The House That Kills

In its starred review Publisher's Weekly says: "Vindry displays gifts for puzzle making and a creepy atmosphere that will resonate with fans of John Dickson Carr."Noel Vindry wrote twelve locked room novels between 1932 and 1937, of a quality and quantity to rival his contemporary, Carr/Dickson, yet he has so far remained unknown to English-speaking readers. The legendary Boileau-Narcejac team, responsible for Vertigo and Diabolique, spoke of his "unequalled virtuosity" and "stupefying puzzles." Thomas Narcejac said that not even Ellery Queen or Carr were Vindry's equal. He was the poet of the puzzle novel The House That Kills ("LaMaison Qui Tue") was Vindry's first book, featuring examining magistrate Monsieur Allou and three baffling locked room mysteries. Locked Room International translates and publishes the works of French impossible crime author Paul Halter and other international authors past and present.

Noel Vindry (1896-1954) came from an old Lyon family from whom he inherited his passion for culture and gourmet cuisine. Shortly after acquiring a bachelor’s degree he enlisted in the army, where he fought with distinction, earning a Croix de Guerre, but was invalided out in 1915 with severe lung damage. During his long convalescence he studied and mastered law sufficiently to become a deputy juge d’instruction (examining magistrate)-a position unique to countries practising the Napoleonic Code, whereby a single jurist is given total authority over a case, from investigating crime scenes to questioning witnesses; from ordering the arrest of suspects, to preparing the prosecution’s case, if any (see Appendix 1.) He was appointed to serve in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France which, at the time, boasted the second largest Appeals Court outside of Paris, and which he chose because of its climate. Known as the ＂city of a thousand fountains,＂ it holds a music festival every year to rival those of Bayreuth, Glyndebourne and Salzburg. In Vindry’s time, it was known as La Belle Dormante (Sleeping Beauty) because ＂at night you can hear the grass growing in the streets,＂ according to Georges Vindry.