伦敦陷入恐慌，人们惧怕黑夜，期盼黎明……这个凶手到底是谁？是什么身份？为什么如此痛恨妓女？为什么用如此凶残的杀人手法？警察局在收到凶手的挑衅后布下天罗地网搜捕其人，但却仍然无法找出凶手。

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

306 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 1988

About the author

Paul 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.

Reviews

[Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second read from Paul Halter and it was a lot of fun. Difficult to review without spoiling, but I will say it will appeal to those with an interest in Jack the Ripper. I look forward to reading more Halter in the future.

[Martina Sartor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grande potenza evocativa della prosa di Halter.
Più che per la soluzione della camera chiusa, il libro mi è piaciuto molto per l'atmosfera terrorizzante che sa creare dall'inizio alla fine. La scena iniziale è chiara e, andando avanti nella lettura della seconda parte, svela il suo esatto significato. Ma non si può non andare avanti, sperando che… Impossibile dire di più.

[Santosh Iyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of John Dickson Carr’s books. I have read all his books and was looking for someone who could write similar to him. I have found Paul Halter, a worthy successor to John Dickson Carr.
Paul Halter’s books are in French. However, his books are now being translated into English at regular intervals by John Pugmire. Till date 7 novels (including this one) have been translated.
The translations are so good that a reader will never feel that these are translations.
The present book is definitely a page-turner, and it is very difficult to put down the book before reaching the end.
There are two distinct plots, both brilliant and suspenseful. The solutions are clever and surprising.
In the first part (set in 1887), a person calling himself Sidney Miles returns to his hometown Blackfield in disguise (so that no one may recognize him). The purpose is to solve an “impossible” murder which occurred 9 years ago and which remains unsolved. Richard Morstan was stabbed to death by a seemingly phantom killer behind a curtain when he was preparing a magic trick. The enquiries by Miles bring back past memories and further shocking murders take place.
The second part (set in 1888) tells the story of the Whitechapel killings by Jack the Ripper. The book meticulously remains close to the historical facts. The author gives his solution to the identity of Jack the Ripper, also explaining the killer’s “supernatural” ability to disappear after committing the murders.
The second part is often quite gruesome. However, this is only to be expected, since the author attempts to remain close to the historical facts. If one has full knowledge of the historical facts, he will recognize a significant clue to the identity of Jack the Ripper, if he is astute enough.
The book is well clued with clues spread throughout.
This book was named, and rightly so, as one of the top mysteries of 2013 by Publishers’ Weekly.

[Dolceluna ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sufficienza tirata per i capelli per il mio secondo Halter dopo il bellissimo Cento anni prima: ancora inebriata dalle atmosfere paurose di quest'ultimo, mi sono lanciata in una nuova avventura dell'erede contemporaneo del grande John Dickson Carr, ma questa volta, purtroppo, non sono rimasta altrettanto folgorata. Buona la prima parte del romanzo, di stampo puramente giallo e atmosfera appunto dicksoniana: un delitto impossibile (quello di un prestigiatore, assassinato nel bel mezzo del suo trucco più spettacolare durante la festa di compleanno della figlioletta, in una stanza chiusa dall'interno), un uomo misterioso che arriva dal passato per far luce sul caso, nuovi misteriosi delitti legati a quello passato, e un assassino furbo e insospettabile che viene comunque mascherato. Inutile, fiocca ed incomprensibile la seconda parte del libro, con un cambiamento di ambientazione, un secondo intreccio, crudo e sanguinolento, di stampo più thriller che giallo, e un secondo assassino stavolta più che scontato. A fine lettura, della lezione d'oro data dal grande maestro Carr sembra non esserci più nulla, nemmeno le ingegnose spiegazioni dei delitti impossibili che Halter liquida con estrema superficialità, e il lettore appare disorientato. Peccato. Sono certa che Paul Halter ha scritto tanti altri bei lavori oltre a Cento anni prima, ma in questo, le cui premesse erano comunque molto buone, la maschera del giallista anni '30 gli scivola via e svela un difetto tipico degli autori contemporanei: quello di voler mettere troppa carne al fuoco nel romanzo, di fondere eccessivamente vicende e intrecci diversi fra loro (forse perchè originariamente nella sua mente le idee erano tante!) al fine forse di arricchire il romanzo, il quale al contrario risulta invece più povero in fascino e atmosfere. E speriamo non sia il caso anche del mio futuro terzo Halter!

[Gigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so pleased that French author Paul Halter's books are being translated into English. A modern author writing clever locked-room mysteries reminiscent of Golden Age writers like John Dickson Carr, Halter tries an ambitious plot in The Crimon Fog -- and he pulls it off.

