Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief by Maurice Leblanc

Illustrated by: Vincent Mallié

Reading this was a strange experience. I knew nothing about the lead character of this book or the original author. Since then, I have surprisingly noticed other places that the gentleman detective was mentioned!

I have a healthy curiosity for older mysteries. Although here, the stories are not technically mysteries, and we know who is going to come out on top, it was still highly entertaining to watch unfold. The art in the book heightened the reading experience and set the mood, due to which I really enjoyed it all. If not for the art scattered around each story, I might have found it a little less exciting.

The following are the titles of the short stories:

The Arrest Of Arsene Lupin

In the first introduction to the title, we meet an unnamed narrator introducing us to what the name Arsene Lupin indicates. We are on a ship, and tensions run high as no one knows exactly under what name the Gentleman Thief is travelling. I almost expected the twist, but not quite. The ending was fun.

Arsene Lupin in Prison

After his arrest in the previous escapade, although he is sequestered in Prison, a threat is sent in the name of Arsene Lupin to a wealthy hoarder. It is not a unique narrative, but the way it was told made me want to continue on to the next story.

The Escape of Arsene Lupin

We meet Arsene Lupin in Prison. He seems to be enjoying his stay there, with multiple facilities at his service. He is very sure, however, that he will not be standing trial. The plot focuses on just how that comes about.

The Mysterious Traveller

Arsene Lupin is on a train. He has been spotted, or has he? It is a twist on the character that we have been introduced to earlier. The unexpected happened, and I was highly entertained by the changes in the way our lead protagonist handled things.

The Queens Necklace

This was deeper than the other stories. It provided a lot of information to help form the background of the person we have seen carry out some shenanigans thus far, which broke the law at every turn. It had a lot of emotional undertones that once again changed how I was reading this.

The seven of Hearts

Like many other fictional characters, Arsene Lupin also had a narrator. Although I had not encountered him in particular before, this is the story of how they first met. It was good, but I would not rank it among the top. The art, in particular, brought the suspense in it to life.

Madam Imbert’s Safe

This was probably the one that I was bored by the most. Although Arsene Lupin comes out as the loser here, I did not enjoy the turning of the tables. As I write this, maybe it was the fact that he lost that I did not enjoy it.

The Black Pearl

The thief stumbles on murder when he comes for his prize. Once mixed in the affair, he decides to clear his name while simultaneously getting the prize.

Herlock Hsholmes Arrives too late

I read about the reason this title looks so weird. After reading about it, I was highly anticipating the content. It does put the pseudo ‘Sherlock Holmes’ in quite a bad light. It was short and funny.

All the chapters are available for free online. Each is short and fun. But as I mentioned several times in this review. The way the stories were presented with the art made me enjoy the book as much as I did. Even as I found the text elsewhere, as I read it, the pictures were running in my head.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

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