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Letter to My Judge
A dark, psychological tale of deadly obsession, in a masterful new translation
'My dear Judge, I would like one man, just one, to understand me. And I really hope that man can be you.'
In a small town in western France, Dr Charles Alavoine seems to lead the perfect his own medical practice, two beautiful children, a new wife and a doting mother. Yet as each quiet day of bourgeois conformity passes, Alavoine begins to feel a sharp sense of futility. Then, one rainy day in December, he meets a mysterious young woman on a station platform. Fascinated by her innocence and the scars of her past, Alavoine’s passion soon gives way to a dangerous obsession, ending in a terrible act that will forever change the course of his life.
First published in 1947, Letter to My Judge is a masterful exploration of the darkest corners of the human soul, and a harrowing exorcism of Simenon’s phantoms.
'My dear Judge, I would like one man, just one, to understand me. And I really hope that man can be you.'
In a small town in western France, Dr Charles Alavoine seems to lead the perfect his own medical practice, two beautiful children, a new wife and a doting mother. Yet as each quiet day of bourgeois conformity passes, Alavoine begins to feel a sharp sense of futility. Then, one rainy day in December, he meets a mysterious young woman on a station platform. Fascinated by her innocence and the scars of her past, Alavoine’s passion soon gives way to a dangerous obsession, ending in a terrible act that will forever change the course of his life.
First published in 1947, Letter to My Judge is a masterful exploration of the darkest corners of the human soul, and a harrowing exorcism of Simenon’s phantoms.
- GenresFiction
197 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 14, 2026
About the author
Georges Simenon
2,623 books2,379 followersGeorges Joseph Christian Simenon (1903 – 1989) was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known as the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.
Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.
He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain.
During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)).
Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981).
In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.
In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.
Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.
Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.
He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain.
During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)).
Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981).
In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.
In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 2, 2026
“The hunger to explain yourself and to explain the other person, because you're so awestruck, you see, so aware of a miracle, so afraid of losing the thing you'd never hoped for, which fate didn't owe you, which it may have given you distractedly, that you constantly feel the need to reassure yourself and, in order to reassure yourself, to understand.”
.
Lately I’ve been waking up before the sun rises in a haze of anxiety, stemming from dreams that, while relatively innocuous, leave a faint trace of something darkly oppressive. Perhaps it stems from the two books I’ve been reading, one the dark inside of a murderer’s mind and the dream hunters of Corsica.
.
Mercifully this is a short book. I say mercifully, not because it’s a terrible book, but Simenon thrusts us into the dark recesses of a man who, on the face of it, appears as a regular country doctor, with a regular country wife. Yet he has another face. A face that looks upon women as a means to release the tension that is within him. The letter is starkly frank and open; we know he has committed a heinous crime. A trial ensues, and this is his rationale.
.
There are no really likeable characters here, but the writing is compact, tense, offering a bleak view of humanity. As the reader, it feels like he is speaking to you. Do we have a small bit of this darkness in all of us? Despite him being an abuser and murderer there were aspects of his anxieties that felt relatable. Anyway, another really excellent Simenon book.
.
With thanks to penguinukbooks for the opportunity to read the book and for netgalley for being the literary matchmaker.
.
Lately I’ve been waking up before the sun rises in a haze of anxiety, stemming from dreams that, while relatively innocuous, leave a faint trace of something darkly oppressive. Perhaps it stems from the two books I’ve been reading, one the dark inside of a murderer’s mind and the dream hunters of Corsica.
.
Mercifully this is a short book. I say mercifully, not because it’s a terrible book, but Simenon thrusts us into the dark recesses of a man who, on the face of it, appears as a regular country doctor, with a regular country wife. Yet he has another face. A face that looks upon women as a means to release the tension that is within him. The letter is starkly frank and open; we know he has committed a heinous crime. A trial ensues, and this is his rationale.
.
There are no really likeable characters here, but the writing is compact, tense, offering a bleak view of humanity. As the reader, it feels like he is speaking to you. Do we have a small bit of this darkness in all of us? Despite him being an abuser and murderer there were aspects of his anxieties that felt relatable. Anyway, another really excellent Simenon book.
.
With thanks to penguinukbooks for the opportunity to read the book and for netgalley for being the literary matchmaker.
May 20, 2026
Thank you to Penguin Press UK , the author and NetGalley for inviting me to read a DRC in return for an honest review. Translated from the French - Lettre à mon juge - by Howard Curtis.
My God, this was dark.
Letter to My Judge could be summed up in one sentence - beneath ordinary life lurks loneliness, cruelty and desperation. But allow me to elaborate on this concept.
It is not often that a novel presents a protagonist with absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever, yet Georges Simenon is the master of this technique. Most writers would be tempted to delay the revelation of how awful their narrator truly is, or at least offer moments of charm or vulnerability to win the reader over. Instead, Charles Alavoine announces his moral ugliness right from the get go and then proceeds to excavate even deeper layers of it as the novel progresses.
What makes the book so disturbing is that Charles believes his feelings are profound and exceptional, while the reader increasingly sees someone who is petty, controlling, emotionally cruel and intellectually vain. He mistakes intensity for depth. The novel almost becomes an examination of male narcissism long before that language ever became common. You keep reading not because you like Charles, but because you want to understand how a human being can become so morally rotten while still narrating himself as tragic.
Simenon was incredibly good at this kind of claustrophobic psychological dissection. There is very little plot in the conventional sense - it is almost entirely emotional autopsy. The tone becomes suffocating because you realise early on that there is no redemption coming, only deeper self-justification. Charles is not a flamboyant villain or sensational psychopath. He is recognisable. Ordinary. Petty. Emotionally immature. That normality makes the author's creation even more horrifying.
We have all encountered the phrase 'a crime of passion' and are familiar with its problematic cultural baggage. This archaic term subtly reframes violence - usually male violence against women but not exclusively - as something spontaneous, tragic, romantic or emotionally inevitable rather than calling it out for what it really is - controlling, abusive and sometimes murderous. What is fascinating about Simenon is that, intentionally or not, the novel almost exposes the hollowness of that trope. Charles continually insists upon the grandeur of his emotions, yet the reader increasingly sees something small, ugly and selfish underneath. The widening gap between how Charles sees himself and how we see him is what makes the novel so psychologically devastating.
