Synopsis/blurb.....
That shoeless foot looked incongruous lying on the pavement next to another foot encased in a shoe made of black kid leather. It was naked, private.... It was Maigret who retrieved the other shoe, which lay by the kerb six or seven metres away.
A series of strange phone calls leads Inspector Maigret through the Paris streets towards a man out of his depth amid a network of merciless criminals.
Maigret's Dead Man was my first taste of prolific Belgian author, Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret in what was his 29th case. It was enjoyable, not least because of its overall length and is hopefully not my last encounter with the Parisian detective.
An unidentified man has been murdered on the streets, a man who had been phoning Maigret throughout the afternoon of his death. Maigret directing operations has to identify the man and discover his killer, all while placating or ignoring the magistrate with overall responsibility for the case.
Quite the challenge, but slowly Maigret builds up a portrait of the man. A careful analysis of his clothing, determining what work he may have performed; the contents of his stomach informing his social status and the type of establishments which he might frequent and enjoy his meals.
We have a few underlings ready to do Maigret's bidding without question, phone here, stake-out there, some door knocking elsewhere. Not especially fast-paced, but not pedestrian either, just a really enjoyable read. Maigret logically gathering information, turning supposition and guesswork into fact.
We identify the victim, we get a break in the case, again after some patient police work, cause some panic in the ranks of those responsible and after a few more mini-adventures close out the case. (I doubt I'm spoiling this for anyone by disclosing this.)Plenty of applied logic, a bit of action, a surprising bit of graphic detail when interrogating a suspect and a satisfactory conclusion. Where's Simenon and his main man been all my reading life?
4.5 from 5
Originally published in 1948, Penguin Classics reissued this one last year. Part of a project to bring all 75 Maigret's give or take to a modern readership.
Read in February, 2017
Published -1948 (and 2016)
Page count - 240
Source - review copy from Penguin Classics team.
Format - paperback
Am glad you enjoyed this one Col! And it's nice to have you back writing on your blog again.
ReplyDeleteJose, thank you and thanks for your kindness and concern over the past month or so. I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would.
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed this one, Col. The Maigret series is an excellent one, I think, and it's consistently good. There'll be, no doubt, some you'll like better than others, but still, as a set, excellent.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margot. I do have a few non-Maigret titles in the tubs...Roman Durs type. I'll have to shuffle them up the pile!
DeleteCol – The Maigret novels are more enjoyable than Simenon’s non-Maigrets, which can be very dark and bitter.
ReplyDeleteElgin, I hope to try more of the Maigret books in the future, as well as some of his darker books. Have you read many of either?
DeleteI’ve read more Maigrets than nons, but not nearly enough. I started with the nons and then laid off Simenon for a long while. I came back to him after scooping up a bunch of Maigret paperbacks at a book fair. Since then, I seek him out whenever I hit a used-book store. As with Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Masons, I can’t hope to ever read through all the Maigrets. But I will try. By the way, I agree with you on the page count. I appreciate Simenon’s ability to tell his story in about 140 pages.
DeleteThanks for elaborating. I just revisited my "blue tub" spreadsheet and I have a couple of Maigret's apparently, I look forward to both....
DeleteSIMENON GEORGES THE ENGAGEMENT
SIMENON GEORGES ACT OF PASSION
SIMENON GEORGES THE STAIN ON THE SNOW
SIMENON GEORGES MONSIEUR MONDE VANISHES
SIMENON GEORGES THE YELLOW DOG
SIMENON GEORGES MY FRIEND MAIGRET
STAIN ON THE SNOW – as I recall, the edition I read was called THE SNOW WAS BLACK – is a really dark story. Another one, THREE BEDROOMS IN MANHATTAN, I remember as moody and slow moving. Now that you bring up Simenon, it reminds me, I do need to read more Maigret. I also want to try a non called THE MAN WHO WATCHED TRAINS
DeleteThose two look interesting, but I'll stick rather than twisting for now. Maybe after I've read these 5 and the other 4500!
Delete5? err 6
DeleteSurprised in a way that it's taken you 'til now to find your way to Maigret! I find them addictive (so have to ration myself). I also like those of Simenon's other novels I've read.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever really crossed paths with his books when I've been out and about browsing and book buying. The ones I have acquired with the exception of this one, I bought after reading a bit about his non-Simenon stuff.
DeleteThis particular "book" was recently adapted for TV and aired over Christmas on the BBC, I think. I meant to look out for it, but it has Rowan Atkinson as Maigret and I've never really taken to him post-Blackadder. I wasn't too heart-broken to miss it and besides it probably would have spoiled my reading.
The Green Penguin editions of his novels used to be absolutely everywhere in the charity bookshops. Quite possibly those copies have by now either fallen to bits or become rare collectables.
DeleteI'll make a mental note to buy the next one I spot, but don't hold your breath. I think you're right - either perished or cherished.
DeleteNice review, Col, and you make me want to read some of the books by Simenon that I have. I have both Maigret stories and the stand alone books. Read some of each when I was younger and remember enjoying them. But I never know how I will like an author that I used to read a lot.
ReplyDeleteTracy thanks. I don't recall my reading from my much younger days, so I don't have anything to compare and contrast to. I only really got into the genre when I was in my mid-20s and my main staples were Robert B. Parker, Elmore Leonard and James Lee Burke. I didn't really do GA back then (or now come to think of it).
DeleteCol, I have yet to read a Maigret novel one of which I recently acquired by chance. I believe the series is really good.
ReplyDeletePrashant, I don't think you will be disappointed when you read him, if this is his usual standard.
DeleteI read quite a few Maigrets and other Simenon back in the day - we read a very short one in French at school, which was rather imaginative of them, and much more entertaining than most school texts. Perhaps I should pick one up again. And yes, he is admirable for keeping them short.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised it took me so long to get to him. Maybe I think I'm too much of a completist and have the unreasonable expectation that if I read one and enjoy it, I ought to read them all. Something that clearly isn't going to happen in this instance!
Delete