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Inspector Maigret Omnibus 1: Pietr the Latvian, The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien, The Carter of 'La Providence', The Grand Banks Café
The first annual omnibus edition in the new Penguin Inspector Maigret series, comprising four titles from the series so far: Pietr the Latvian, The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien, The Carter of La Providence and The Grand Banks Cafe. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels.
Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1903. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.
572 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 27, 2014
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About the author
Georges Simenon
2,732 books2,287 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 - 30 of 41 reviews
May 25, 2022
Three good novels and one just so so.
If you like Georges Simenon and his Maigret mysteries/character studies this omnibus is good value. There are four novels for one price, currently $15.99 from Amazon. The only one which I did not care for is THE CARTER OF LA PROVIDENCE in which I found the solution to be fairly obvious.
If you like Georges Simenon and his Maigret mysteries/character studies this omnibus is good value. There are four novels for one price, currently $15.99 from Amazon. The only one which I did not care for is THE CARTER OF LA PROVIDENCE in which I found the solution to be fairly obvious.
September 9, 2025
I just completed "The Carter of 'La Providence'" which is the 3rd novel and "The Grand Banks Café" which is the 7th novel in Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret series, both appeared in the first omnibus edition published in 1931. The other two novellas of the omnibus edition, Pietra the Latvian and The Hang-Man of Saint-Pholien, book 1 & 3 in the Maigret series, I read in separate ebook editions -reviews previously posted.
I am unable to view my highlights to the Omnibus ebook edition? Reported to Goodreads… hopefully, I will at some point be able view and complete my reviews of these other 2 early Maigret stories. To be continued? Highlights here!
The Carter of La Providence
The Crime. “The facts of the case, though meticulously reconstructed, proved precisely nothing – except that the discovery made by the two carters from Dizy made, frankly, no sense at all. — By 7.20 p.m., the Providence was tied up by the Café de la Marine, behind the Éco-III. — At four in the morning, one of the carters woke his mate, and both began seeing to their animals. They heard the horses on the Providence being led out and harnessed. One of them was leading his horses out to the towpath. The other was ferreting through the straw looking for his whip when one hand encountered something cold. Startled, because what he had touched felt like a human face, he fetched his lantern and cast its light on the corpse which was about to bring chaos to Dizy and disrupt life on the canal. — The inspector had been there for an hour and had got no further than familiarizing himself with a world which he was suddenly discovering and about which, when he arrived, he had had only mistaken, confused ideas. How had the woman got here? And why? That was what had baffled the police at Épernay, the prosecutor’s people, the medics and the specialists from Records. Maigret was now turning it over and over in his heavy head. She had been strangled, that was the first sure fact. Death had occurred on the Sunday evening, probably around 10.30. ‘Between thirty-eight and forty,’ the doctor had said after he’d examined the body. — the woman belonged to a class where people were more likely to ride in expensive motor-cars and travel by sleeper than walk. Her earrings were real pearls worth about 15,000 francs. Her bracelet, a mixture of gold and platinum worked in the very latest style, was more artistic than costly. -The face, contorted by the effects of strangulation, must have been unusually pretty. — Maigret, who was prowling around with no particular purpose and thus probably made people think he did not know what he was doing. Which was true. There was nothing normal about the case. There was not even a single witness who could be questioned. ‘What was the woman doing here?’ In a stable, wearing pearl earrings, her stylish bracelet and white buckskin shoes! She must have been alive when she got there because the crime had been committed after ten in the evening. But how? And why? And no one had heard a thing!”
