The Fourth Door: The Houdini Murders
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.  ‘The Fourth Door,’ also known as ‘The Houdini Murders’ was his first best-seller: in 1987 it won the coveted Prix du Roman Policier. Halter has since written over 30 novels, almost all ‘locked room,’ including ‘The Lord of Misrule’ also available in English on Amazon. In 2006 his collection of short stories ‘The Night of the Wolf’ appeared, to critical acclaim.