Orlac's Hands

Maurice Renard is a recognized master of adventure and crime novels, one of the leading fantasists of France at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, also known for his mystical and pseudogothic works. This edition includes his most famous novels — the romantic detective story "Him?", the psychological thriller "Orlac's Hands", and the series of stories about Commissioner Jerome. "The Beautiful Era"! A time of wonders, when the connection with the otherworld was considered as reliable as a railway schedule, and the rapid development of science and technology was accompanied by an equally lavish flourishing of mysticism. When transplantation and rotational tables seemed to be matters of the same order, and even the most dim-witted criminals, wishing to cover their tracks, prepared their crimes with such sophistication, as if the police already possessed all the achievements of 21st-century criminology. However, detectives had nothing more than knowledge of human nature, insight, and the ability to build logical chains. It turns out that this is quite enough to shed light on the malice of wrongdoers.