The Mystery of the House of Three Elms by Valentin Musso
lecture / book / roman / thriller / polar
The Mystery of the House of Three Elms by Valentin Musso: Murder in a locked room
We left Valentin Musso with In my darkness exactly one year before his new work is published: The Mystery of the House of Three Elms and the least we can say is that inspiration never seems to abandon him! At an average rate of one novel per year, we could sometimes fear that the author will end up running out of steam, but his latest thriller proves to us once again that he never loses the sacred fire of suspense… Taking up the recipe for the puzzle of a murder committed in an inviolable room in the Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux, Valentin Musso weaves his web, tosses us around in all directionssurprises us and above all, keeps us in suspense from chapter to chapter, tirelessly pushing back our bedtime. Because far from being a repeat of a riddle written by one of his colleagues, this one is new and its unpredictable resolution…
The “Maison aux Trois Ormes” is a beautiful half-timbered house in the purest Rouen style that is just waiting for one thing: to finally have its trees planted! In the autumn of 1938, Count Yves de Montalabert invites Commissioner Louis Forestier – recently retired and with an impressive CV (he has brought down several crooks including Landru) –, to come and spend the weekend in this residence in Upper Normandy where he received death threats.
Also invited, General Grangiera former hero of the Great War who now navigates political circles. Also coming will be Doctor Vautrin (a type of doctor from the wealthy neighborhoods), Catherine Lafargue – head of a pharmaceutical laboratory and wife of a major industrialist – as well asAdrien Moreau, a young and very fashionable journalista little bling-bling at the wheel of his Bugatti…
Once dinner is over, everyone goes to the living room for a game of cards. While The Count leaves them for a few moments to take a call. in his office at exactly 10pm, we hear a 78 rpm record being played on the gramophone followed by an explosion! Everyone rushes to the office at the same time but the door is closed from the inside and the windows are locked… You will have to break a window to get in and see that the man has at first sight committed suicide with the revolver that fell next to him…
Obviously, appearances are deceptive… Forestier will quickly realize that the weapon was not used for several years and that its caliber does not correspond to the bullet lodged in the victim’s body. In any event, This is an assassination and the murderer can only be one of the guests.
Hours pass and we discover that Montalabert no longer had such a luxurious life as before, but also thathe had accumulated sulphurous files on his guests… The twists and turns are legion, the plot holds together and even for the most seasoned readers, the outcome remains unimaginable… You grand Musso!
© Jean-Louis Las Dit Peisson for Le Mensuel / photos Bénédicte Roscot / summer 2024
