The cold on the 8th of February, 186-, was more intense than the Parisians had experienced during the whole of the severe winter which had preceded it, for at twelve oclock on that day Chevaliers thermometer, so well known by the denizens of Paris, registered three degrees below zero. The sky was overcast and full of threatening signs of snow, while the moisture on the pavement and roads had frozen hard, rendering traffic of all kinds exceedingly hazardous. The whole great city wore an air of dreariness and desolation, for even when a thin crust of ice covers the waters of the Seine, the mind...

After a fight in a seedy bar leaves three men dead, the police arrest a man who claims to be a circus performer. But a young detective named Lecoq suspects the man isn't who he claims to be, and that there is more at stake than meets the eye in this work written in 1869.

This early work by Emile Gaboriau was originally published in 1869 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'Monsieur Lecoq' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Emile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Feval - a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel.

This early work by Emile Gaboriau was originally published in the late 19th century and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'The Champdoce Mystery' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Emile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Feval - a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel.

This early work by Emile Gaboriau was originally published in the late 19th century and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'Within an Inch of His Life' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Emile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Feval - a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel.

This early work by Emile Gaboriau was originally published in the late 19th century and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'Baron Trigault's Vengeance' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Emile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Feval - a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel."

This early work by Emile Gaboriau was originally published in 1871 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'The Clique of Gold' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Emile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Feval - a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel.

This early work by Emile Gaboriau was originally published in 1870 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'The Count's Millions' is one of Gaboriau's novels of crime and mystery. Emile Gaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime, France. During his twenties, he became a secretary to Paul Feval - a an author now regarded as one of the fathers of modern crime fiction, whose Jean Diable (1862) is seen as the world's first modern detective novel."