The Yacht. — “a yacht steered by a man in oilskins close to the bank slowed, went into reverse and slipped neatly into a slot between two bollards. — Not long after the landlord had brought the wine, the man who had handled the yacht arrived, ‘Over here Vladimir’. Maigret emerged from his corner table, where he had been nursing a bottle of beer. ‘Excuse me, gentlemen, would you mind if I asked you a question?’ The older man indicated his companion with a gesture which meant: ‘Talk to him.’ Maigret produced a photograph of the corpse from his wallet and laid it on the brown oilcloth on the table. The yacht’s owner, hardly moving his head, looked at the photo. Then he stared at Maigret and murmured: ‘Police?’ Do you know her?’ The Englishman’s expression was impenetrable. But Maigret registered that his huge, apoplectic neck had turned reddish blue. Then, ignoring the gawping watermen, he took a strong pull on his cigarette and said: ‘It’s my wife!’ The Yacht. — The first thing the inspector saw when he arrived on board was a woman in a dressing gown dozing on a dark-red velvet bunk. The Englishman touched her on the shoulder and with the same poker face he had worn earlier he said in a voice entirely lacking in courtesy: ‘Out!’ Calm seemed to be the order of the day on the boat. From Vladimir, who sailed it, to the woman they had roused from her sleep, everyone on board seemed either detached or dazed. —the woman noticed the photo which the Englishman had put down on the table. ‘Mary?’ She put the question scarcely batting an eye. ‘Yes. Mary.’ — ‘Sir Walter Lampson, Colonel, Indian Army, retired.’ ‘And you are …?’ said the inspector, turning towards Willy. ‘A friend … Willy Marco.’ ‘Spanish?’ The colonel gave a shrug. Maigret scanned the young man’s visibly Jewish features. ‘My father is Greek and my mother Hungarian.’ — the yacht’s owner barked: ‘Who did it? Do you know?’ He meant the perpetrator of the crime. He was not so much annoyed as made to feel uneasy by this man who, in the Café de la Marine, had cast a quick glance at the photo and said without flinching: ‘It’s my wife.’ ‘And you’ve just come from …?’ ‘Paris!’ ‘We stayed there two weeks after spending a month in London.’ — ‘Forward are the crew’s quarters. That’s where Vladimir sleeps. ‘So there were four of you in this cabin?’ ‘There are four bunks … First, the two that you see. They convert to day couches … in the afternoon, let me see … the colonel had a nap … and I played chess with Gloria … Gloria is Madame Negretti.’ ‘On deck?’ ‘Yes. I think Mary went for a walk.’ ‘And she never came back?’ ‘Yes she did: she had dinner on board. -Mary didn’t want to come with us … When we got back, which was around three in the morning … ‘As the colonel told you, his wife was free to come and go as she pleased. We waited for her until Saturday and then we moved on … She knew our route and could have caught up with us later.’”
Investigation. — “‘How many days do think you’ll need us for? To wind everything up?’ ‘If the police doctors produce a burial certificate and if the examining magistrate has no objection, you could be all done in practical terms inside twenty-four hours.’ Did the colonel feel the bitter sarcasm of the words? Sir Walter did not speak. Despite his bulk, he was remarkably elegant. Ruddy-faced, well turned-out and impassive, he was every inch the English gentleman as portrayed in nineteenth-century prints. —‘The mortuary!’ replied the inspector. It didn’t take long. The colonel barely said a word. It was Maigret who lifted the sheet. ‘Yes!’ Willy was the most upset, the most anxious to turn away from the sight. ‘Do you recognize her too?’ ‘It’s her all right … She looks so …’ — ‘You don’t know who …?’ the colonel said distinctly. Was a barely noticeable hint of distress just detectable in his tone of voice? — Summary of preliminary analyses relating to inquiries into the murder at Dizy: — victim’s hair shows numerous traces of resin and also the presence of horsehairs, dark brown in colour; — the stains on the dress are fuel oil; — stomach contents at time of death: red wine and tinned meat similar in type to what is commercially available as corned beef.”
The victim is Mary. We know what she ate that night. Now Maigret must piece together the killer.
“beyond were fields in which nothing was yet growing and hills streaked with black and white on which a cloud with a dark centre seemed to have rested its full weight. From behind one edge of it sprang an oblique shaft of sunlight which created sparkles of light on the dung heap.”
“‘An enchanting woman,’ the colonel had said of Mary Lampson. ‘Nothing if not a gentleman!’ Willy had said of the colonel. — ‘Such charming creatures! Their first impulses are generous, if theatrical. They are so full of good intentions. ‘It’s just that life, with its betrayals, compromises and its overriding demands, is stronger.’ Maigret had spoken rather bitterly but had not stopped listening for sounds coming from the stable something to cling to! He had his stable … the smell of it … the horses … the coffee he drank scalding hot at three in the morning ahead of a day spent slogging along the towpath until it was evening … It was his burrow, if you like, his very own corner, a place filled with animal warmth.’ Reaching for his glass he added: ‘There are all kinds of bolt-holes. Some have the smell of whisky, eau de Cologne, a woman and the sounds of gramophone records …’”
The Grand Banks Café
“‘If anyone asked me what the distinctive feature of this case is,’ he said, ‘I’d say that it has the mark of rage on it. Everything to do with the trawler is acrimonious, tense, overheated.’ ‘Me? I don’t make anything of it. I merely remark that I feel as if I’m going round in circles surrounded by a lot of mad people … —what are you driving at? I’d like to see how you make out when everything’s going wrong, a lad goes overboard, a steam valve blows, the captain’s mind is set on anchoring the trawler in a station where there’s no fish, a man gets gangrene and the rest of it … You’d be effing and blinding nineteen to the dozen! And to cap it all, when you’re told the captain on the bridge is off his rocker ...’ —The staging was basic: the setting was the same as for most confrontations of witnesses and accused. This one was taking place in a small office in the jail”
Pierre Le Clinche isn’t talking. He didn’t kill the captain. But who did? Maigret is on the case…
—And my reading of Simenon’s Inspector Maigret will most certainly proceed.
