The Count's Millions

<p>This detective novel revolves around a contested inheritance and a young man's desperate attempts to secure his fortune. Through a web of intrigue mystery and suspense the story delves into a high-stakes legal battle over the vast wealth left by a wealthy count. As secrets and lies are uncovered the truth behind the inheritance comes to light with unexpected twists and masterful deductions typical of Gaboriau's work in early detective fiction.</p><p>Emile Gaboriau (1833-1873) is an important figure in the history of detective fiction. A French journalist and novelist he created the roman policier with a series of books involving private detective Monsieur Lecoq who works logically. Lecoq was based on a real-life thief turned policeman named Francois Vidocq (1775-1857) whose memoirs mixed fiction and fact. Gaboriau's huge following was eclipsed by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Interestingly Holmes may have been at least partly based on another of Gaboriau's characters consulting detective Father Tabaret whose methods Lecoq adopts in the first Lecoq book.</p>