The Secret of the Night - Gaston Leroux

Written by Gaston Leroux
Read by John Bolen
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

The Adventures of Joseph Rouletabille Series, Book 3
Publisher: Tantor Media
Release date: December 12, 2006
Duration: 10:03:05

The surviving Nihilists have condemned the Russian General Trebassof to death for the crimes he and his troops committed against the revolution. Three attempts on his life have failed, but the Czar is determined to keep him alive. The Czar assigns the redoubtable, French detective reporter, Rouletabille to the case. It quickly becomes apparent that one of the General’s own retinue is in league with the assassins! Why?

A reviewer said— The main thing I like about Leroux’s mysteries is that they are exactly that, a mystery. I listened to this in audiobook form while working and I was constantly trying to think out the puzzle as I worked. The structure of the story is a little bit clumsy in places, a slight edit would have helped the flow of the narrative but it was entertaining all the same. Rouletabille certainly gives Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes a run for his money.

The novel is based on the experiences of the author when he went as a journalist to Russia in 1912. The real takeaway from this book is the occasional portrayal of how common people are oppressed by the Tsardom. Though Gaston Leroux is not entirely neutral (he depicts the revolutionaries as Nihilists), but his account does reveal his disdain for the policing methods, of the vast gulf between the aristocracy and the common people. It becomes evident why 5 years later, the Bolshevik revolution became necessary. It is this perspective that adds value to the book, but it does not stand out as a detective fiction.

It is an 8 book series but only 3 have been recorded. Book 2, the Perfume of the Lady in Black was recorded by Flo Gibson but for what company or when, and where to find it, I don’t know.