The Eight Strokes of the Clock by Maurice LeblancMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The author of this series continues to try new things with it, which I appreciate in an author of a popular series; he doesn't feel constrained to reproduce the thing everyone liked last time, which inevitably means some fans will be displeased. In Neil Gaiman's terminology, he's an otter, not a dolphin; he does a different trick each time.
This time, we see Lupin operating under one of his many aliases - the introductory note from the author claims that Lupin told these stories to him in the third person, but that he's sure the hero was Lupin himself. It's a nice way to trade on the popularity of an existing character while writing about, in a way, a different character. Because this is not Lupin the criminal (although he doesn't always stay within the law); we see "Prince Renine" acting as a freelance troubleshooter, ferreting out problems and injustices and solving them for people with Lupin's inimitable mix of brilliant insight, confident bluff and ready resourcefulness. He may prevent more crimes than he commits in this book, I think.
Part of his goal, aside from the inherent value of helping people and righting wrongs, is to impress and excite a young woman who he meets in the first of the eight linked stories. While Lupin is repeatedly unlucky in his loves through the series, he remains ever optimistic, and he's always at his moral best when there's a woman in the picture.
Unfortunately, the women, including this one, remain largely passive, acting more as an admiring audience than as effective characters with agency (though they occasionally do something important to assist him, it's usually a one-off). This woman has an opportunity to break out of this mould, but she muffs it, and Lupin has to step in and resolve the situation after all.
The problems are varied and the resolutions ingenious, and I continue to enjoy the series, though this isn't one of the best for me.
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