I am unable to view my highlights to the Omnibus ebook edition? Reported to Goodreads… hopefully, I will at some point be able view and complete my reviews of these other 2 early Maigret stories. To be continued? Highlights here!
The Carter of La Providence
The Crime. “The facts of the case, though meticulously reconstructed, proved precisely nothing – except that the discovery made by the two carters from Dizy made, frankly, no sense at all. — By 7.20 p.m., the Providence was tied up by the Café de la Marine, behind the Éco-III. — At four in the morning, one of the carters woke his mate, and both began seeing to their animals. They heard the horses on the Providence being led out and harnessed. One of them was leading his horses out to the towpath. The other was ferreting through the straw looking for his whip when one hand encountered something cold. Startled, because what he had touched felt like a human face, he fetched his lantern and cast its light on the corpse which was about to bring chaos to Dizy and disrupt life on the canal. — The inspector had been there for an hour and had got no further than familiarizing himself with a world which he was suddenly discovering and about which, when he arrived, he had had only mistaken, confused ideas. How had the woman got here? And why? That was what had baffled the police at Épernay, the prosecutor’s people, the medics and the specialists from Records. Maigret was now turning it over and over in his heavy head. She had been strangled, that was the first sure fact. Death had occurred on the Sunday evening, probably around 10.30. ‘Between thirty-eight and forty,’ the doctor had said after he’d examined the body. — the woman belonged to a class where people were more likely to ride in expensive motor-cars and travel by sleeper than walk. Her earrings were real pearls worth about 15,000 francs. Her bracelet, a mixture of gold and platinum worked in the very latest style, was more artistic than costly. -The face, contorted by the effects of strangulation, must have been unusually pretty. — Maigret, who was prowling around with no particular purpose and thus probably made people think he did not know what he was doing. Which was true. There was nothing normal about the case. There was not even a single witness who could be questioned. ‘What was the woman doing here?’ In a stable, wearing pearl earrings, her stylish bracelet and white buckskin shoes! She must have been alive when she got there because the crime had been committed after ten in the evening. But how? And why? And no one had heard a thing!”
The Yacht. — “a yacht steered by a man in oilskins close to the bank slowed, went into reverse and slipped neatly into a slot between two bollards. — Not long after the landlord had brought the wine, the man who had handled the yacht arrived, ‘Over here Vladimir’. Maigret emerged from his corner table, where he had been nursing a bottle of beer. ‘Excuse me, gentlemen, would you mind if I asked you a question?’ The older man indicated his companion with a gesture which meant: ‘Talk to him.’ Maigret produced a photograph of the corpse from his wallet and laid it on the brown oilcloth on the table. The yacht’s owner, hardly moving his head, looked at the photo. Then he stared at Maigret and murmured: ‘Police?’ Do you know her?’ The Englishman’s expression was impenetrable. But Maigret registered that his huge, apoplectic neck had turned reddish blue. Then, ignoring the gawping watermen, he took a strong pull on his cigarette and said: ‘It’s my wife!’ The Yacht. — The first thing the inspector saw when he arrived on board was a woman in a dressing gown dozing on a dark-red velvet bunk. The Englishman touched her on the shoulder and with the same poker face he had worn earlier he said in a voice entirely lacking in courtesy: ‘Out!’ Calm seemed to be the order of the day on the boat. From Vladimir, who sailed it, to the woman they had roused from her sleep, everyone on board seemed either detached or dazed. —the woman noticed the photo which the Englishman had put down on the table. ‘Mary?’ She put the question scarcely batting an eye. ‘Yes. Mary.’ — ‘Sir Walter Lampson, Colonel, Indian Army, retired.’ ‘And you are …?’ said the inspector, turning towards Willy. ‘A friend … Willy Marco.’ ‘Spanish?’ The colonel gave a shrug. Maigret scanned the young man’s visibly Jewish features. ‘My father is Greek and my mother Hungarian.’ — the yacht’s owner barked: ‘Who did it? Do you know?’ He meant the perpetrator of the crime. He was not so much annoyed as made to feel uneasy by this man who, in the Café de la Marine, had cast a quick glance at the photo and said without flinching: ‘It’s my wife.’ ‘And you’ve just come from …?’ ‘Paris!’ ‘We stayed there two weeks after spending a month in London.’ — ‘Forward are the crew’s quarters. That’s where Vladimir sleeps. ‘So there were four of you in this cabin?’ ‘There are four bunks … First, the two that you see. They convert to day couches … in the afternoon, let me see … the colonel had a nap … and I played chess with Gloria … Gloria is Madame Negretti.’ ‘On deck?’ ‘Yes. I think Mary went for a walk.’ ‘And she never came back?’ ‘Yes she did: she had dinner on board. -Mary didn’t want to come with us … When we got back, which was around three in the morning … ‘As the colonel told you, his wife was free to come and go as she pleased. We waited for her until Saturday and then we moved on … She knew our route and could have caught up with us later.’”
