The Eight Strokes of the Clock

Prince Renine alias Arsene Lupin is an amateur detective who teams up with a lady named Hortense Daniel. The Eight Strokes of the Clock is a collection of eight short stories by Maurice Leblanc (Alexander Teixeira De Mottos translation). The stories have his most famous creation, Arsene Lupin, gentleman-thief, as main character. While exploring an old tower, Renine and Hortense discover a clock that strikes eight after Renine removes a telescope from inside it. So Renine asks Hortense to assist him in eight adventures, ranging from a stolen piece of jewelry to an insane murderer that almost kills Hortense. Renine cleverly solves all of the mysteries, though he often resorts to less lawful methods such as using false evidence to get a confession from a criminal.