Having also read The Cat, I am increasingly convinced that Simenon was one of the great literary anatomists of emotional decay. He is brilliant at showing how love can calcify into contempt through years of disappointment, humiliation and emotional erosion. His romans durs (so-called hard novels) create unbearable tension not through plot twists, but through silence, routine, suspicion, emotional dependency and quiet cruelty. He understood the violence hidden inside ordinary lives better than almost anyone. He is one of those writers where the emotional atmosphere matters far more than the actual mechanics of the story.
The more I learn about Georges Simenon himself, the more fascinating his work becomes. He strikes me as both complex and fascinating - I feel utterly compelled to read more about the man through his other novels and memoirs - of which there is a plethora. Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day - which resulted in over 350 novels and novellas - and that isn't even including his autobiographical works.
Simenon seems to me like a deeply troubled and tortured soul who endured enormous psychological turmoil throughout his life, with writing becoming the primary outlet for his grief, obsessions and inner unrest. His life was riddled with tragedy and emotional instability and he frequently used the word 'phantoms' to describe the unresolved emotional forces that haunted him throughout both his life and work.
Much of this appears rooted in his deeply complicated relationship with his mother, from whom he felt emotionally rejected and unloved. That wound seems central to his bleak portrayals of intimacy, humiliation and emotional dependency. Simenon was also famously hypersexual (claiming to have slept with thousands of women), although beneath the bravado there appears to have been profound anxiety surrounding desire, possession and emotional connection. His novels are full of men who confuse lust, control and love.
At the same time, he seemed both fascinated and repelled by conventional domestic life. Many of his protagonists are suffocated by marriage, routine, work and social expectations before psychologically collapsing altogether. Above all, Simenon appeared convinced that civilisation itself was fragile - that beneath ordinary life lurked resentment, loneliness, cruelty and irrational impulses waiting to erupt. His romans durs constantly strip away social masks to expose what lies underneath.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of his later life was the suicide of his daughter Marie-Jo Simenon in 1978, which left him devastated and consumed by guilt. What makes it especially haunting is that Simenon had spent his entire career dissecting loneliness, despair, alienation and emotional damage in fiction, yet he seems to have felt powerless within his own real family life. After Marie-Jo’s death he wrote the deeply painful memoir Mémoires intimes, which includes an extraordinary letter addressed directly to her.
When you encounter the emotional coldness, dependency, humiliation and destructive intimacy in books like Letter to My Judge or The Cat, it becomes difficult not to wonder how much Simenon understood these dynamics intellectually while remaining trapped within them personally. What makes his novels feel so startlingly modern is that he rarely wrote about people overcoming trauma. His characters are inhabited by their phantoms rather than conquering them. The past sits inside them like rot. He understood that people are often unreliable narrators of their own suffering - and that pain does not automatically make someone wise, sympathetic or kind. Sometimes it simply makes them destructive.
A brilliant, suffocating and deeply unsettling novel. One of those rare books where hating the characters is actually high praise.
#LettertoMyJudge #NetGalley
My God, this was dark.
Letter to My Judge could be summed up in one sentence - beneath ordinary life lurks loneliness, cruelty and desperation. But allow me to elaborate on this concept.
It is not often that a novel presents a protagonist with absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever, yet Georges Simenon is the master of this technique. Most writers would be tempted to delay the revelation of how awful their narrator truly is, or at least offer moments of charm or vulnerability to win the reader over. Instead, Charles Alavoine announces his moral ugliness right from the get go and then proceeds to excavate even deeper layers of it as the novel progresses.
What makes the book so disturbing is that Charles believes his feelings are profound and exceptional, while the reader increasingly sees someone who is petty, controlling, emotionally cruel and intellectually vain. He mistakes intensity for depth. The novel almost becomes an examination of male narcissism long before that language ever became common. You keep reading not because you like Charles, but because you want to understand how a human being can become so morally rotten while still narrating himself as tragic.
Simenon was incredibly good at this kind of claustrophobic psychological dissection. There is very little plot in the conventional sense - it is almost entirely emotional autopsy. The tone becomes suffocating because you realise early on that there is no redemption coming, only deeper self-justification. Charles is not a flamboyant villain or sensational psychopath. He is recognisable. Ordinary. Petty. Emotionally immature. That normality makes the author's creation even more horrifying.
We have all encountered the phrase 'a crime of passion' and are familiar with its problematic cultural baggage. This archaic term subtly reframes violence - usually male violence against women but not exclusively - as something spontaneous, tragic, romantic or emotionally inevitable rather than calling it out for what it really is - controlling, abusive and sometimes murderous. What is fascinating about Simenon is that, intentionally or not, the novel almost exposes the hollowness of that trope. Charles continually insists upon the grandeur of his emotions, yet the reader increasingly sees something small, ugly and selfish underneath. The widening gap between how Charles sees himself and how we see him is what makes the novel so psychologically devastating.
Having also read The Cat, I am increasingly convinced that Simenon was one of the great literary anatomists of emotional decay. He is brilliant at showing how love can calcify into contempt through years of disappointment, humiliation and emotional erosion. His romans durs (so-called hard novels) create unbearable tension not through plot twists, but through silence, routine, suspicion, emotional dependency and quiet cruelty. He understood the violence hidden inside ordinary lives better than almost anyone. He is one of those writers where the emotional atmosphere matters far more than the actual mechanics of the story.
The more I learn about Georges Simenon himself, the more fascinating his work becomes. He strikes me as both complex and fascinating - I feel utterly compelled to read more about the man through his other novels and memoirs - of which there is a plethora. Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day - which resulted in over 350 novels and novellas - and that isn't even including his autobiographical works.