Investigation. — “‘How many days do think you’ll need us for? To wind everything up?’ ‘If the police doctors produce a burial certificate and if the examining magistrate has no objection, you could be all done in practical terms inside twenty-four hours.’ Did the colonel feel the bitter sarcasm of the words? Sir Walter did not speak. Despite his bulk, he was remarkably elegant. Ruddy-faced, well turned-out and impassive, he was every inch the English gentleman as portrayed in nineteenth-century prints. —‘The mortuary!’ replied the inspector. It didn’t take long. The colonel barely said a word. It was Maigret who lifted the sheet. ‘Yes!’ Willy was the most upset, the most anxious to turn away from the sight. ‘Do you recognize her too?’ ‘It’s her all right … She looks so …’ — ‘You don’t know who …?’ the colonel said distinctly. Was a barely noticeable hint of distress just detectable in his tone of voice? — Summary of preliminary analyses relating to inquiries into the murder at Dizy: — victim’s hair shows numerous traces of resin and also the presence of horsehairs, dark brown in colour; — the stains on the dress are fuel oil; — stomach contents at time of death: red wine and tinned meat similar in type to what is commercially available as corned beef.”
The victim is Mary. We know what she ate that night. Now Maigret must piece together the killer.
“beyond were fields in which nothing was yet growing and hills streaked with black and white on which a cloud with a dark centre seemed to have rested its full weight. From behind one edge of it sprang an oblique shaft of sunlight which created sparkles of light on the dung heap.”
“‘An enchanting woman,’ the colonel had said of Mary Lampson. ‘Nothing if not a gentleman!’ Willy had said of the colonel. — ‘Such charming creatures! Their first impulses are generous, if theatrical. They are so full of good intentions. ‘It’s just that life, with its betrayals, compromises and its overriding demands, is stronger.’ Maigret had spoken rather bitterly but had not stopped listening for sounds coming from the stable something to cling to! He had his stable … the smell of it … the horses … the coffee he drank scalding hot at three in the morning ahead of a day spent slogging along the towpath until it was evening … It was his burrow, if you like, his very own corner, a place filled with animal warmth.’ Reaching for his glass he added: ‘There are all kinds of bolt-holes. Some have the smell of whisky, eau de Cologne, a woman and the sounds of gramophone records …’”
The Grand Banks Café
“‘If anyone asked me what the distinctive feature of this case is,’ he said, ‘I’d say that it has the mark of rage on it. Everything to do with the trawler is acrimonious, tense, overheated.’ ‘Me? I don’t make anything of it. I merely remark that I feel as if I’m going round in circles surrounded by a lot of mad people … —what are you driving at? I’d like to see how you make out when everything’s going wrong, a lad goes overboard, a steam valve blows, the captain’s mind is set on anchoring the trawler in a station where there’s no fish, a man gets gangrene and the rest of it … You’d be effing and blinding nineteen to the dozen! And to cap it all, when you’re told the captain on the bridge is off his rocker ...’ —The staging was basic: the setting was the same as for most confrontations of witnesses and accused. This one was taking place in a small office in the jail”
Pierre Le Clinche isn’t talking. He didn’t kill the captain. But who did? Maigret is on the case…
—And my reading of Simenon’s Inspector Maigret will most certainly proceed.
January 6, 2020
In terms of genre fiction, I've felt that the detective/crim fic stories have have their golden days firmly in the past. Exploring from Poe to Doyle to Christie to Sayers to Rundell to P. D. James to Nesbo to Mankell, I've come to be certain that things never got better than Christie's work but at long last I've discovered another classic which has me now deeply invested in reading as many of the character's work as I can. Unlike Holmes (who has problems brought to him) or Poirot/Marple who seem to in places where issues soon spring up, Maigret's cases usually start with the crime itself, no nonsense about it. The resolutions themselves are not, I'd say, particularly ingenious, but rather are deep dives into the characters involved, a well-etched sketch of them and their psyche. Short, crisp, with little fluff and a lot of mood, these initial few Maigret novellas have been for me a rather good introduction into the world of this detective i hadn't hitherto discovered.
