Maurice Leblanc 
Eight Strokes of the Clock 

With wit and daring, a master thief battles cops, crooks, and killers. In Paris, six women have vanished, only to be found a week later, emaciated and disfigured, their skulls split open. What little evidence the police have suggests that the murderer is a woman and that she is preparing to strike again. When Prince Renine’s lover disappears on a cold night in October, he fears that she is about to become the latest victim. Most noblemen would be helpless to rescue her before the hatchet falls, but Renine is an alias of Arsene Lupin, the world’s greatest thief, and he will stop at nothing to catch the killer. Fearsome creatures may lurk in the back alleys of Paris, but none is as dangerous, or as brilliant, as Arsene Lupin. (Goodreads)