Prenez une légende bretonne, une île isolée creusée de tunnels, un prince germano-polonais, des affaires de famille (mariage sans consentement du père de la mariée, enlèvement de la mariée, puis du fils), deux douzaines de bretons qui meurent dans les 30 premières pages et secouez bien. Il ne reste plus qu'à insérer Arsène Lupin dans le rôle de sauveur/clown et voilà.

Un Arsène Lupin assez noir : on ne rigole pas tous les jours seul sur une ile avec des tueurs invisibles et omnipotents. On meurt à tours de bras, mais on ressuscite aussi (seulement si on n'est pas breton). Et le gentleman comique cambrioleur n'arrive que sur la fin pour que l'on puisse finalement se marrer de cette aventure où 31 personnes meurent (sans compter les resurrections bien sur). ( )

Much more than a fun romp, an intrigueing mystery or a cleverly plotted crime, this novel reads mostly as Gothic horror. The body-count is high - extremely so in comparison to other Arsene Lupin-novels, and for the first half of the novel the atmosphere is one of near-constant terror on the side of the female main-character.

The name of Arsene Lupin is used sparingly - although one can't doubt the identity of the male character who does, eventually, show up in the second half of the book, the setting is such that even at his most Lupin-esque, Lupin's alias doesn't quite feel like the criminal mastermind one may well have come to expect and love after reading the previous novels.

In French, this novel is called 'The Island of Thirty Coffins'. This, one feels, would prepare the reader much better for the type of story within than the slightly deceptive 'Arsene Lupin and the Secret of Sarek'. (As said before, one full half of the book is spent in the company of an increasingly terrified and terrorized young woman.)

If you like Maurice Leblanc in general and Gothic horror/mystery novels, this may be your kind of read. If you just want to read more of Arsene Lupin's adventures in crime and sleuthing, I frankly think you're better of skipping this one. ( )

ΠΟΛΥ ΚΑΛΟ ( )