September 16, 2018
Maigret stories were a thing when I was growing up: my parents had some of Simenon's Green Penguins, they were on the TV in the early 1960s, and my dad would sometimes play the TV theme tune on the piano. But I never got round to actually reading them, until now.
What a revelation! Banged out at a great rate in the early 1930s, and continuing until the early 1970s – about 100 books and short stories in all – I’d expected them to be formulaic and predictable. It turns out they are anything but. Simenon takes a place, a world and brings it alive vividly, from tiny telling details to the inter-relationships between the people drawn together around the crime under investigation.
In this collection, the worlds are Paris + the coastal town of Fécamp + deception; Bremen + Liège + bohemian dares; the Marne canal + working boatmen/pleasure-boating toffs; and Grand Banks fishermen + Fécamp + superstition. In each, Maigret’s MO plays out, appearing to make no progress at all until he sees into men and women’s souls and solves the case. Each story is distinctive, the settings are atmospheric and the characters pleasingly complex.
I’ve since read another 10 or so Maigrets, and Simenon has so far kept the distinctiveness going brilliantly. The tales don’t always end with a trip to the guillotine – yet justice always feels as if it has been done. I dare say I will end up reading them all.
What a revelation! Banged out at a great rate in the early 1930s, and continuing until the early 1970s – about 100 books and short stories in all – I’d expected them to be formulaic and predictable. It turns out they are anything but. Simenon takes a place, a world and brings it alive vividly, from tiny telling details to the inter-relationships between the people drawn together around the crime under investigation.
In this collection, the worlds are Paris + the coastal town of Fécamp + deception; Bremen + Liège + bohemian dares; the Marne canal + working boatmen/pleasure-boating toffs; and Grand Banks fishermen + Fécamp + superstition. In each, Maigret’s MO plays out, appearing to make no progress at all until he sees into men and women’s souls and solves the case. Each story is distinctive, the settings are atmospheric and the characters pleasingly complex.
I’ve since read another 10 or so Maigrets, and Simenon has so far kept the distinctiveness going brilliantly. The tales don’t always end with a trip to the guillotine – yet justice always feels as if it has been done. I dare say I will end up reading them all.
January 8, 2021
I lover Georges Simenon, he is one of my top 5 favorite authors. I have read over 30 of his novels, most of which are Inspector Maigret mysteries. This book is a collection of 4 of his earlier novels from 1930-1932, three of which I had not read before. If you have not read any inspector Maigret, this would be a good first read, although I would say only two of the four novels, Pietr the Latvian and Lock 14, rank among the best mysteries in the Maigret series. It is hard to describe why I love Simenon as a writer, but to summarize I would say that he explores themes common to most humans with spare intimacy. As he says himself in the interview that concludes this volume, "When I edit my novels, I remove any sentence that is in the least bit literary". There are no BIG ingenious twists or dramatic turn of events like found in more famous mysteries, just the relentless but humanistic French detective superintendent Maigret pursuing the truth of a human drama to the natural conclusion. If you want a mystery a little more esoteric and modern, I would go with any of the excellent works of Fred Vargas (she is amazing!), but for a quick but satisfying mystery set in the France of the 1930s, Simenon is so good. If you would rather explore Simenon without the mystery, I can also highly recommend The Train and The Blue Room (the latter of which has also recently been adapted into a great movie).
June 26, 2015
I liked Simenon when I read his books many, many years ago. This time around, I was too conscious of Maigret's obliviousness to his wife to really enjoy the stories. However, the last novel in the collection went someplace that the others did not, and I began to see why I had liked his writing so much in the first place.
An interview, published in The Paris Review, with Simenon at the end of the book revealed how Simenon worked and how he thought about writing. Interesting.
An interview, published in The Paris Review, with Simenon at the end of the book revealed how Simenon worked and how he thought about writing. Interesting.
January 30, 2018
Aaaargh! Why haven't i read Simenon inbefore?
Maigret is the best detective character ever invented. I hate to say it, but Simenon is better than Christie, better than Conan Doyle. So much more than murder mysteries.
Maigret is the best detective character ever invented. I hate to say it, but Simenon is better than Christie, better than Conan Doyle. So much more than murder mysteries.
February 7, 2022
I'm familiar with the character, but I have never read the original (well translation of the original). I've seen the two modern British TV versions (I prefer the Michael Gambon led series, which being lower budget feels more authentic) and of course had heard of the character anyway. I later found out this book doesnt cover the first four stories as I imagined, which is rather annoying, as I will end reading the second story out of sequence.
I've now finished the first book (Pietr the Latvian). Did I enjoy it ? Well sort of. It took me a few pages to understand we were in the 20/30s rather than the 1950s where I had thought the series was set (due to TV I suppose) and Maigret is an interesting character. The story though as a detective novel took quite a long time to get going (and I was rather puzzled what was going on before that part) and then has an interesting if a little unbelievable plot twist right at the end (although this is signposted almost at the beginning and then ignored for the middle section of the story). If there wasnt all of the ther history, I'm not sure I'd have read any more of the series based on this to be honest.
