The Clique of Gold by Émile Gaboriau

The Clique of Gold Reviews

• 
  Dagny

  One evening in a disreputable lodging-house in Paris, "Papa" Ravinet, a dealer in second-hand goods and curiosities, becomes alarmed at what sounds to him to be the last gasps of someone dying. Forcing the disinterested concierge and his wife to investigate, the life of a young woman is saved. No one knows the true identity of this young woman, Miss Henrietta. She was brought to the lodging-house a number of months previously by a young gentleman who said she was his cousin from the provinces whose family had lost its fortune. As Ravinet sees the addresses on the two letters the distressed young woman left, a sudden light brightens his eyes and a wicked smile plays on his lips. This is quite a long book, but it held my interest. Once I was about half-way through, I could scarcely stop reading as I was so anxious to find out what was going to happen next.
  
• 
  Philip Lewis

  A most excellent melodrama/mystery set in C19th Paris (& briefly, Vietnam). Romance, intrigue, deeper intrigue, cads, an adventuress, and flawed heroes, as well as an interesting description of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) at that time. What more could you want. This is the first book I’ve read by Gaboriau, and I shall certainly read more. I managed to get hold of a lovely copy by Scibners (1913) to read, with beautiful paper and several illustrations.
• 
  P.

  A French sensational novel written in 1871. It is a bit long, with more detail than I wanted to know, and only picks up at the 50% mark, when it becomes interesting, although this leads to another ocean of detail, which in turn leads to the long heralded denouement, really just a pat on the head. Fine translation.
• 
  arg/machine

  Vintage crime/mystery that's in the
  public domain, with a free electronic copy available
  here.
• 
  Emily

  I love this book, a little slow at first, but so worth it.