Simenon seems to me like a deeply troubled and tortured soul who endured enormous psychological turmoil throughout his life, with writing becoming the primary outlet for his grief, obsessions and inner unrest. His life was riddled with tragedy and emotional instability and he frequently used the word 'phantoms' to describe the unresolved emotional forces that haunted him throughout both his life and work.
Much of this appears rooted in his deeply complicated relationship with his mother, from whom he felt emotionally rejected and unloved. That wound seems central to his bleak portrayals of intimacy, humiliation and emotional dependency. Simenon was also famously hypersexual (claiming to have slept with thousands of women), although beneath the bravado there appears to have been profound anxiety surrounding desire, possession and emotional connection. His novels are full of men who confuse lust, control and love.
At the same time, he seemed both fascinated and repelled by conventional domestic life. Many of his protagonists are suffocated by marriage, routine, work and social expectations before psychologically collapsing altogether. Above all, Simenon appeared convinced that civilisation itself was fragile - that beneath ordinary life lurked resentment, loneliness, cruelty and irrational impulses waiting to erupt. His romans durs constantly strip away social masks to expose what lies underneath.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of his later life was the suicide of his daughter Marie-Jo Simenon in 1978, which left him devastated and consumed by guilt. What makes it especially haunting is that Simenon had spent his entire career dissecting loneliness, despair, alienation and emotional damage in fiction, yet he seems to have felt powerless within his own real family life. After Marie-Jo’s death he wrote the deeply painful memoir Mémoires intimes, which includes an extraordinary letter addressed directly to her.
When you encounter the emotional coldness, dependency, humiliation and destructive intimacy in books like Letter to My Judge or The Cat, it becomes difficult not to wonder how much Simenon understood these dynamics intellectually while remaining trapped within them personally. What makes his novels feel so startlingly modern is that he rarely wrote about people overcoming trauma. His characters are inhabited by their phantoms rather than conquering them. The past sits inside them like rot. He understood that people are often unreliable narrators of their own suffering - and that pain does not automatically make someone wise, sympathetic or kind. Sometimes it simply makes them destructive.
A brilliant, suffocating and deeply unsettling novel. One of those rare books where hating the characters is actually high praise.
#LettertoMyJudge #NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Georges Simenon is more famous for his Maigret detective series, but he also wrote a large number of standalone psychological thrillers which he described as romans durs, or ‘hard novels’, in reference to the dark, bleak atmosphere and difficult, harrowing lives of the characters. I’ve read five of them now and Letter to My Judge is the darkest so far. It was originally published in French in 1947 and is now available from Penguin Classics in a new English translation.
As the title suggests, the book is written in the form of a letter. The writer is Dr Charles Alavoine and we know from the beginning that he is in prison, having just been found guilty of murder. The Judge of the title is an examining magistrate, or juge d’instruction to use the French term, the person responsible for carrying out a pre-trial investigation and preparing the evidence. During his trial, Charles heard the Judge state that he didn’t think the murder was premeditated, so he’s decided to write him a letter proving that it really was premeditated and that he knew exactly what he was doing when he committed the crime. It may seem an odd thing to want to prove, but Charles feels that it’s important to have his full story heard by someone.
In his letter, Alavoine begins by looking back at his early days when he qualified as a doctor and bought a practice in the town of La Roche-sur-Yon in western France. We then hear about his first wife, who died in childbirth, and the arrival of Armande, who came to take care of his young daughters and ended up marrying him. Armande is a practical, capable woman who quickly begins to dominate the household, the medical practice and every aspect of her husband’s life. Charles doesn’t love her but he needs a wife and she seems to be as good a choice as any. Things change when he meets a young woman, Martine, at a station and feels a desire for her that he has never felt for Armande. Charles is determined not to lose Martine now that he has found her, but events quickly begin to spiral out of control, leading to the crime for which he will later stand trial.
With the whole book written from Charles Alavoine’s perspective, this means we get right inside the mind of a killer, which makes this an intense, uncomfortable read. Alavoine has few, if any, redeeming qualities and is an unpleasant, abusive person from beginning to end. Apparently this was a deeply personal book for Simenon, who said “I wrote it in order to rid myself of my ghosts, not to commit the same deed carried out by my protagonist”. It seems that Simenon himself, like Alavoine, treated the women in his life badly, which is disappointing to know, although he at least had enough self-awareness to write an honest, reflective book like this one. It’s definitely a very disturbing story, though, even more so than the others I’ve read by him and I’m sure the autobiographical aspect is partly responsible for that.
As well as being an unsettling book to read, it’s also quite a gripping one. Although there’s not really any mystery as we already know the outcome of Alavoine’s story from the beginning, we don’t know what led him to that point so there’s still some suspense as we watch everything unfold. It’s not my favourite of the romans durs I’ve read so far, but it’s certainly a powerful novel and not one I’ll forget easily.
As the title suggests, the book is written in the form of a letter. The writer is Dr Charles Alavoine and we know from the beginning that he is in prison, having just been found guilty of murder. The Judge of the title is an examining magistrate, or juge d’instruction to use the French term, the person responsible for carrying out a pre-trial investigation and preparing the evidence. During his trial, Charles heard the Judge state that he didn’t think the murder was premeditated, so he’s decided to write him a letter proving that it really was premeditated and that he knew exactly what he was doing when he committed the crime. It may seem an odd thing to want to prove, but Charles feels that it’s important to have his full story heard by someone.
In his letter, Alavoine begins by looking back at his early days when he qualified as a doctor and bought a practice in the town of La Roche-sur-Yon in western France. We then hear about his first wife, who died in childbirth, and the arrival of Armande, who came to take care of his young daughters and ended up marrying him. Armande is a practical, capable woman who quickly begins to dominate the household, the medical practice and every aspect of her husband’s life. Charles doesn’t love her but he needs a wife and she seems to be as good a choice as any. Things change when he meets a young woman, Martine, at a station and feels a desire for her that he has never felt for Armande. Charles is determined not to lose Martine now that he has found her, but events quickly begin to spiral out of control, leading to the crime for which he will later stand trial.