The Hanged man of St-Pholien
This is a much more fascinating and rather strange story. Maigret investigates a man behaviouring strangely in Belgium and ends up uncovering a group of conspirators who have covered up a crime many years previously. Any more is too spoilery. I like Maigret, but he's something of a silent character right now, hardly speaking just acting following the clues putting together the story of the crime. I enjoyed this story, when I read completely without a break.
The Carter of La Providence
This story is amoungst the working people of the French canel system when it was still heavily used to transport goods using a mixture of horse drawn and moter boats. A crime has been commited, a wealthy married woman strangled, her body disposed under deep straw in a horse stable. Maigret is a window to observe the people and to discover clues reharding the murder which Simenon pulls together at the end of the story. Like many other fictinal detectives you dont hear Maigrets thoughts as he pulls together the narrative of the crime until it is written on the page. The denoument when it comes is surprising and the motive unexpected and quite inexplicable. Its an excellent story that describes a society of working people long gone, although the canels and barge boats live on.
The Grand Banks Cafe
This is such a fascinating story, set in a small fishing town in Normandy revolving around the murder of the Captain of an ocean going trawler and a destructive woman, a selfish and self centred force of nature. It's clear from the outset is that all of the crew are lying to a greater or lesser extent and that the Captain was distracted, even mad on the last voyage. The why is eventually revealed and then finally at the very end Maigret finally pieces it together, by intuition and deduction.
One final thought. This Omnibus edition has a higher overall rating than any of the indiviudual stories. I wonder why. As a newer edition, are the readers more open to stories writen and based in the 1930s than readers of a few yearsearlier, or does a collection just aloow a better overall appreciation than reading the individual books.
Overall 5 star, as the good stories are good enough to balance the two weaker ones. I have used the individual books to record my "score" out of 5.
I've now finished the first book (Pietr the Latvian). Did I enjoy it ? Well sort of. It took me a few pages to understand we were in the 20/30s rather than the 1950s where I had thought the series was set (due to TV I suppose) and Maigret is an interesting character. The story though as a detective novel took quite a long time to get going (and I was rather puzzled what was going on before that part) and then has an interesting if a little unbelievable plot twist right at the end (although this is signposted almost at the beginning and then ignored for the middle section of the story). If there wasnt all of the ther history, I'm not sure I'd have read any more of the series based on this to be honest.
The Hanged man of St-Pholien
This is a much more fascinating and rather strange story. Maigret investigates a man behaviouring strangely in Belgium and ends up uncovering a group of conspirators who have covered up a crime many years previously. Any more is too spoilery. I like Maigret, but he's something of a silent character right now, hardly speaking just acting following the clues putting together the story of the crime. I enjoyed this story, when I read completely without a break.
The Carter of La Providence
This story is amoungst the working people of the French canel system when it was still heavily used to transport goods using a mixture of horse drawn and moter boats. A crime has been commited, a wealthy married woman strangled, her body disposed under deep straw in a horse stable. Maigret is a window to observe the people and to discover clues reharding the murder which Simenon pulls together at the end of the story. Like many other fictinal detectives you dont hear Maigrets thoughts as he pulls together the narrative of the crime until it is written on the page. The denoument when it comes is surprising and the motive unexpected and quite inexplicable. Its an excellent story that describes a society of working people long gone, although the canels and barge boats live on.
The Grand Banks Cafe
This is such a fascinating story, set in a small fishing town in Normandy revolving around the murder of the Captain of an ocean going trawler and a destructive woman, a selfish and self centred force of nature. It's clear from the outset is that all of the crew are lying to a greater or lesser extent and that the Captain was distracted, even mad on the last voyage. The why is eventually revealed and then finally at the very end Maigret finally pieces it together, by intuition and deduction.
One final thought. This Omnibus edition has a higher overall rating than any of the indiviudual stories. I wonder why. As a newer edition, are the readers more open to stories writen and based in the 1930s than readers of a few yearsearlier, or does a collection just aloow a better overall appreciation than reading the individual books.
Overall 5 star, as the good stories are good enough to balance the two weaker ones. I have used the individual books to record my "score" out of 5.
July 18, 2019
A former colleague recommend the Inspector Maigret stories to me for their descriptions. I have to agree with my colleague; there are some beautiful descriptive moments. I particularly like Simenon's habit of wistfully recounting where everyone is at a particular time. I also found the stories relatively interesting to read.
