The Blackmailers: Dossier No. 113
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Monsieur Lecoq of the French SΓ»retΓ© is called to investigate a Bank Robbery in one of the worldβs first detective novels, widely credited as the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.
A sensational bank robbery of 350,000 francs is the talk of Paris, with suspicion falling immediately upon Prosper Bertomy, the young cashier whose extravagant living has been the subject of gossip among his friends. As a network of deceit, blackmail, murder and villainy closes around Prosper and his lover Madeleine, Monsieur Lecoq of the French SΓ»retΓ© embarks on a daring investigation to prove the young manβs innocence in the face of damning evidence and discover the truth behind an otherwise impossible crime.
Γmile Gaboriau is widely regarded as Franceβs greatest detective writer and a true pioneer of the genre. He created the archetypal detective Monsieur Lecoq, who appeared as a supporting character in LβAffaire Lerouge in 1866 and took centre-stage the following year in Le Dossier No.113, published in English as The Blackmailers. A master of disguise and guile, the stylish Lecoq appeared in only five novels before Gaboriauβs death in 1873 aged 40, having created the template for his natural successor β Sherlock Holmes.
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Γmile Gaboriau (1832-1873) is widely regarded the creator of the modern detective story. He created the archetypal detective Monsieur Lecoq, who appeared in five novels before Gaboriauβs death aged 40, having laid the ground for his natural successor β Sherlock Holmes.
