La Tour du passé (Paul Halter)

• By Paul Halter
• First published: France: Eurydice, 2024

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⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

“When it comes to mysteries, there’s something for everyone. Two, even three suspect suicides, an old legend, a curse, a mirror that drives people mad, a sealed room, a distinguished scholar who descends into irrationality, later seen when he should still be in that room… To say the least, it’s off to a strong start!” – Chapter 5

La Tour du Passé is the new Paul Halter, published last month. It is neither a Dr. Twist nor an Owen Burns, but a mystery set in France in the early years of this century (2004, to be precise).

The renowned physicist Dr. Levasseur had behaved strangely for months: he consulted a tarot reader, and was seemingly obsessed with a mirror that opened a gateway into hell. Then he locked himself in his study, with strict orders for the room not to be disturbed for years, and vanished from the room. Some days later, a fisherman saw him drown at sea. Now his wife has been found dead at the foot of the tower stairs, apparently a suicide…

The narrative alternates between the first-person memoirs of a man who, after half a century, meets up with an old school sweetheart, his first girlfriend, and the police investigation into the Levasseur mystery. (Reading between the lines, we can confidently assume that the memoirs are those of Dr. Levasseur, supplying a possible motive for his disappearance.)

As often with Halter, the investigation is rather thin, and the modern setting and characters give this book the feel of a TV mystery movie. The murderer’s identity is a skilful enough use of a few of the oldest tricks in the book (ROT13: gur eryngvir yvivat noebnq, gur fhofgvghgvba bs gjva oebguref, gur qrnq zna jub vf ernyyl nyvir), as I suspected.

The locked room (how someone managed to get out of a room) is rather mechanical, one of those Heath Robinson affairs employing a dozen bits of household junk and needing a diagram to explain; Halter has done much better on that front. (Where impossible crimes are concerned, I prefer them dressed up in supernatural garb, with the frightening possibility that a spectre has committed the crime and violated the laws of reality; and the solution to be simple and brilliant, as in John Dickson Carr or G. K. Chesterton.)

What lifts this book out of the ordinary is the delightful twist at the end, ROT13: na nhqnpvbhf ovg bs zrgngrkghny pyrirearff. Nyy nybat, jr nffhzr gung gur aneengvir vf Yrinffrhe’f, bayl gb qvfpbire gung vg vf gur qrgrpgvir’f, naq gung gur ravtzngvp Vfnoryyr vf uvf jvsr. Guvf cnfg rkcrevrapr nffvfgf uvz obgu gb vqragvsl naq gb rzcnguvfr jvgu gur zheqrere. Vg’f n inevngvba ba Unygre’f tnzovg, rzcyblrq fvapr uvf rneyvrfg obbxf va gur 1980f, bs pbyyncfvat gur aneengbe / fyrhgu naq gur pevzvany.

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Blurb

Il faut se méfier des portes. Surtout de celles qui sont fermées depuis longtemps. On ne sait jamais ce qu’il y a derrière. Et c’est un peu pareil pour le passé. Il faut éviter de le remuer, surtout lorsqu’il est ancien. Cela peut vous jouer de vilains tours. Enfin, il faut se défier de soi-même. Car notre for intérieur recèle de nombreuses portes secrètes, derrière lesquelles se pressent de redoutables souvenirs. Vous pouvez les enfermer dans des tours fortifiées, vous ne serez jamais vraiment à l’abri. Des fissures peuvent apparaître à tout moment. Rien ne résiste à l’usure du Temps, le grand maître du jeu, aussi implacable que machiavélique.

Pour résoudre un mystère, comme celui de la « Tour du passé », vous pourriez être tenté de déroger à ces règles. Mais sachez-le, ce sera à vos risques et périls. Et il en sera de même si vous choisissez de faire appel à un voyant extra-lucide. Il pourrait fort bien vous annoncer quelque imminente et inéluctable catastrophe…

Translation:

You have to be wary of doors. Especially those that have been closed for a long time. You never know what’s behind them. And it’s somewhat the same with the past. You should avoid stirring it up, especially when it’s ancient. It can play nasty tricks on you. Finally, you must be wary of yourself. Our inner selves harbour many secret doors, behind which lurk formidable memories. You can lock them away in fortified towers, but you will never be completely safe. Cracks can appear at any moment. Nothing withstands the wear of Time, the grand master of the game, as relentless as it is cunning.

To solve a mystery, like that of the Tower of the Past, you might be tempted to break these rules. But be aware, it will be at your own risk. And the same will be true if you choose to consult a clairvoyant. They might very well foretell an imminent and unavoidable catastrophe…