Synopsis
Paul Halter, whose “The Crimson Fog” was named #2 in Publisher’s Weekly’s Top Mysteries of 2013 presents ten superb tales of locked rooms and impossible crimes.Coffins dancing in a hermetically sealed crypt; a tunnel that murders people; a werewolf killer who leaves no trace on the snow; a victim killed by an invisible hand at the top of a guarded tower; a homicidal snowman that kills in front of witnesses...there cannot be a rational explanation for these and other hideous crimes; and yet there is. Each story is a glittering example of the brilliant plotting and atmosphere of foreboding that characterized the Golden Age of detective fiction, of which Paul Halter is the current master. This is a republication of the original “The Night of the Wolf,” which garnered critical acclaim when it first came out in 2006: Publisher’s Weekly (*starred review): "Most of the 10 outstanding stories in this collection from French author Halter, the first English-language edition of his work, center on an impossible crime, a still potent subgenre that was once a fixture of last century's golden age of detective fiction.” Mystery Scene: “This is the most important collection of locked room stories in years, and fans of brilliant puzzles….will love it.”Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: “For the devotee of locked rooms, impossible crimes, and other features of classical detective fiction, reading these stories is like discovering a hitherto unknown cache of tales by G.K. Chesterton or John Dickson Carr."Ed Hoch, himself a prolific contributor to EQMM: “As Paul Halter's stories begin reaching American readers in EQMM and elsewhere, I think they'll discover a combination of baffling mystery and eerie atmosphere not encountered since the glory days of John Dickson Carr.” One of the stories “The Flower Girl” was short-listed for the Barry award for best short story of the year 2006“The Night of the Wolf” collection, not to be confused with the short story of the same name, is also available in e-book form via Kindle. Signed and Lettered editions and Limited Edition hardcovers are available by contacting pugmire1@yahoo.comFor more information and articles, please visitwww.lockedroominternational.com
About the Author
Paul Halter was born in Hagenau, Alsace, in 1956. He 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. Upon discovering the writings of John Dickson Carr, he gave up the guitar for the pen. He has since written over 30 novels, almost all “locked room,” including La Quatrieme Porte (The Fourth Door,) which won the Prix du Roman Policier in 1987, and Le Brouillard Rouge (The Crimson Fog,) which won the coveted French Prix du Roman d’Aventures in 1988, the prestigious Japanese Hunkaku Mystery Award in 2005, and was named as one of the Publisher’s Weekly Top Mysteries of 2013. The Fourth Door and The Crimson Fog are both available in English, as are The Lord of Misrule, The Seven Wonders of Crime, The Demon of Dartmoor, The Seventh Hypothesis and The Tiger’s Head. M. Halter is a frequent contributor to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: The Call of the Lorelei, The Tunnel of Death, The Night of the Wolf, The Robber’s Grave, Nausicaa’s Ball, The Gong of Doom, The Man With the Face of Clay and Jacob’s Ladder and more to come. In 2006 his collection of short stories ‘The Night of the Wolf’ appeared in English, to critical acclaim. It was republished in 2013 For more information and articles about Paul Halter, please go to: http://lockedroominternational.com/
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