With the whole book written from Charles Alavoine’s perspective, this means we get right inside the mind of a killer, which makes this an intense, uncomfortable read. Alavoine has few, if any, redeeming qualities and is an unpleasant, abusive person from beginning to end. Apparently this was a deeply personal book for Simenon, who said “I wrote it in order to rid myself of my ghosts, not to commit the same deed carried out by my protagonist”. It seems that Simenon himself, like Alavoine, treated the women in his life badly, which is disappointing to know, although he at least had enough self-awareness to write an honest, reflective book like this one. It’s definitely a very disturbing story, though, even more so than the others I’ve read by him and I’m sure the autobiographical aspect is partly responsible for that.
As well as being an unsettling book to read, it’s also quite a gripping one. Although there’s not really any mystery as we already know the outcome of Alavoine’s story from the beginning, we don’t know what led him to that point so there’s still some suspense as we watch everything unfold. It’s not my favourite of the romans durs I’ve read so far, but it’s certainly a powerful novel and not one I’ll forget easily.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Dr Charles Alavoine was a small town doctor in western France. He appeared to be happily married to his second wife, Armande, who helped him raise his two young daughters from his first marriage. He also had his devoted, adoring mother on call as well. He seemed to be the very image of respectability. Life would have undoubtedly carried on in this way until, on a rainy December night, he met Martine, a young Belgian woman, and his fall from grace began.
He has written a letter to the examining magistrate in which he explains the events as he sees them that led up to him being on trial and then jailed. However, this is not an attempt to exonerate himself or to play down the vicious final act but instead it is a straightforward account of his life and recent events. But, Dr Alavoine is not a pleasant man by any means. He is used to being served by the women in his life while he habitually uses others for casual sex. Only one woman refuses him, Justine, one of his patients. She even laughs at him. He and Armande have not had a sex life for years but she is an efficient housekeeper and mother.
With Martine, Avolaine is a man possessed. He is obsessed with her and the other men that she knew before she met him. He states quite plainly and unashamedly that he beats her to make her as pliable as the other women in his life. He slyly moves her into the family home under the pretext that she is to be his assistant. Inevitably they are caught in an embrace by Armande who wants Martine to leave. But Avolaine is completely out of control and soon it will lead to murder and suicide.
This book was first published in 1947 and like ‘The Cat’ it’s a very, very dark book. No one comes out of looking pleasant. They are both standalone books and I had a strong sense while reading them of Simenon wanting to step away from his much loved creation Maigret to write something different, much harder and with no happy ending. I think that most writers like to stretch their muscles once in a while. ‘Letter to my Judge’ is no plea for mercy, no desire to be exonerated, it’s the account of a man who seemed willing to destroy his life to completely possess one woman. Both of these books are examinations of the darker side of life and relationships and I had the impression that exploring this fascinated Simenon.
I really disliked Dr Avocaine quite early on in the book and I felt that I was expected to feel this way about him. However, my gorge rose when he describes Martine as ‘…nothing but a whore’ as if he had any right to take the moral high ground. It is a very powerful story and brilliantly written.
My thanks to the publisher and Net galley for an ARC.
He has written a letter to the examining magistrate in which he explains the events as he sees them that led up to him being on trial and then jailed. However, this is not an attempt to exonerate himself or to play down the vicious final act but instead it is a straightforward account of his life and recent events. But, Dr Alavoine is not a pleasant man by any means. He is used to being served by the women in his life while he habitually uses others for casual sex. Only one woman refuses him, Justine, one of his patients. She even laughs at him. He and Armande have not had a sex life for years but she is an efficient housekeeper and mother.
With Martine, Avolaine is a man possessed. He is obsessed with her and the other men that she knew before she met him. He states quite plainly and unashamedly that he beats her to make her as pliable as the other women in his life. He slyly moves her into the family home under the pretext that she is to be his assistant. Inevitably they are caught in an embrace by Armande who wants Martine to leave. But Avolaine is completely out of control and soon it will lead to murder and suicide.
This book was first published in 1947 and like ‘The Cat’ it’s a very, very dark book. No one comes out of looking pleasant. They are both standalone books and I had a strong sense while reading them of Simenon wanting to step away from his much loved creation Maigret to write something different, much harder and with no happy ending. I think that most writers like to stretch their muscles once in a while. ‘Letter to my Judge’ is no plea for mercy, no desire to be exonerated, it’s the account of a man who seemed willing to destroy his life to completely possess one woman. Both of these books are examinations of the darker side of life and relationships and I had the impression that exploring this fascinated Simenon.
I really disliked Dr Avocaine quite early on in the book and I felt that I was expected to feel this way about him. However, my gorge rose when he describes Martine as ‘…nothing but a whore’ as if he had any right to take the moral high ground. It is a very powerful story and brilliantly written.
My thanks to the publisher and Net galley for an ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Georges Simenon was my first adult author, once I had exhausted the children's section books in my local library at the grand old age of 14, my favourite librarian, knowing I loved crime books recommended him. And I soon exhausted his Maigret books too. Loving each and every one I could get my hands on.
All that said, this is not a Maigret book. I have only read one other of his books outwith the Maigret series - The Cat - and although a completely different genre book, it did share a lot of the author's style and nuances, and the same can be said for this one.
It's delivered in the form of a letter. From Dr Charles Alavoine, written after his incarceration, to the examining magistrate, From the off, we know that Alavoine has committed a most heinous crime, one he is rightfully being punished for, but the bones of the letter is the "how we got there" and his "rationale" for doing what he did.
We hear how his first wife died in childbirth and how he took a second, ostensibly to take care of his daughter, rather than for love. How his darker side started to come out, mostly during a series of affairs. All culminating in the unthinkable, after a chance meeting.
His goal in writing the letter appears to be more a yearning to be understood rather than forgiven. Its all very matter of fact rather than trying to justify his actions. At times he comes across as being quite proud of what he has done. He's a bit of a nasty piece of work and I am not sure I enjoyed my time spent with him. It's an uncomfortable read but also, at the same time, very compelling. He is trying, often quite hard, to justify the unjustifiable, pulling no punches in his retelling.
