Emile Gaboriau, a contemporary of Arthur Conan Doyle is considered one of the founders of the "detective novel". If you like the novels of Sherlock Holmes, you will like its French counterpart Mr. Lecocq. He was a dangerous rascal, the old robber, shrewd and cautious; bold, as those who possess nothing can afford to be; as patient as a savage; in short, one of the most consummate scoundrels that ever existed.