*minor spoilers ahead*
However, there were some major flaws to these stories. First of all, the plots left a lot to be desired. The storylines managed to be predictable and far fetched at the same time. In addition, in each of the stories, Maigret just seemed to follow suspects around until they confessed or killed themselves which didn't make for interesting reading. In addition, the narrator, and occasionally Maigret, interjected exposition at random times for no discernible reason. The prose was peppered with exclamation marks which was also annoying. Finally, I couldn't overlook Simenon's portrayal of women as either meaningless sluts or meaningless, beige wives.
Despite all the flaws, the stories weren't unpleasant to read. They were atmospheric and some of the description was beautiful. The plots, although not amazing, did carry the story along.
*minor spoilers ahead*
However, there were some major flaws to these stories. First of all, the plots left a lot to be desired. The storylines managed to be predictable and far fetched at the same time. In addition, in each of the stories, Maigret just seemed to follow suspects around until they confessed or killed themselves which didn't make for interesting reading. In addition, the narrator, and occasionally Maigret, interjected exposition at random times for no discernible reason. The prose was peppered with exclamation marks which was also annoying. Finally, I couldn't overlook Simenon's portrayal of women as either meaningless sluts or meaningless, beige wives.
Despite all the flaws, the stories weren't unpleasant to read. They were atmospheric and some of the description was beautiful. The plots, although not amazing, did carry the story along.
April 16, 2022
Eh. This book wasn't for me.
Don't get me wrong - this isn't an innately bad book. Far from it, in fact. It was beautiful, wistful descriptions that I did deeply enjoy, and I'm sure the plot could have been magnificent. It just wasn't for me.
I read this book because Spring Break. And that's about it. I was bored, I didn't have much to do, so I dug out that random book my sister got from her friend as a birthday present that none of us have even cracked open. And... it just kinda bored me. To be honest, I didn't entirely pay attention to it as I read it, so I might have missed some really great storylines. I just kind of read the words as something to do, nothing more.
Maybe I'll reread this book sometime, and find that it's actually a stunning masterpiece. Afterall, it's George Simenon we're talking about here! But for me, it was just the kind of random book you read while you're half-dead in the heat of summer vacation, barely able to comprehend the characters and phrases in front of you.
Don't get me wrong - this isn't an innately bad book. Far from it, in fact. It was beautiful, wistful descriptions that I did deeply enjoy, and I'm sure the plot could have been magnificent. It just wasn't for me.
I read this book because Spring Break. And that's about it. I was bored, I didn't have much to do, so I dug out that random book my sister got from her friend as a birthday present that none of us have even cracked open. And... it just kinda bored me. To be honest, I didn't entirely pay attention to it as I read it, so I might have missed some really great storylines. I just kind of read the words as something to do, nothing more.
Maybe I'll reread this book sometime, and find that it's actually a stunning masterpiece. Afterall, it's George Simenon we're talking about here! But for me, it was just the kind of random book you read while you're half-dead in the heat of summer vacation, barely able to comprehend the characters and phrases in front of you.
March 16, 2018
I read this book for task #19 of the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge: A book of genre fiction in translation.
As I read, I wondered how much of the writing I should chalk up to a terse style of the author versus reading this translated from French into English. The interview with the author included at the end of the volume leads me to believe that Simenon preferred an economy of words.
Once I start a mystery series, I like working my way through to the end. I don't feel the same compulsion with Maigret. Maybe it's my ignorance of the French police system. I feel like I understand and know what to expect from a British detective series or an American police procedural. This collection felt foreign to me. It felt dated in a way that I didn't experience reading the complete Miss Marple stories even though the books were published in the same decade.
Of the four books in this volume, my favorite was "The Grand Banks Cafe."
As I read, I wondered how much of the writing I should chalk up to a terse style of the author versus reading this translated from French into English. The interview with the author included at the end of the volume leads me to believe that Simenon preferred an economy of words.
Once I start a mystery series, I like working my way through to the end. I don't feel the same compulsion with Maigret. Maybe it's my ignorance of the French police system. I feel like I understand and know what to expect from a British detective series or an American police procedural. This collection felt foreign to me. It felt dated in a way that I didn't experience reading the complete Miss Marple stories even though the books were published in the same decade.
Of the four books in this volume, my favorite was "The Grand Banks Cafe."
August 31, 2022
My first taste of Margret and I thoroughly enjoyed 3 out of 4. All were quick but very immersive reads.
Pietr the Latvian was slightly spoiled, for me, by the profusion of exclamation marks throughout the text. In the same book I noted that Simenon gave a very precise physical picture of Maigret, which was not replicated in the subsequent books. So this, his 1st Maigret tale, felt a little like a practice run.