As other readers have noted, the first 2/3 of the book reads like a classic locked-room puzzle mystery, which is neatly solved. The last 1/3 takes an unexpected, experimental turn. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I found myself quite satisfied at the end.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read,that ultimately left me a little disappointed.As others have reviewed the first 2/3 of the book are an extremley enjoyable classic style locked room mystery.
Then unfortunately Paul Halter takes the story into a whole new direction,stretching implausibility to the limit,and within this genre that's really saying something.
It is something of a page turner though,even cramming Sherlock Holmes and Jack The Ripper into the mix!

[Sapphire Detective · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Halter will, I believe, be my neverending quest. The library system around me only has four of his books (The Crimson Fog being one of them), and all the others are either untranslated or only available by purchase from LRI. That's not necessarily a complaint--I'm always more than happy to support independent companies--but seeing as means being as they can be (fickle), it will be quite a while before I have access to every Halter book. I have the same problem with the availability of Carr's books, but I digress. Much like with Carr, though, the journey will be painful because if this book is any indication, I need more Halter as soon as possible.

I'll acknowledge that this book has some faults, sure. Not everything feels as nicely wrapped up as you get in a Carr impossibility (I bring him up solely because Halter is often compared to the master); at the part break, it feels like the story shifts into an entirely different novel; the story can throw so much at you that you feel completely off balance as a reader.

But that's also why I enjoyed it so much. This book gets insane at times. It feels like a rollercoaster that you've been strapped into with no hopes of stopping, and when you get to the end, all you can say is, "What a ride."

One of the many GAD-themed blogs I frequent forwarded their review for The Crimson Fog with something along the lines of "IF YOU INTEND TO READ THIS BOOK, DON'T LOOK ANY FURTHER! DON'T READ THE BLURB! DON'T EVEN LOOK AT THE COVER!" and I can agree with that. As a reader, you want to go into this as blindly as possible--I won't say anything more. If you like impossible crimes, give it a read. You may not love it as I did, but you'll probably say, "What a ride," too.

My rating: 4.5/5 (rounded up)
Would I own/re-read it?: Probably!
TW: Death, Gore, Murder, Insanity, Child Sexual Abuse, Gaslighting, Cover-Up of Pedophilia
Does the animal die?: No animals are harmed as the crimson fog descends.
How difficult was the mystery?: In ways, I had seen some of the reveals coming. In others, absolutely no clue. Those familiar with the conventions of the genre may stand a better chance, but it will probably be tricky solely from how much is thrown at you.

[Alberto Avanzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imprescindibile
Un romanzo molto, molto bello, non solo per la trama gialla (comunque di altissimo livello) ma proprio per la bellezza della scrittura, i dialoghi, le caratterizzazioni dei personaggi. E’ un romanzo secondo me da gustarsi sapendo il meno possibile su di esso, quindi cercherò di dare solo alcune idee sulla trama e sulle caratteristiche, senza svelare troppo. IL romanzo si apre con un cold case; nel 1887 un uomo che si fa chiamare Sidney Miles si reca in incognito nel paese dove ha trascorso la giovinezza, Blackfield, per indagare sull’omicidio di un uomo, Richard Morstan, trovato morto in circostanze misteriose (una vera e propria camera chiusa) una decina di anni prima. La prima metà del romanzo ricalca gli archetipi del giallo classico britannico, con un po’ di humor (Miles afferma che forse nel futuro qualcuno scriverà trattati sulle camere chiuse…) Dopo una serie di colpi di scena carichi di tensione, la prima metà si chiude con la risoluzione di questi mistero (ma lasciando insoluto qualcosa…) mentre la seconda, completamente diversa, è ambientata nei bassifondi di Londra dove incontreremo personaggi come Sherlock Holmes, Watson e Jack lo squartatore (o Jill la squarciatrice?) Fino al bel finale dove tutto trova una spiegazione
Un bellissimo romanzo (che similmente a molti romanzi gialli contemporanei alterna una parte di giallo classico a una più moderna e “thriller”), che l’appassionato deve leggere assolutamente sia per i continui richiami ai classici sia per la godibilità della narrazione.