All in all, a complicated tale of obsession, entitlement, and misogyny, wholly from his perspective which does need to be taken into consideration. What Alavoine was really trying to achieve with it isn't wholly clear, however it does end up being a very compelling character study for the reader, culminating in an ending which both satisfied and shocked.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
All that said, this is not a Maigret book. I have only read one other of his books outwith the Maigret series - The Cat - and although a completely different genre book, it did share a lot of the author's style and nuances, and the same can be said for this one.
It's delivered in the form of a letter. From Dr Charles Alavoine, written after his incarceration, to the examining magistrate, From the off, we know that Alavoine has committed a most heinous crime, one he is rightfully being punished for, but the bones of the letter is the "how we got there" and his "rationale" for doing what he did.
We hear how his first wife died in childbirth and how he took a second, ostensibly to take care of his daughter, rather than for love. How his darker side started to come out, mostly during a series of affairs. All culminating in the unthinkable, after a chance meeting.
His goal in writing the letter appears to be more a yearning to be understood rather than forgiven. Its all very matter of fact rather than trying to justify his actions. At times he comes across as being quite proud of what he has done. He's a bit of a nasty piece of work and I am not sure I enjoyed my time spent with him. It's an uncomfortable read but also, at the same time, very compelling. He is trying, often quite hard, to justify the unjustifiable, pulling no punches in his retelling.
All in all, a complicated tale of obsession, entitlement, and misogyny, wholly from his perspective which does need to be taken into consideration. What Alavoine was really trying to achieve with it isn't wholly clear, however it does end up being a very compelling character study for the reader, culminating in an ending which both satisfied and shocked.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
March 10, 2026
In my (much) younger days I read a lot of Simenon’s books. They were mostly about Maigret and I really enjoyed them but without, perhaps, fully understanding why. Crimes - if perpetrated - are not described in terms of blood and gore and yet Simenon draws you in and you are hooked. I later realised two things. Firstly, the books are finely written, with plenty of literariness despite the popularity (and volume) of the output. Secondly, Simenon is a master of describing the human condition and what motivates and drives people to do what they do.
This volume is not a Maigret book but is another fine example of the Simenon canon. It is interestingly constructed around a letter to a legal representative sent by a convicted murderer. There are flashbacks and descriptions to allow the reader not just to know what happened but to try and assess why characters did what they did. The main characters in the story are not particularly likeable and some of their actions and emotions are, at best, questionable. The author, however, puts forward a convincing case for what happens.
In turn, the reader is left wondering – well, this reader was – if this story reflects on Simenon’s own life. Is the sheer volume of his work partly how he tried to escape from the humdrum existence most of us experience? The ordered ordinariness of the main character’s life partly explains his actions. Moreover, while the sexual act is only described in passing it features a lot in the background of this story and Simenon was a self-confessed sex-athlete. Simenon is quoted as saying “The goal of my endless quest was not a woman, but the woman” and this, in a nutshell, describes one driving force behind the main character in ‘Letter To My Judge’.
Recommended read. Even if you don’t like the characters and actions you can bathe in the splendour of the writing.
The translation, to my untutored mind, is first rate.
I received a review copy from the publisher, so many thanks to all involved at Penguin Classics.
This volume is not a Maigret book but is another fine example of the Simenon canon. It is interestingly constructed around a letter to a legal representative sent by a convicted murderer. There are flashbacks and descriptions to allow the reader not just to know what happened but to try and assess why characters did what they did. The main characters in the story are not particularly likeable and some of their actions and emotions are, at best, questionable. The author, however, puts forward a convincing case for what happens.
In turn, the reader is left wondering – well, this reader was – if this story reflects on Simenon’s own life. Is the sheer volume of his work partly how he tried to escape from the humdrum existence most of us experience? The ordered ordinariness of the main character’s life partly explains his actions. Moreover, while the sexual act is only described in passing it features a lot in the background of this story and Simenon was a self-confessed sex-athlete. Simenon is quoted as saying “The goal of my endless quest was not a woman, but the woman” and this, in a nutshell, describes one driving force behind the main character in ‘Letter To My Judge’.
Recommended read. Even if you don’t like the characters and actions you can bathe in the splendour of the writing.
The translation, to my untutored mind, is first rate.
I received a review copy from the publisher, so many thanks to all involved at Penguin Classics.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A bleak, bleak view of humanity and the relationship between the sexes
Reading some of these republished Simenon classics induces a kind of hybrid sense of despair, sitting half way between French existential novelists like Camus The Plague and Sartre’s Nausea and Patricia Highsmith’s dark and also mordant crime novels.
Central character in this is Dr. Charles Alavoine. a man who has had two wives, one dying in childbirth, whom he didn’t, anyway, particularly love, but who was acceptable to him and his mother, and a second, Armande, a controlling, correct bourgeois woman, who rather takes over Alavoine’s life, and is devoted to the daughters of his first marriage. Alavoine has no particular feeling for her, particularly no sexual desire, in some ways it is a marriage of convenience and stifling correctness on both sides.
The particular loser in this second marriage is Alavoine’s mother, who, whilst being somewhat browbeaten and passive, nonetheless is used to being the person organising his household, as she did during his first marriage, as his first wife was quite biddable
Alavoine himself does however have a darker side to him, which is exploitative of young, vulnerable women, including his patients.
The first person narrative of this novel is a letter written to the examining magistrate. We know Alavoine has committed a brutal crime, and that he has been brought to trial, a trial which has had great public interest. Obviously a murder has been committed, and in the ‘letter’ Alavoine is intending to lay out his rationale, and is particularly keen that it should be known that his his crime was premeditated, and that he is fully aware of his own actions. Alavoine wants to be understood. Indeed, he seeks to convince the judge that he too will, or must, secretly understand the whole ethos laid out in this letter.
Simenon writes plainly and tautly. There is not, really, any character whom we can particularly like, love, or even find much empathy for. The human condition here seems a pretty unpleasant one. Pollyanna Simenon is not!
Reading some of these republished Simenon classics induces a kind of hybrid sense of despair, sitting half way between French existential novelists like Camus The Plague and Sartre’s Nausea and Patricia Highsmith’s dark and also mordant crime novels.
