Sax Rohmer 
Yellow Claw 

A society woman’s mysterious death sets off a twisting murder investigation in this 1915 crime novel featuring Inspector Dunbar and Gaston Max.Popular novelist Henry Leroux is working late into the night when a woman in grave distress arrives at his door. Wearing little beneath her fur coat and clearly in need of medical attention, the woman dies before she can explain why she has sought Leroux out. It is a baffling investigation for Scotland Yard’s Inspector Dunbar, one that will draw him into London’s seedy Limehouse district in pursuit of the mysterious criminal mastermind Mr. King. As Dunbar uncovers Mr. King’s nefarious plan to destroy all of London’s high society, he is joined on the case by the legendary detective Gaston Max.