The Invisible Weapon — Paul Feval

1838. Investigating Magistrate Remy d'Arx is on the trail of the Black Coats. If he isn't stopped, the evil brotherhood of thieves and assassins may well be destroyed. But d'Arx has taken precautions in the event of his death. Only the nearly immortal Colonel Bozzo, the mastermind of the criminal conspiracy, can put an end to his threat by using his most deadly scheme -- the INVISIBLE WEAPON. But dissension grows in the ranks of the villainous society and soon, even the Colonel himself is under attack... The Black Coats Homicidal phantoms roaming the nocturnal silence of Paris Paul Fval, the father of the modern detective novel, continues the dark chronicles that gave its lettres de noblesse to criminal literature. "The Invisible Weapon is executed with tremendous panache. Despite its age, modern readers will find it just as stirring as their mid-19th-century counterparts." Brian Stableford.