Arsène Lupin vs Sherlock Holmes
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This volume contains two adventures which pit the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin against Sherlock Holmes, the world's most famous detective. In 'The Blonde Lady', Holmes must discover the identity of a mysterious female thief who is linked to Lupin, while in 'The Jewish Lamp' he finds out that the theft of a lamp containing a precious jewel conceals an astonishing secret. While their tone is at times ironic and firmly tongue-in-cheek, the two stories in Arsène Lupin vs Sherlock Holmes bear all the hallmarks of classic detective fiction, and will put a smile on the lips and set the pulses racing of all fans of mystery and detective fiction.
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A Showdown for the Ages
Maurice LeBlanc was bold enough to write these stories less than 20 years after Conan Doyle first published his Holmes stories and about 25 years before Conan Doyle died. He was required to change the famous detective's name to Herlock Sholmes in the US version and Holmlock Shears in the UK. I guess there was no fan fiction back in the early 1900s. Nevertheless, now that the Holmes stories are in the public domain, everything has been corrected so that we are enjoying Sherlock and Watson.
This is a rematch of the world-famous detective and the world-famous thief. Since it's written by the creator of the latter, you can guess who will win. But that doesn't decrease the enjoyment of these two stories. Holmes is his usual smug, confident self, even to the point of egregious behavior towards Watson, who does not fare well in these stories. Lupin is also his usual smug, confident self. By the end of the stories, they appear to have developed a mutual respect.
Harrison's narration makes these stories come alive. For the first time, we experience the nerves beneath Holmes affectation of self-confidence. (We've known that all along through his need to keep Watson around to validate his superiority.) At no point in the stories was I sure how Lupin would best Holmes, and the ending was made more enjoyable by the narration by Harrison. He has a knack of knowing when to lean into the text and when to allow it to speak for itself.
If you enjoy Holmes, Lupin, or just a good mystery, I highly recommend Arsene Lupin vs. Sherlock Holmes.