The Lecoq prequel
A famous roman policier featuring detective M. Lecoq, the basis for a silent film made in 1914. Gaboriau's twelfth book and the fifth novel in which Lecoq appears "is today often considered his best and most readable book.
Within the first few pages a triple murder is committed, at Mother Chupin's sleazy drinking dive, Lecoq's superior, Gevrol, is of the opinion that it was the result of a mere brawl among low-class drunkards. But Lecoq thinks otherwise. And surprisingly, the murderer is captured. The question is this: who is the prisoner? Without an identification, he can't be charged with the crime. The rest is a battle of wits between the deductive LeCoq and his mysterious prisoner.