Central character in this is Dr. Charles Alavoine. a man who has had two wives, one dying in childbirth, whom he didn’t, anyway, particularly love, but who was acceptable to him and his mother, and a second, Armande, a controlling, correct bourgeois woman, who rather takes over Alavoine’s life, and is devoted to the daughters of his first marriage. Alavoine has no particular feeling for her, particularly no sexual desire, in some ways it is a marriage of convenience and stifling correctness on both sides.
The particular loser in this second marriage is Alavoine’s mother, who, whilst being somewhat browbeaten and passive, nonetheless is used to being the person organising his household, as she did during his first marriage, as his first wife was quite biddable
Alavoine himself does however have a darker side to him, which is exploitative of young, vulnerable women, including his patients.
The first person narrative of this novel is a letter written to the examining magistrate. We know Alavoine has committed a brutal crime, and that he has been brought to trial, a trial which has had great public interest. Obviously a murder has been committed, and in the ‘letter’ Alavoine is intending to lay out his rationale, and is particularly keen that it should be known that his his crime was premeditated, and that he is fully aware of his own actions. Alavoine wants to be understood. Indeed, he seeks to convince the judge that he too will, or must, secretly understand the whole ethos laid out in this letter.
Simenon writes plainly and tautly. There is not, really, any character whom we can particularly like, love, or even find much empathy for. The human condition here seems a pretty unpleasant one. Pollyanna Simenon is not!
May 18, 2026
Having already read one of Simenon’s darker standalone novels before this, I thought I knew the kind of atmosphere to expect, but this still turned out to be an intensely uncomfortable read in the best possible way.
The novel is written as a letter from Dr Charles Alavoine after his conviction for murder. From the opening pages we already know he’s guilty, so the real focus is on his attempt to explain the chain of events that led him there. As he describes his marriage, his relationship with Martine, and the obsession that slowly takes over his life, the story becomes increasingly claustrophobic and unsettling.
Charles is a deeply unpleasant man. He’s arrogant, possessive, and completely lacking in self-awareness at times, yet I couldn’t stop reading. What makes the book so effective is that Simenon never tries to make him sympathetic. Instead, the reader is trapped inside Charles’s version of the story, trying to work out how much truth sits beneath all his justifications.
I really liked the stripped-back writing style as well. There’s nothing overly dramatic about the prose, but the tension quietly builds all the way through. Even though it’s quite a short novel, it feels emotionally heavy and leaves a lasting impression afterwards.
This is definitely not an easy or comforting book, but if you enjoy dark psychological fiction and complex, flawed characters, it’s well worth reading. Simenon really had a talent for exploring the uglier sides of human behaviour without making the story feel sensationalised.
Many thanks to Penguin Random House for this advanced copy
The novel is written as a letter from Dr Charles Alavoine after his conviction for murder. From the opening pages we already know he’s guilty, so the real focus is on his attempt to explain the chain of events that led him there. As he describes his marriage, his relationship with Martine, and the obsession that slowly takes over his life, the story becomes increasingly claustrophobic and unsettling.
Charles is a deeply unpleasant man. He’s arrogant, possessive, and completely lacking in self-awareness at times, yet I couldn’t stop reading. What makes the book so effective is that Simenon never tries to make him sympathetic. Instead, the reader is trapped inside Charles’s version of the story, trying to work out how much truth sits beneath all his justifications.
I really liked the stripped-back writing style as well. There’s nothing overly dramatic about the prose, but the tension quietly builds all the way through. Even though it’s quite a short novel, it feels emotionally heavy and leaves a lasting impression afterwards.
This is definitely not an easy or comforting book, but if you enjoy dark psychological fiction and complex, flawed characters, it’s well worth reading. Simenon really had a talent for exploring the uglier sides of human behaviour without making the story feel sensationalised.
Many thanks to Penguin Random House for this advanced copy
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I read this with the same morbid fascination as I read Emile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin and Simenon’s The Cat. This is not a pleasant read either.
The judge of the title is an examining magistrate who is responsible for interviewing the suspect and witnesses to prepare a case for trial. We know from the outset that Dr Charles Alavoine, a family practitioner, is in prison having been found guilty of a serious crime. He feels the need to explain himself and his relationship with Martine, his mistress, to find someone to understand properly what happened between them. This is a story about obsession, about the objectification and possession of women by men, and about domestic abuse. There is nothing likeable about Charles. There is nothing particularly likeable about Martine but the reader has to keep remembering that the letter has been written by her abuser, a man who professes to have loved her. Was this love?
I keep being surprised by Simenon. What inspired him to write this distasteful story? Why did I find it such a compelling read? Despite the unpleasantness, I have to admire his writing and his ability to hold my attention to the bitter - the very bitter in this case - end.
With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Modern Classics for a review copy.
The judge of the title is an examining magistrate who is responsible for interviewing the suspect and witnesses to prepare a case for trial. We know from the outset that Dr Charles Alavoine, a family practitioner, is in prison having been found guilty of a serious crime. He feels the need to explain himself and his relationship with Martine, his mistress, to find someone to understand properly what happened between them. This is a story about obsession, about the objectification and possession of women by men, and about domestic abuse. There is nothing likeable about Charles. There is nothing particularly likeable about Martine but the reader has to keep remembering that the letter has been written by her abuser, a man who professes to have loved her. Was this love?
I keep being surprised by Simenon. What inspired him to write this distasteful story? Why did I find it such a compelling read? Despite the unpleasantness, I have to admire his writing and his ability to hold my attention to the bitter - the very bitter in this case - end.
With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Modern Classics for a review copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5
Originally published in 1946 under the name Act of Passion, Letter to My Judge is the story of a doctor, Charles Alavoine, who writes to the magistrate that presided over his trial to clarify that his crime was not unpremeditated and asks for understanding, if nothing else.
Taking the unusual approach of revealing the killer first, before finally revealing the victim by the novella’s end — which is unlikely to be a massive revelation for those paying attention — Letter to My Judge is mainly told in the form of a letter, with the exception of the final few pages of the book.