[Gabriele Crescenzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gran bel romanzo, ricco di atmosfere macabre e oscure e con molta tensione. Il romanzo è diviso in due parti: la prima, in cui si esamina il delitto in camera chiusa di Richard Morstan, e che si conclude con la soluzione di questo (con doppio colpo di scena); la seconda parte è invece imperniata sulla storia di Jack lo Squartatore, di cui viene data una personale e romanzata soluzione. Devo dire che è uno dei più belli di Halter che abbia letto, per la soluzione incredibile dell'omicidio Morstan (davvero molto semplice ma geniale). Naturalmente una volta spiegato il trucco ho capito il secondo colpo di scena che svela il vero colpevole (la disposizione della camera parlava chiaro). Sebbene sembra che abbia decantato questo libro come un capolavoro sino ad ora, do quattro stelle per la seconda parte e per vari motivi: primo, perché si sconfina più in un thriller che in un giallo classico nella seconda sezione; secondo, perché a me è apparso banale l'identità di Jack lo Squartatore (sin dall'inizio l'avevo pensato, utilizzando peraltro lo stesso espediente di un racconto di Burke "Le mani di Mr Ottermole"); terzo per il trucco usato dal colpevole per sparire nel secondo e terzo omicidio nella prima sezione, assolutamente banale e inconcludente. Per il resto nulla da dire, ci sono anche riferimenti a Sherlock Holmes (l'ispettore lo incontrerà di sfuggita).

[Gregory Moses · Rating 4 out of 5]

A non-series impossible crime novel by Paul Halter has great fun with the first person. A man arrives in a small town to investigate an impossible murder that happened a decade ago. He’s calling himself Sidney Miles; to the reader, he acknowledges that this is not his real name, and that he grew up in the village, but he doesn’t confide his real name, or why he's specifically interested in solving the crime.

For about two thirds of the novel, things play out in a basically Carrian vein (although one revelation is much nastier than you’d probably see in Carr). The investigator is less omniscient than JDC’s detectives (or Halter’s for that matter), but there are additional impossible murders, a well-drawn pool of suspects, and the mandatory romance.

And then, two thirds of the way through … the impossible murder is solved, the narrator returns to whence he came from in triumph, and the novel, in defiance of all genre conventions, keeps going, in ways that, if you haven’t been spoiled, are likely to be pretty shocking. As a mystery novel the first part is probably stronger, but the last third is still an incredible mood piece, and I admire Halter’s chutzpah.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

aka The Red Fog.

[Juan Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dos historias unidas con un final atrapante. Merece leerse. Los hechos de los crímenes de Jack El Destripador son genuinos.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of Paul Halter's prose feels a bit awkward in translation, but every book is a devious little magic trick.

[James Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review -- https://jamesscottbyrnside.com/2019/1...

[Nathania Ma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Handwritten review on p.53. Full review later

[Theo Faurez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very good locked-room mystery. A trifle drawn-out for my taste. E.A. Poe-ish atmosphere was perfect.

[Antonio Buonfante · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abbastanza deludente . Sembrano due libri separati....appiccicati senza un perché

[Ron Kerrigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing Halter book. It's divided into two parts, narrated by the same person. Part one is about a seemingly impossible murder that occurred years before the events being described (late 1880's), as the narrator looks to unravel the mystery. Like a few other Halter books (notably The Man Who Loved Clouds and The Seven Wonders of Crime) the narrator becomes besotted with a young woman and Halter goes on and on about her beauty and charms to the point of tedium.

This part is only about 130 pages long and then the narrator moves to London during the Jack the Ripper terror and we get Halter's take on the identity of the killer in the last 70 pages of the book. I found this part tedious and thought it was about 70 pages too long.

A few of the author's impossible crime books are very entertaining (like The Phantom Passage, The Picture from the Past, The Fourth Door and his short story collection The Night of The Wolf) but this was a misfire. I give it an extra star for the new take on how the killer disappeared from the scene of the crime which was being watched by a score of witnesses.

[Mark Flowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

SLJ review:

* HALTER, Paul. Crimson Fog. 184p. Locked Room International. 2013. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9781491244234.

Adult/High School-Halter’s deftly written, fast-paced novel, first published in French in 1988, uses two very different mystery subgenres to challenge readers’ preconceived notions of each. He begins with what appears to be a straightforward, Christie-ian “locked room” mystery. Narrator Sidney Miles-he openly admits that the name is not his real one-has returned to his hometown of Blackfield, England, to solve a seemingly impossible mystery of some years earlier. In the process of his investigation, the murderer strikes again, twice, apparently to cover his or her tracks, and once again shows off a phantomlike ability to disappear from the scene of the crime. Eventually, Miles unravels all three mysteries, and readers are left with a satisfying, well-written classic mystery. That is, until Halter abruptly pivots and gives over the last third of the novel to an incredible new take on the Whitechapel murders of 1888. Focusing in on Jack the Ripper’s seemingly supernatural ability to vanish-particularly in the case of the dual murder of September 30-and strongly implying that Jack the Ripper is identical with the murderer in the novel’s first section, the author shows readers the alarming similarities between so-called “cozy” mysteries and one of the world’s most infamous serial killers. Teen Ripper-ologists and strong-stomached cozy fans alike should find much to think about here.-Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA

http://blogs.slj.com/adult4teen/2013/...

