Gaston Leroux 
The Secret of the Night 

The surviving Nihilists have condemned the Russian General Trebassof to death for the crimes he and his troops committed against the revolution. Three attempts on his life have failed, but the Czar is determined to keep him alive. The Czar assigns the redoubtable French detective reporter Rouletabille to the case. It quickly becomes apparent that one of the General’s own retinue is in league with the assassins! But why?