(reviewed by JD Jung)
“You don’t know who Lupin is? The most whimsical, the most audacious, and the most genial thief in France. For the last ten years he has kept the police at bay….In fact, he’s our national robber.”
I admit that I was not familiar with Maurice Leblanc’s early twentieth century stories featuring Arsène Lupin, until I watched the Netflix series “Lupin”. I then just had to find out what it was about this socially conscious thief that intrigued the show’s characters.
In this installment originally published in 1909, millionaire M. Gournay-Martin, whose art collections were known throughout the world, had already been struck by this twenty-eight-year-old thief. Lupin always made a habit of announcing his plans to potential victims, and so was the case here. This time he was going for the famous coronet of the Princesse de Lamballe.
Of course, M. Gournay-Martin reports this to authorities. Chief-Inspector Guerchard, head of the Detective Department of the Prefecture of Police is obsessed with this criminal and determined to catch Lupin and bring him to justice.
“Remember that it is always at the very moment at which you are going to triumph that he beats you, that he only lets you reach the top of the ladder to throw you more easily to the ground.”
He knows all too well that Lupin is sly and a master of disguise. Taking this into account from the series, I figured out early on who Lupin actually was. My focus was then to find out how he was going to get away with the crime. And the story did not disappoint.
This short novel unveiled a lot of layers in plot and characters, keeping the reader guessing. You can’t help but root for this likeable thief whose main weakness is women but is also able to capture their hearts.
This may not be “underrated”, but it’s enjoyable and I’m looking forward to reading another one of these novels translated to English. First, I will probably binge watch the new season of “Lupin.”
