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Not in any chronological order, but acting all the same as a fine introduction to Maurice Leblanc’s master criminal, the short stories in this earliest Arsène Lupin collection commence with his arrest, followed just as quickly by his miraculous evasion from justice. The remainder of the other stories lack the ingenuousness and incredible twists of the longer works, but there are some hints here of what would follow; Lupin’s run-ins with Inspector Ganimard and his first encounter with his most capable adversary, the great English Detective Herlock Sholmès (Conan Doyle none too impressed by this character); his daring burglaries and his solving of great mysteries. No safe is secure, no locked room inaccessible and no house is without a secret passage in Lupin's world, his romantic adventuring and his boastful relationship with the press, L’Echo de France, making him a figure of legend, setting the tone for what would become one of the most thrilling creations in French pulp crime fic...

A young man of a less than solid background is dismissed as a pretender for the hand of a rich young lady, Yolande. Balthazar, a teacher of “practical philosophy” for young ladies, dabbling also in wine tasting and dance lessons, has no money, no title, no respectable profession, no home worthy of the name, and his lineage is somewhat vague. Determined to meet the demands of his beloved’s father, Balthazar no sooner returns home than he finds a letter indicating not only that he has come into the inheritance of a small fortune, but also a grand and noble title from an unknown father. But, it transpires that there is not one, but two letters and not one or even two fathers claiming parentage, but no less than four! For a young man believing wholeheartedly in the down-to-earth doctrine of “practical philosophy” that he teaches, such an adventurous background doesn’t sit comfortably with Balthazar, and blinds him also to the loving devotion of his young secretary Coloquinte. Leblanc plays...

Eager to gain funding for a scientific research group she belongs to, the beautiful Nelly-Rose Destol, having nothing else to offer in a lottery – her dead father’s fortune lost in foreign investments - innocently puts herself forward as a prize. Much to her surprise and to the horror of a rich gentleman who wants to marry her, this unusual prize attracts wide and even international attention. It’s on the Polish border with Russia that the news comes to the attention of two adventurers. One of them, a Frenchman called Gérard, has recently taken great risks to recover certain treasures and even the child of an exiled Russian Countess with the only payment being the “favour” of the beautiful woman. Intrigued by Nelly-Rose’s offer, Gérard’s older Russian colleague Ivan Borotof, having lost the Countess and his cut of the reward to Gérard, is willing to give up five million for a similar conquest, offering it in exchange for a night alone with the young woman, between the hours of midnight...

Moved by the love he feels for the Florence Nightingale-like figure of Maman Coralie, First World War veteran and war-hero Captain Patrice Belval, despite having lost a leg during the war, springs into action when he learns of an attempt to abduct her by unknown foreign individuals. His disappointment at finding out that this beautiful, kind-hearted woman is already married however is compounded when he finds out that her mysterious husband, an international banker, is mixed up in a dangerous gold smuggling operation that threatens to weaken the financial position of France in a troubled world market. But there are other mysterious forces at large and a strange fatalistic connection that exists between Patrice and Coralie, one that they discover is linked to the suspicious deaths of another Patrice and Coralie. In danger of falling victim to the same diabolical forces, there is only one person with the romantic sensibility to understand their predicament, one person with the means to u...

What starts out seemingly as a regular attempted burglary gone wrong soon turns into something much larger when it is discovered that the ringleader shot by one of the family is none other than Arsène Lupin.  The mystery of his activities in the house and the location of his dead body are revealed by an ingenious young student called Beautrelet (modelled very much on Gaston Leroux’s Rouletabille), but the discovery of a coded paper referring to the L’aiguille creuse (the hollow needle) suggests an even greater mystery. Lupin of course isn’t dead, and the mystery deepens as Beautrelet sets off around France on the trail of the master criminal in an attempt to uncover one of the greatest secrets of the French Royal family. Through kidnappings, abductions, impersonations and threats of dire consequences, Lupin manages to stay one step ahead of the young investigator, the chief of police and even Herlock Sholmès in an always thrilling, and ultimately tragic adventure.

What greater stage for a super-criminal who plays to the gallery like Lupin than the challenge of pitting himself against no less than the great English detective and his sidekick "Wilson" from Parker Street in London (all with less than subtle name-changes after threats of litigation by Conan Doyle). The battle more than lives up to the billing across two crime mysteries that stretch both Sholmes and Lupin to their limits, but which unsurprisingly manage to see both come out of the challenge neither victors nor defeated. Only poor Wilson seems to come off the worst in both adventures. Delightful and thrilling crime entertainment, as always with Lupin.