Description

This mystery novel centers on the inheritance of the late Count de Chalusse, whose vast fortune becomes the target of intrigue, greed, and manipulation. When the Count dies suddenly without revealing his heir, a complex investigation begins, led by the determined young detective Lecoq. Full of twists, suspense, and hidden motives, the story explores themes of wealth, deception, and justice, all set against the backdrop of 19th-century French society.

Emile Gaboriau (1833-1873) is an important figure in the history of detective fiction. A French journalist and novelist, he created the "roman policier" with a series of books involving private detective Monsieur Lecoq, who works logically. Lecoq was based on a real-life thief turned policeman named Francois Vidocq (1775-1857), whose memoirs mixed fiction and fact. Gaboriau's huge following was eclipsed by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Interestingly, Holmes may have been at least partly based on Bagoriau's character, consulting detective Father Tabaret, whose methods Lecoq adopts in the first Lecoq book.