This novella follows a truly unremarkable, self-centred, and loathsome man. He is incapable of empathy and can only view women through a twisted Madonna/Whore lens. Upon his second marriage to the stunning Armande, a woman he cannot fit into his worldview or dominate as he did his first wife, he retreats into a shell of outward respectability, entering a kind of self-imposed hibernation. It is then that he meets someone who releases him from this slumber, allowing him to fully embrace his true nature.
This was an odd one for me, and while I enjoyed the journey, I was also pleased by the novella’s length, so I didn’t have to spend any more time with Alavoine than was necessary. I suppose Simenon should be applauded for creating such a memorable, unlikable weasel of a character.
Definitely worth a look.
With thanks to Penguin for the ARC.
Originally published in 1946 under the name Act of Passion, Letter to My Judge is the story of a doctor, Charles Alavoine, who writes to the magistrate that presided over his trial to clarify that his crime was not unpremeditated and asks for understanding, if nothing else.
Taking the unusual approach of revealing the killer first, before finally revealing the victim by the novella’s end — which is unlikely to be a massive revelation for those paying attention — Letter to My Judge is mainly told in the form of a letter, with the exception of the final few pages of the book.
This novella follows a truly unremarkable, self-centred, and loathsome man. He is incapable of empathy and can only view women through a twisted Madonna/Whore lens. Upon his second marriage to the stunning Armande, a woman he cannot fit into his worldview or dominate as he did his first wife, he retreats into a shell of outward respectability, entering a kind of self-imposed hibernation. It is then that he meets someone who releases him from this slumber, allowing him to fully embrace his true nature.
This was an odd one for me, and while I enjoyed the journey, I was also pleased by the novella’s length, so I didn’t have to spend any more time with Alavoine than was necessary. I suppose Simenon should be applauded for creating such a memorable, unlikable weasel of a character.
Definitely worth a look.
With thanks to Penguin for the ARC.
May 28, 2026
This is my third or fourth book by Simenon and they have all been quite different to each other. In this book, Charles Alavoine is a doctor in a small town in France. He is currently married to his second wife, who manages him in what is essentially a marriage of convenience. He has two daughters from a previous marriage that are looked after by his second wife. From the start, we know he is the killer involved but we don't know the circumstances. Through this "letter" to his judge, he explains the complete tale, including background from his youth and his first marriage. It's a chilling tale, for sure, and it's hard to keep reading at times. I must admit I was relieved to have finished this one and I felt a bit traumatised by the main character by the end. Fortunately, it's not a long piece, and there's a big relief when it finally ends.
This really adds to the works of Georges Simenon with a different sort of story. There's no cookie cutter format that is followed and the writer takes you into the mind of Alavoine, far more than you really want. I did enjoy this but it's a bit more horrific than I'd like. I do recommend this to fans of Simenon and to those who enjoy the detective and mystery stories of earlier generations.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Classics for the free advanced reader copy. I've provided my feedback voluntarily.
This really adds to the works of Georges Simenon with a different sort of story. There's no cookie cutter format that is followed and the writer takes you into the mind of Alavoine, far more than you really want. I did enjoy this but it's a bit more horrific than I'd like. I do recommend this to fans of Simenon and to those who enjoy the detective and mystery stories of earlier generations.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Classics for the free advanced reader copy. I've provided my feedback voluntarily.
May 22, 2026
I was introduced to George Simenon by Penguin, when they offered me the chance to read The Cat. Since, I've discovered my local library has a good collection of his "slim" novels. Georges Simenon is a very fine observer of human nature, of society and the pressure it puts on its subjects. His offerings are a bit deceptive, as in he is offering us this slim novels, that you'll think you'll breeze through, for then to be left speechless, shocked, chilled to the bone.
Letter to My Judge follows the same recipe: a slow burner about the confession of a doctor to his judge. What starts as a stereotypical narrative of life in the province, marriage to fit in, climbing the local societal ladder, turns into the most chilling story of abuse. Abuse in its duality: victims turning into cruel abusers and the process by which they justify to themselves the abuse. I cannot really put into words the range of emotions I've experienced while reading Letter to My Judge. I felt enraged, I've felt murderous myself and I've felt a deep sadness that cannot be cured. How to keep believing in humanity?!
*Novel from Penguin with many thanks for the opportunity to read it.
Letter to My Judge follows the same recipe: a slow burner about the confession of a doctor to his judge. What starts as a stereotypical narrative of life in the province, marriage to fit in, climbing the local societal ladder, turns into the most chilling story of abuse. Abuse in its duality: victims turning into cruel abusers and the process by which they justify to themselves the abuse. I cannot really put into words the range of emotions I've experienced while reading Letter to My Judge. I felt enraged, I've felt murderous myself and I've felt a deep sadness that cannot be cured. How to keep believing in humanity?!
*Novel from Penguin with many thanks for the opportunity to read it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book follows Charles, a doctor married to a socially adept wife Armande. This marriage is loveless and regimented leaving him feeling managed by her but unable to cope without her assistance. On a work trip, he meets the mysterious Martine and quickly becomes obsessed with her and her harrowing past. This obsession pushes him to behave in unconscionable ways with a brutal ending. All this is told through a missive to the magistrate responsible for giving his culpability recommendation to a panel of judges. I really enjoyed this story as the author took readers into a journey of a man slowly becoming more and more unhinged, Dr. Charles's upbringing and the lack of parenting by his mother may have also contributed to his entitlement and constantly feeling aggrieved by his wife. In essence, a book about a selfish and sociopathic man that acts violently because he cannot control the object of his obsession. I would recommend and the translation was also well done.
Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley and Penguin Press UK – Allen Lane, Particular, Pelican, Penguin Classics | Penguin Classics in exchange for a free and honest review.
Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley and Penguin Press UK – Allen Lane, Particular, Pelican, Penguin Classics | Penguin Classics in exchange for a free and honest review.
June 3, 2026
A one man show that enhanced its unreliable narrator aspect to such a height. Every word distorted to fit a narrative, to serve the main character's egotistical need of rationalizing his evil soul and conducts.
