Crimson Fog by Paul Halter

A stranger has arrived in a quaint little English town, 'Blackfield', the stranger hides his identity from the townsfolk and is wearing an obvious disguise(at least for the reader). The stranger is in town to investigate a decade old locked room/impossible murder. Richard Morstan, while putting up a magic show for his kids and children of the town, preps up a room in such a way that it is divided into two parts via a curtain between the room. On one side of the curtain are the children eagerly waiting for the kind man to show them his tricks and on the other side is Morstan preparing his conjuring tricks. They waited...nothing happened...they went to have a look...Morstan was dead. Murdered. A murder no one, absolutely no one, could have committed. Any yet Morstan couldn't have committed suicide.

The room was inaccessible, the entry points of the room was watched by multiple eyes. Was there a phantom killer at work? and who is the stranger investigating this case after the police could not solve it for 10 years.

Seven Wonders of Crime by Paul Halter

"Beauty following the sun's example, prevents us from seeing what's around it whenever it appears." - Philon.

A Serial Killer is on the loose, he is committing one miraculous murder after another. An old man is burnt on top of a lighthouse, he is locked inside alone with no one there for miles, the police are perplexed on how was the man set on fire? It reminds the Edwardian dilettante and amateur sleuth, Owen Burns, of the lighthouse of Alexandria. The killer has a peculiar idiosyncrasy, he sends a painting of the murder and clues to the name of the victim to the police before perpetrating a wonder of crime. The killer wants to emulate the seven wonders of the ancient world in his own twisted way. His next victim, is shot on the nape by an arrow that seems to be shot from heaven, the police and the detective are baffled on how can some make this impossible shot at the back of the neck. This reminds them of the temple of Artemis.

The murderer continues to kill with impunity and each murder is more impossible, more incredulous and more baffling than the last. The murderer not only kills by sending clues before hand to the police, he also murders in a fashion which leaves the police befuddled, on top of that each murder reminds one of the seven wonders of the world. Thus, our detective in the piece calls them the Seven Wonder of Crime.

The Demon of Dartmoor by Paul Halter

At the turn of the Century in Dartmoor, a Woman was pushed down to her death from the stairs of her aesthetically beautiful home called Trerice Manor, by an Invisible hand. Fifty years later on Wish Tor peak in Dartmoor, a young beautiful woman is plunged from the peak to her death, the locals find playing cards scattered over her dead body. Next year, history repeats itself, another girl dies in the same way, witnesses claim that she was talking to an enigmatic stranger who they could not see, later two lovers reported that the poor girl was pushed in the abyss by an invisible man, again a few playing cards are splattered near the dead body. Same time next year, A third victim is claimed by the invisible man and this time the dead body of the poor girl disappears without leaving a vestige.

Few years later, Nigel Manson, a successful actor comes to Dartmoor with his wife and buys Trerice Manor, now lying in desolation. Nigel is smitten by the house and gets is restored. He invites his impresario, Frank, and his co-actor/mistress, Natalie, to spend the weekend with them. Nigel is sitting on the window ledge, of his splendid house getting photographed by his beautiful mistress who is standing at the ground below. Mrs Manson, Frank and the village doctor are in the same room as Nigel, suddenly Nigel is propelled out of the window and he cracks open his head on impact with the ground, Nigel immediately dies. Witnesses in the room, and Natalie claim that there was no one behind Nigel neither could he have slipped, so how did he fell? Witnesses claim that they felt that he was pushed from the ledge by an invisible man.

Dr Alan Twist, the famous criminologist and Inspector Archibald Hurst are called in to Dartmoor. The moors where legends of hell hounds, murderous invisible men and the red devil do the rounds in the local inn with rounds of beer, where legends and macabre tales are interwoven in the lives of the people. Twist and Hurst have to now lift the veil of superstition and catch the demon of Dartmoor before it strikes again.

The Fourth Door by Paul Halter

Henry has had the gift since he was a child. He could perform spectacular magic tricks and bedazzle his audience with his skills as an acrobat and a conjurer. Henry lived with his father and mother, in a little village outside Oxford. Tragedy struck and Henry's mother was killed in an accident. Henry's father, Arthur, turned to a medium for solace.

The medium called Alice Latimer lives with her husband in a haunted house close to Henry's. One day Arthur is badly attacked, and left to die. His son goes missing and is blamed for the attempt on his father's life. Henry's best friend and the Latimers claim to see him at the same time at two different railway stations, but how can one man be at two places at the same time, is someone mistaken or another clever trick by Henry.

A few years later Alice Latimer, wants to do a seance and drive out the malevolent spirit from the haunted house, her husband, Patrick Latimer, offers to lock himself up in the haunted room and face the wrath of the enigmatic spirit. In front of witnesses the room is locked and sealed from outside, there is no way to either get in or out, a classic locked room, and where there is a locked room, murder can't be far behind. Poor Patrick is found murdered, but on careful scrutiny it is determined that the murdered man is not really Patrick. As more and more mysteries keep piling, the dead bodies also start piling up.

Paul Halter has been crowned the king of locked room mysteries and a successor to John Dickosn Carr, but does such an opulent title really suit him and his work?