Leblanc was a French novelist and short story writer known for creating the character Arsene Lupin, who is the French counterpart to the English Sherlock Holmes Lupin is a sincere hero who has failings, which endured him to the reader. Ellery Queen said that The Eight Strokes of the Clock is one of the 125 most important books of detective mysteries. Stories included are: On the Top of the Tower, The Water Bottle, The Case of Jean Louis, The Tell-Tale Film, Therese and Germaine, The Lady with the Hatchet, Footprints in the Snow, and At the Sign of Mercury.