I really enjoyed the descriptions of place and culture in each book. Plots resolved via Maigret seeing through the suspect to the point where they bared their soul and confessed: a little unrealistic, perhaps, but it places the focus on Maigret rather than the reader as the detective.
I will definitely read more.
Pietr the Latvian was slightly spoiled, for me, by the profusion of exclamation marks throughout the text. In the same book I noted that Simenon gave a very precise physical picture of Maigret, which was not replicated in the subsequent books. So this, his 1st Maigret tale, felt a little like a practice run.
I really enjoyed the descriptions of place and culture in each book. Plots resolved via Maigret seeing through the suspect to the point where they bared their soul and confessed: a little unrealistic, perhaps, but it places the focus on Maigret rather than the reader as the detective.
I will definitely read more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2020
I found these a joy to read. Simenon uses sparse language which takes some getting used to but is worth the effort. The Grand Banks Cafe is my favorite of the four. I thought that the Carter of La Providence the weakest but still a fun read. In comparison to the French televised version that I see with subtitles on MHZ there is a bit more violence here. Maigret on occasion gets shot at, shoved and people even try and strike him.
May 9, 2022
Interesting crime novelettes (4) about French Inspector Maigret. BritBox has two decent versions of his “cases”,, one starring a serious Rowan Atkinson. The Belgian author Simenon wrote 70+ Maigret stories. Maigret s style is different from what we normally see in crime novels, possibly due to the age in which they were written, but the stories are still enjoyable. I will probably find some more toe read. I understand that they are re-publishing the full collection.
March 31, 2019
An excellent collection of detective stories by the master storyteller.
Simenon, the master storyteller, always produces tales of complexity and charm. Beautifully descriptive and difficult to pre-guess. Once started impossible to put down.
Simenon, the master storyteller, always produces tales of complexity and charm. Beautifully descriptive and difficult to pre-guess. Once started impossible to put down.
June 18, 2021
Not impressive in the story telling and the plots
One cannot compare espionage during cold war period with police detective stories, but the story telling method in this book could have been much better.
One cannot compare espionage during cold war period with police detective stories, but the story telling method in this book could have been much better.
February 12, 2023
I think my time for reading Maigret may have passed.
The world of these short books is so unrelentingly bleak, cold, mysoginist and populated with shabby people that I would rather be elsewhere.
The world of these short books is so unrelentingly bleak, cold, mysoginist and populated with shabby people that I would rather be elsewhere.
May 30, 2023
How have I never read any of his SEVENTY FIVE Maigret novels? So good. Quick reads. Great lead character. But best of all the feeling of total immersion in the scene - on the docks, in the villages, etc. You feel like you are there, with the sounds and smells and people. And so much alcohol!
March 22, 2019
Read this after having seen the series with Rowan Atkinson. I really enjoyed the series, the books take a bit of getting used to, but as I enjoy mysteries, I will continue reading.
May 4, 2019
Atmospheric French police procedural
Read
November 1, 2019A terrific read. Each story different fro the rest. Some interesting twists, especially in 'The Grand Banks Cafe'.
March 8, 2020
Subtle
Final of the three stories is best word word w w w w w w w w w w w w
Final of the three stories is best word word w w w w w w w w w w w w
September 22, 2020
Terrific, foundational Maigret stories. Much of the action takes place outside of Paris, which I enjoy. Simone has a spare but evocative writing style. Love it.
August 30, 2021
Classic Maigret. Wonderful omnibus! Worth every penny. One of the top Police detectives.
May 22, 2022
This collection includes four Maigret books, Pietr the Latvian, The Hanged Man at Saint-Pholien, The Carter of La Providence, and The Grand Banks Café. Since I invariably enjoy a Maigret mystery, I'm giving the book 4 stars. The first story did not stay with me, and it was convoluted and had more than a whiff of antisemitism. Uniquely, for a Maigret mystery, he was wounded. The second had, in retrospect, too many coincidences and, once again, a whiff, albeit slighter, of anti-Semitism. The third was, on the one hand, probably most like an Agatha Christie mystery with schedules up and down of barges on the canal and a brilliant detection of the murder on two clues. On the other hand, it was true Simenon with gritty descriptions of the laborers, the mud, the rain, and the fog. One reads Simenon for the atmosphere and the psychological understanding, no? The fourth was, perhaps, the most satisfying as a mystery, since the reader was let in on the decisive clue. I enjoyed the book.
December 19, 2022
Always wanted to read some Maigret by Simenon but you know I found the writing somehow kind of remote, procedural in a way that kept me removed from the characters...cant really express it...
July 23, 2025
I wanted to like this more but felt like the translation didn't do the original justice.
September 18, 2025
3 great books
October 23, 2025
Interesting plot lines.
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