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the late 1880s a mysterious stranger comes to an English village to solve an "impossible murder" that took place a decade earlier. Most of the people involved are still around, and it seems overwhelmingly likely one of them is the killer. And, sure enough, as the stranger investigates alongside the local squire -- the dead man's brother -- there are further brutal murders . . .

The first two-thirds or so of this novel are taken up with the solution of a classic locked-room mystery that would have made John Dickson Carr proud. And there in a way the book could have been left, despite a couple of loose ends that the author coyly tells us he'll explain later. (One is very well worth the wait; the other, less so.) The later parts of the book link this case to the Jack the Ripper murders and, although this is all well enough done, somehow it dilutes the enjoyability of the book as a whole. That said, I admire and respect the author's ambition in extending the novel in this way.

The text is marred by lots of minor irritants -- typos that the proofreader should have picked up, silly little translation errors that the copyeditor should have picked up, etc. -- but, these aside, the translation is first-rate: the translated narrative is very well told and genuinely engrossing.

It astounds me that Halter's work (in Pugmire's translations) seems not to have been picked up by one of the major US/UK publishers yet. On the basis of this book, it certainly deserves to be. I'm going to be looking out for more.

[Jameson · Rating 3 out of 5]

FIRST READING 5/22/18: 2 Stars

The first fifteen chapters rate a solid 3. The story was a light, impossible whodunit. Not high art but a good diversion, like another Halter I read (but liked much better.)

Then the book goes off the rails. It’s like a different book altogether: different characters in a different story in a different genre. The quality of the prose dips too. I don’t really know what to make of it. Some of it was interesting, but I found myself annoyed and skimming the text, not caring about this strange detour.

SECOND READING 4/29/20: 3 Stars

Little did I know when I first read Paul Halter two years ago that I would somehow see past the flaws, fall in love, and with ever-increasing speed read all of his work in English. What the heck happened?

I’m eagerly awaiting the next Halter and thought it would be a lark to re-read the first books of his I read. I’m glad I didn’t look at my ratings first. While I did remember this one took a hard turn at some point and obviously had something to do with Jack the Ripper, I forgot all the other particulars. This time I’m more impressed. In fact, I just sent a friend a copy because I’m curious what he’ll make of it. Halter is pure puzzle and for whatever reason these quick, bare bones, yet complicated whodunnits are a pleasure to read. Maybe next time I read it I’ll rate it even higher.

[Mazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mlai 1887: L'homme qui descend du train à Blackfield se fait appeler Sidney Miles. Il se dit journaliste au Daily Telegraph.

Il vient enquêter dans ce petit village anglais sur une affaire criminelle vieille de neuf ans et jamais résolue: le meurtre « impossible » — commis dans une pièce close — de Richard Morstan, le châtelain du village.

Mais Sidney Miles est-il vraiment ce qu'il prétend être ? Pourquoi veut-il à tout prix découvrir la vérité ?

Celle-ci n'est pas toujours bonne à dévoiler... Elle peut déchaîner les passions, et plus encore les assassins tapis dans l'ombre...

[Jordan West · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars, really; a sort of mixture of the locked room mystery with the giallo - if Robert Bloch or Fredric Brown ever collaborated with John Dickson Carr, it could very well have resembled this. A vast improvement over his short fiction, which I found to be dry and workmanlike (albeit clever) impossible crime stories.

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Halter , the master of locked room mysteries, Writes a must read book which almost anything I say might be a spoiler.

[Nightkid · Rating 2 out of 5]

這本推理小說分為兩部分，第一部分是在鄉村發生的密室殺人事件，動機有點舊，但還算是古典的解謎方式。男主角從一見面就莫名其妙地愛上女角色之一的高哈，短短幾天 內已發展至擁吻的階段，這種神速讓我無法理解。

到了第二部，作者直接把高哈這個女兇手扯到著名的「開膛手傑克」一案，甚至連男主角也成為兇手，實在是太扯了，硬要把這本小說的內容一分為二，讓讀者的閱讀趣味大減。

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audacious and fiendishly clever.