If you enjoy "impossible crime" and "locked room" mysteries as much as I do, you really need to be aware of a modern French author named Paul Halter. He's still writing, with dozens of books and stories to his credit, and some of his best material is being translated into English for the pleasure of those like me, whose French language capabilities were at their best back when I was in high school and college. Don't ask when.
What kind of stories?
What would you say to a murder committed by a snowman – a real snowman - before witnesses?
Or evidence that skeletons inside a sealed mausoleum must have been dancing all by themselves – and were pretty noisy about it, too?
How about a touching tale featuring a visit from Father Christmas, sleigh tracks which begin and end in a field of unbroken snow…and sudden death?
Ten stories in all, stories which might leave you believing in miracles…or perhaps in the cleverness and ingenuity of an author who can take you inside those miracles and reveal their secrets. Ten of Halter's stories have been collected into a book called The Night of the Wolf. translated from the original French by John Pugmire and Robert Adey. The book is the subject of this week's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you are welcome to listen to the complete review by clicking here.
It has always seemed to me that there were two requirements for a really enjoyable mystery of the “impossible crime” variety. First, the “impossible” attribute must be carefully designed and set up by the author. There has to be a reason why sleigh tracks appear to start and end in an unbroken field of snow, for example, by which I mean a reason why the criminal HAD to set up the seeming impossibility. Paul Halter, a very prolific writer, has a knack for developing such plots. But plot alone isn’t enough: the second necessary attribute is the author’s ability to create an atmosphere of real terror. The reader should have the impression that supernatural forces may be at work – until, usually right at the last moment, the author explains the true, non-supernatural, way in which the supposed impossibility was worked.
It’s a gift that Paul Halter clearly has and uses. You’ll find both of those gifts on display in Night of the Wolf.
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