Sherlock Holmes meets Arsène Lupin in a battle of wits, sacrifice, and the deadliest chess game ever played.
When Baron Octave de Crévac?ur is found murdered in his Paris mansion, Inspector Ganimard is trapped in a maze of cryptic notes that lead nowhere ? every clue circles back to the crime scene. Desperate, he summons the legendary Sherlock Holmes. But even the great detective is outmatched. The killer knows Holmes's methods better than Holmes himself.
Enter Arsène Lupin. The gentleman burglar. France's most infamous thief. An unexpected ally.
Together, Holmes, Lupin, and Dr. Watson uncover a century-old secret: the Zero Lodge, a shadowy organisation hunting for three Byzantine manuscripts that hold the key to a gate beyond time and space. As they race from the catacombs of Paris to the canals of Venice, from the Vatican's secret crypts to the Imperial Library beneath Istanbul, the two geniuses realize they are not hunting the killer ? they are being hunted.
The final move belongs to the French Defense: a chess opening where the queen is sacrificed to win the game. And one of them must be sacrificed forever.
Blending the deductive brilliance of Conan Doyle's detective with the roguish charm of Leblanc's thief, The French Defense is a gripping, atmospheric thriller about friendship, deception, and the price of truth.
Perfect for fans of The Seven Per Cent Solution, The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, and Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz.
