The Crystal Stopper

The Crystal Stopper is a mystery novel by Maurice Leblanc featuring the adventures of the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin.

[1] The novel appeared in serial form in the French newspaper Le Journal from September to November 1912 and was subsequently released as a novel in a single volume.

The novel borrows from Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Purloined Letter" the idea of hiding an object in plain sight.

During a burglary at the home of Deputy Daubrecq a crime is committed and two accomplices of Arsène Lupin are arrested by the police.

Lupin seeks to deliver the victim of a miscarriage of justice, but struggles against Deputy Daubrecq's ruthless blackmailer, who has an incriminating document hidden in a crystal stopper.