Messengers of Evil: Being a Further Account of the Lures and Devices of Fantômas

In Short

A high-society murder at a painter's studio kicks off a terrifying series of crimes across Paris. As police arrest the wrong suspects and high-society figures drop dead, crusading journalist Jérôme Fandor and brilliant master of disguise Detective Juve race to untangle the plot. They discover that every tragedy connects to a underground criminal syndicate and their ultimate enemy: the shape-shifting master of crime, Fantômas. Blending sensational pulp thrills, sewer escapes, and atmospheric Parisian crime, this classic detective serial captures the timeless appeal of early twentieth-century French pulp fiction.

The Story

The drama opens on Montmartre with the discovery of the Baroness de Vibray, dead of poison in the studio of ceramic painter Jacques Dollon. Dollon lies unconscious beside her, drugged by a soporific. Upon awakening, the bewildered painter makes suspicious statements and is promptly arrested by the magistrate Fuselier. Shortly after being brought to the Palais de Justice, Dollon mysteriously disappears from his cell, leaving behind rumors that he has died and his body has been carried away through the sewers.

Intrigued by the case, fearless journalist Jérôme Fandor investigates the prison's underground escapes. Crawling down a massive chimney and following footmarks through the sewers beneath the Seine, Fandor uncovers evidence that a criminal gang carried a body out of the Depot. Meanwhile, Dollon's beautiful sister, Elizabeth, begs Fandor to prove her brother's innocence. A romance quickly blossoms between the young journalist and the grieving girl as they pledge to solve the mystery together.

The plot thickens when the wealthy Princess Sonia Danidoff is brutally robbed of her jewels following a party at the home of sugar refiner Thomery. Police identify fingerprint evidence, while criminal rings—including street thugs, the receiver Mother Toulouche, and a corrupt prison warder named Nibet—execute precise hits and robberies across the city. Fandor receives crucial help from Cranajour, an old tramp who turns out to be none other than his ally Juve, the master detective operating in deep disguise.

Tragically, those who get too close to the truth meet swift demises. The respected sugar refiner Thomery is revealed to be entangled with the gang and is ruthlessly assassinated in a dark room by a figure in a black jersey and hooded mask. Minor accomplices who know too much, like the house servant Jules, are strangled and dumped when they are no longer useful.

Juve and Fandor realize every string is being pulled by Fantômas, the elusive criminal genius who moves through Paris under multiple high-society aliases, including the banker Barbey-Nanteuil. Despite the detectives' tireless pursuit, Fantômas stays one step ahead, framing Fandor by revealing his dark secret past to Elizabeth. Heartbroken, Elizabeth breaks off her engagement with Fandor. The novel ends on a dark, lingering note: Fantômas escapes justice once again, leaving Juve with a bruised reputation and Fandor with a broken heart, yet both men vow to renew their chase.

How It Unfolds

A body on Montmartre The wealthy Baroness de Vibray is found poisoned in a ceramic painter's studio, while the young artist Jacques Dollon lies unconscious next to her and is immediately arrested as the primary suspect.

The vanishing prisoner Dollon vanishes from his locked prison cell under impossible circumstances, prompting journalist Jérôme Fandor to climb down a dark ventilation chimney and track footprints through the Parisian sewers.

Robbery in high society A gang of street criminals uses chloroform to rob Princess Sonia Danidoff of her precious jewels, leaving the police baffled as fingerprint evidence points toward guests within her elite social circle.

An ally in disguise Fandor encounters an eccentric old tramp named Cranajour, who reveals himself to be Detective Juve in disguise, working secretly to expose corrupt prison warder Nibet and a ring of counterfeiters.

Death of a refiner The prominent sugar merchant Thomery is trapped in a dark apartment and stabbed to death by a masked figure in a black jersey, proving that even wealthy patrons are linked to the syndicate.

Silencing the witnesses The gang turns on its own accomplices, strangling the servant Jules in a rainy alley and throwing his body aside to ensure he cannot testify to the police.

Heartbreak and escape Fantômas escapes Juve's trap, but not before mailing a letter to Elizabeth exposing Fandor's past, destroying the young lovers' future and leaving the detectives to rebuild their hunt from scratch.

The People

• Jérôme Fandor: A brilliant, headstrong reporter for La Capitale. He wants to uncover the truth behind Jacques Dollon's disappearance and protect Elizabeth, but his pursuit of the crime syndicate exposes him to lethal danger and personal tragedy.
• Juve: A legendary police detective and master of disguise. He wants to bring the elusive criminal mastermind Fantômas to justice, operating under cover as the tramp Cranajour, but his reputation suffers when his nemesis escapes yet again.
• Elizabeth Dollon: The devoted sister of the accused painter. She wants to clear her brother's name and find peace, falling in love with Fandor until a cruel revelatory letter destroys her trust in him.
• Jacques Dollon: A young ceramic painter framed for the Baroness's murder. He becomes a helpless pawn in Fantômas's web, disappearing from his cell and leaving his sister to fight for his memory.
• Baroness de Vibray: A prominent Parisian arts patron whose sudden, mysterious death by poison in Dollon's studio initiates the dark chain of events.
• Fantômas: A ruthless, shape-shifting criminal genius. He seeks absolute power and wealth through murder, theft, and blackmail, successfully evading capture while ruining the lives of those who pursue him.

In Its Own Voice

"Disorder reigned in the studio: a startling disorder! Pieces of furniture displaced, some of them overturned, showed that something extraordinary had happened there."

A horrified housekeeper stumbles upon the scene of the crime at the Dollon studio.

"Not only have men passed this way but a short while ago, but they were carrying a heavy burden: there are two kinds of footmarks, made by two kinds of shoes..."

Fandor tracks the mysterious disappearance of Jacques Dollon into the damp sewers beneath the Palais de Justice.

"Quick as lightning the Beadle flung a long scarf round his neck, stuck his knee into his victim's back, and pulled!"

The brutal street gang ruthlessly disposes of an accomplice who knows too much.

What It's Really About

Underneath its fast-paced sensationalism, the novel explores the fragility of social respectability and the terrifying anonymity of the modern city. Fantômas represents an invisible, omnipresent threat that easily penetrates both Parisian slums and grand aristocratic drawing rooms. Wealthy sugar refiners, police warders, and street hooligans all belong to the same criminal web, suggesting that middle-class respectability is merely a thin mask over corruption. The story also examines the power of the press and early forensics—from fingerprinting to undercover reporting—showing a modernizing world where information can save a life or destroy a reputation in an instant.

Why Read It Today

Fans of classic pulp fiction, early twentieth-century detective stories, and noir atmospheric mysteries will thoroughly enjoy this book. Reading it feels like diving into a cinematic vintage serial, complete with trapdoors, sewer escapes, disguised detectives, and cold-blooded villains. The narrative moves at a relentless pace, relying on cliffhangers and dramatic confrontations rather than slow, methodical courtroom analysis.

Readers should be prepared for the melodrama and periodic conventions of French crime fiction from the 1910s, including theatrical dialogue, sudden twists, and occasional shifts in character perspectives. Additionally, because the story is part of a larger ongoing arch-villain saga, it does not offer a neat, happy ending where the bad guy is locked away forever. Instead, it leaves you with a haunting taste of defeat for the heroes and the lingering thrill of an uncaptured villain, making it a compelling piece of pulp history that remains remarkably entertaining today.