Arsene Lupin (e-book) by Edgar Jepson and Maurice Leblanc

This is another Project Gutenberg book.

I tried to avoid spoilers, but it still may be possible to guess certain things about the book based on what I've written here. However, as I say in my review, I guessed a few things very early on and still enjoyed the story. Arsene Lupin is just plain fun.

Synopsis:

I'll start by listing the characters.

• Arsene Lupin - The gentleman thief.
• M. Gournay-Martin - A millionaire. Sometime in the past, Arsene Lupin sent him a letter telling him that he planned to steal several of the paintings in his collection, as well as the coronet of the Princesse de Lamballe. Lupin took the paintings, as promised, but did not manage to get the coronet.
• Germaine - The millionaire's snooty daughter. She's about to marry the Duke of Charmerace.
• Sonia - A servant in the millionaire's household. She's lovely and delicate and puts up with Germaine without complaint. She's secretly in love with the Duke.
• Duke of Charmerace - About to marry Germaine, although he seems to like Sonia more than he does his fiancee. He became engaged to Germaine seven years ago and, shortly after that, left to go to the South Pole. He was only supposed to be gone for 3 years and ended up being gone for 7.
• Chief-Inspector Guerchard - A great detective who is obsessed with catching Arsene Lupin.

At the beginning of the book, Sonia is preparing Germaine and the Duke's wedding invitations. When Lupin informs M. Gournay-Martin, via a letter, that he plans to steal more of his paintings and finally get the coronet, the millionaire panics. It's not entirely clear, at first, whether the letter is really from Lupin or just from someone pretending to be Lupin. It doesn't matter - M. Gournay-Martin wants the police, particularly Guerchard, to help protect his collection. If the police cannot keep the items from being stolen, Guerchard may be the only one who can help get everything back.

Review:

Maurice Leblanc's Arsene Lupin books are my favorite Project Gutenberg find. This is the second Lupin book I've read, and, although I don't think it was as good as The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar (which is actually a collection of short stories, rather than a novel), it was still a lot of fun. Well, except for the gripes I have about the ending. And Sonia. But more about that later.