An exercise on patience, for my part.
I realized tht this is how women's existence would be portrayed if we leave the storytelling to the tongue of men. Twisted beyond recognition.
This was a man who's constantly impressed over how much humiliation, insults, violence, possessiveness he could inflict on women without resistance. And when repercussions come, he bolted like a coward.
Writing so good it gave me heart palpitation for most of its portion. The kind of story that incites and invites endless discussions over its theme and psychology.
I truly wish everyone picks up this one, i dont want to be the only one fumed with rage over little loser Charles.
Thanks Netgalley & publisher for this copy!
An exercise on patience, for my part.
I realized tht this is how women's existence would be portrayed if we leave the storytelling to the tongue of men. Twisted beyond recognition.
This was a man who's constantly impressed over how much humiliation, insults, violence, possessiveness he could inflict on women without resistance. And when repercussions come, he bolted like a coward.
Writing so good it gave me heart palpitation for most of its portion. The kind of story that incites and invites endless discussions over its theme and psychology.
I truly wish everyone picks up this one, i dont want to be the only one fumed with rage over little loser Charles.
Thanks Netgalley & publisher for this copy!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book is written as one continuous monologue in letter form. Dr Charles Alavoine is writing to his "judge." From the very beginning, we find out that he has been convicted of a terrible crime and as the letter/book goes on, we find out what happened from his point of view.
What transpires is an incredibly unsettling tale of love, obsession and control. I can't say I enjoyed it because it features a fair amount of violence towards a woman but it will stay with me for a while. The style of storytelling through the letter is quite unique but in some ways, I wish there was more of the woman's perspective. I know this is an older work so perhaps I shouldn't judge it by modern day standards but it feels like the woman's perspective is minimised.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
What transpires is an incredibly unsettling tale of love, obsession and control. I can't say I enjoyed it because it features a fair amount of violence towards a woman but it will stay with me for a while. The style of storytelling through the letter is quite unique but in some ways, I wish there was more of the woman's perspective. I know this is an older work so perhaps I shouldn't judge it by modern day standards but it feels like the woman's perspective is minimised.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Well this was a rather strange story. It mainly consists of a letter, written by a murderer to his examining magistrate, (Judge), to explain his actions. He is married, more for convenience than our of love, but things go awry when he meets a woman who has missed the same train as himself.
It is deeply unsettling being in his mind and thoughts, but pretty compelling. We know he has murdered someone, but need to find out who, which we do as the story unfolds. He is trying to explain his actions to his judge, though it still makes no sense to me. This is not to suggest that the story is complicated to follow.
*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
It is deeply unsettling being in his mind and thoughts, but pretty compelling. We know he has murdered someone, but need to find out who, which we do as the story unfolds. He is trying to explain his actions to his judge, though it still makes no sense to me. This is not to suggest that the story is complicated to follow.
*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
"You can't judge a book by its cover...", but in the case of several recent Penguin Classics I have found the contents just as sumptuous as the covers.
Critics often turn their noses up at prolific authors but despite the huge volume of his output Georges Simenon never short changed his readers.
Simenon was a master of describing the human condition and his characters often, as here with Charles and Martine, were unpleasant and unlikeable, but still made his novels compelling reading.
This truly is an unpleasant story and not an easy read but it is still an important novel within the Simenon canon. It perhaps contains some of his most autobiographical work. When you read it you will realise what a disturbing thought that is!
Critics often turn their noses up at prolific authors but despite the huge volume of his output Georges Simenon never short changed his readers.
Simenon was a master of describing the human condition and his characters often, as here with Charles and Martine, were unpleasant and unlikeable, but still made his novels compelling reading.
This truly is an unpleasant story and not an easy read but it is still an important novel within the Simenon canon. It perhaps contains some of his most autobiographical work. When you read it you will realise what a disturbing thought that is!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Letter to My Judge was a short but very dark and unsettling read. I wouldn’t really call it a thriller, but it definitely has that psychological tension that keeps you hooked.
What surprised me most is how relevant it still feels despite being first published in 1947. The story explores obsession, control, jealousy, and the darker side of relationships through a confession letter written by a man trying to explain the crime that destroyed his life.
None of the characters are particularly likeable, especially the narrator, but that’s what made it so compelling. Simenon’s writing is very simple and direct, yet it creates such an uncomfortable atmosphere. It’s bleak, intense, and surprisingly hard to put down for such a short book.
What surprised me most is how relevant it still feels despite being first published in 1947. The story explores obsession, control, jealousy, and the darker side of relationships through a confession letter written by a man trying to explain the crime that destroyed his life.
None of the characters are particularly likeable, especially the narrator, but that’s what made it so compelling. Simenon’s writing is very simple and direct, yet it creates such an uncomfortable atmosphere. It’s bleak, intense, and surprisingly hard to put down for such a short book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
One of Simenon's darkest novels looks into the mind of a older man who becomes obsessed with a young woman who he has met by chance. Written in the form of a letter (it's all in the title) to the magistrate who oversaw his trial you know that a terrible tale is going to be revealed. I've read alot of Simenon and this to date is his darkest novel it leaves you wanting the woman's side of the tale. It deals with obsession, jealousy and violence, the women in the novel have no voice so are unheard we only hear the Doctor's story. The writing as always with Simenon is outstanding only he could produce this dark tale.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A very good book. Dr Charles Alavoine is in prison for murder, the book is his letter written to the examining magistrate. In the letter he reminisces about his trial and his life. It is in fact a confession, we discover that Charles is not really a likeable person, even though this is probably the purpose of his letter.
George Simenon is so much more than just the creator of Maigret as this book shows.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc
George Simenon is so much more than just the creator of Maigret as this book shows.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Brilliant in every way. I am, though, a huge Simenon fan. This novel, having been written in 1947, and tackling obsession, is still relevant today, and, to me, represents exquisitely written prose, superb characterisation, and a theme that is transferrable. Highly recommended. My grateful thanks to NetGalley for the ARC
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