Monsieur Lecoq

This early work by Émile Gaboriau was originally published in 1867 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'The Mystery of Orcival' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Émile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Féval – a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel.

A grisly triple murder occurs in a down-and-out quarter of Paris, and the petty criminal apprehended at the scene of the crime is considered clearly guilty-except by young Monsieur Lecoq. The brilliant but inexperienced young detective digs deeper into the case to discover an affair of family honor involving blackmail, secret identities, and suicide. Outwitted at every turn, Lecoq is compelled to attempt a last-ditch gamble. First published in 1869, Monsieur Lecoq is astonishingly modern and enjoyable. André Gide pronounced author Emile Gaboriau "the father of the modern detective novel," and this is Gaboriau's finest work. Energetic and keenly logical, Lecoq ranks as a significant figure in the history of detective novels; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself acknowledged the fictional sleuth's influence on his own logical mastermind, Sherlock Holmes.

This early work by Émile Gaboriau was originally published in the late 19th century and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'The Honor of the Name' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Émile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Féval – a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel.

This early work by Émile Gaboriau was originally published in 1869 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'Monsieur Lecoq' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Émile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Féval – a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel.

The seminal detective novel by Émile Gaboriau, who was hailed by André Gide as"the father of all current detective fiction" Policemen patrolling the streets of Paris hear a commotion in a nearby bar. When they go inside to investigate, they find 3 men dead and 1 gravely wounded. The injured man, taken into custody by the police, claims to have murdered the others in self-defense, but he dies without giving any further information. Who was this man? His attire is that of a soldier, but his long, unkempt hair suggests he led a different kind of life. Without knowing the true identities of the murderer or his victims, how can this case be solved? It is up to the immensely perceptive Monsieur Lecoq and his uncanny powers of observation to solve this tangled homicide.

This early work by Émile Gaboriau was originally published in 1867 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'File No. 113' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Émile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Féval – a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel.