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Inspector Maigret #22
The Judge's House: Inspector Maigret
Exiled from Paris, Maigret discovers some disturbing secrets in a sleepy coastal town in this new translation, book twenty-two in the new Penguin Maigret series.
He went out, lit his pipe and walked slowly to the harbour. He could hear scurrying footsteps behind him. The sea was becoming swollen. The beams of the lighthouses joined in the sky. The moon had just risen and the judge's house emerged from the darkness, all white, a crude, livid, unreal white.
Exiled from the Police Judiciare in Paris, Maigret bides his time in a remote coastal town of France. There, among the lighthouses, mussel farms and the eerie wail of foghorns, he discovers that a community's loyalties hide unpleasant truths.
Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret in Exile.
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian
'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent
161 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1940
About the author
Georges Simenon
2,707 books2,474 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 163 reviews
November 22, 2020
Another wonderful Maigret novel. Not a 5 star episode but a great story none the less. For some reason, and we never find out, Maigret is banished from Paris for some misdemeanour, and finds himself in the provincial backwater of Lucon, accompanied by the ever supportive and ever patient Mme Maigret.
Whilst relaxing in a bar, an old woman asks to speak to Maigret by name and so begins an investigation into murder that Maigret could never have imagined. Dead bodies laying in place for days, chases across marshes, burly mussel fisherman, nosey neighbours and ex wives of judges who live with rich Dutchman. Maigret sets up his theatre of operations in the local town hall, complete with roaring stove, sandwiches and beer deliveries when interviewing suspects and even a willing if not too bright Inspector.
A wonderfully complex tale that Maigret picks his way through with his normal brash manner, his ability to get on with all walks of life and his razor sharp brain.
Whilst relaxing in a bar, an old woman asks to speak to Maigret by name and so begins an investigation into murder that Maigret could never have imagined. Dead bodies laying in place for days, chases across marshes, burly mussel fisherman, nosey neighbours and ex wives of judges who live with rich Dutchman. Maigret sets up his theatre of operations in the local town hall, complete with roaring stove, sandwiches and beer deliveries when interviewing suspects and even a willing if not too bright Inspector.
A wonderfully complex tale that Maigret picks his way through with his normal brash manner, his ability to get on with all walks of life and his razor sharp brain.
February 28, 2014
Superintendent Jules Maigret has somehow offended his bosses in Paris, so he is sent out to the town of Lucon, where he is mightily bored -- until an interesting murder case turns up. Georges Simenon is one of my two or three favorite mystery writers, and I have now read over a score of his Maigret novels, plus a handful of his romans durs, which do no feature the great detective.
In the nearby oyster port of l'Aiguille, a man has been murdered and lies on the floor of a retired judge's house, and is noticed by two nosy neighbors. These, knowing the Parisian from one of his previous cases, go to Maigret and whet his interest. In Maigret in Exile, we have a body, a judge who doesn't know who the murder victim is, a somewhat mentally disturbed daughter who has been sleeping around with the locals, and a large and angry son who is estranged from his father.
As he is about to begin the interrogation which solves the crime, the Superintendent is like a vibrating wire:
Maigret in Exile was written in 1940, just as France was to be invaded by the German army. Perhaps he author wanted to set this story in la France profonde because he had a sense of what was about to happen.
In the nearby oyster port of l'Aiguille, a man has been murdered and lies on the floor of a retired judge's house, and is noticed by two nosy neighbors. These, knowing the Parisian from one of his previous cases, go to Maigret and whet his interest. In Maigret in Exile, we have a body, a judge who doesn't know who the murder victim is, a somewhat mentally disturbed daughter who has been sleeping around with the locals, and a large and angry son who is estranged from his father.
As he is about to begin the interrogation which solves the crime, the Superintendent is like a vibrating wire:
Maigret switched on the lights, took off his coat and hat, and refilled the stove. Then he began pacing up and down the room, and, as he did so, a faint flicker of anxiety crossed his face from time to time. He paced back and forth, his glance resting on this object or that; he moved things about, smoked, and grumbled, and generally behaved as if he were waiting for something which eluded him.It was that inspiration, that sense of well-being, that is this detective's modus operandi: Simenon's books are not tales of ratiocination, but of a very French sense of muddling through a forest of unrelated details until a picture emerges that leads to a solution.
And that something was inspiration, though he preferred to call it a sense of well-being.
Maigret in Exile was written in 1940, just as France was to be invaded by the German army. Perhaps he author wanted to set this story in la France profonde because he had a sense of what was about to happen.
January 10, 2022
L’Aiguillon, piccolo borgo di pescatori e mitilicoltori a pochi chilometri da Luçon, per lui sarebbe divenuto uno di quei paesaggi racchiusi in una sfera di vetro: lontani, minuscoli, ma di una precisione estrema. Un mondo in miniatura, fatto di gente venuta da ogni parte...
È un territorio nuovo per Maigret che vi si ritrova momentaneamente “distaccato”, ma dove viene subito coinvolto in uno strano caso, che mi ha piacevolmente intrigata da subito.
La scena principale è occupata dalla casa del giudice, nella quale transitano, per un motivo o per l’altro (oltre al morto di turno, poveretto...), i diversi (e alquanto bizzarri) protagonisti della vicenda, nessuno dei quali si salva in quanto a vizi, difetti, segreti e carattere.
Storia ben articolata, indagine serrata, ben condotta (nonostante si senta la mancanza dei soliti comprimari del commissario), ambientazione meno presente forse (più interni che paesaggio arricchito di rumori odori luci ombre ecc), ma quel poco sempre efficace, disamina della natura umana molto accurata e accattivante.
L’ho letteralmente divorato, anche se mi sono mancati assai i siparietti con la signora Maigret.
🌍 LdM - Sfida 2022 Giallo
🔠 Alphabet Autori: S
✍️ GS Maigret
È un territorio nuovo per Maigret che vi si ritrova momentaneamente “distaccato”, ma dove viene subito coinvolto in uno strano caso, che mi ha piacevolmente intrigata da subito.
La scena principale è occupata dalla casa del giudice, nella quale transitano, per un motivo o per l’altro (oltre al morto di turno, poveretto...), i diversi (e alquanto bizzarri) protagonisti della vicenda, nessuno dei quali si salva in quanto a vizi, difetti, segreti e carattere.
Storia ben articolata, indagine serrata, ben condotta (nonostante si senta la mancanza dei soliti comprimari del commissario), ambientazione meno presente forse (più interni che paesaggio arricchito di rumori odori luci ombre ecc), ma quel poco sempre efficace, disamina della natura umana molto accurata e accattivante.
L’ho letteralmente divorato, anche se mi sono mancati assai i siparietti con la signora Maigret.
🌍 LdM - Sfida 2022 Giallo
🔠 Alphabet Autori: S
✍️ GS Maigret
August 25, 2020
Verwickelter Fall für den in die Provinz strafversetzten Maigret.
August 14, 2023
Nisan Yayınlarının Simenon Serisinin 3 numaralı kitabı Hakimin Evi.
Bir Müfettiş Maigret romanı. Kolay okunan, fakat boşlukları nedeniyle anlaşılması zor, bağlantı kurulması zor bölümler var. Sanki bazı bölümler atlanmış gibi. Tüm romanlarında olduğu gibi akıcı ve merak uyandırıcı bir anlatım. Karakterler harika.
Çok beğendim.
Bir Müfettiş Maigret romanı. Kolay okunan, fakat boşlukları nedeniyle anlaşılması zor, bağlantı kurulması zor bölümler var. Sanki bazı bölümler atlanmış gibi. Tüm romanlarında olduğu gibi akıcı ve merak uyandırıcı bir anlatım. Karakterler harika.
Çok beğendim.
April 17, 2019
Another great story. Maigret is exiled to a remote French seaside town where a bizzare murder occurs. A retired judge tries to get rid of the body but a nosy parker sees it all and catches him after informing Maigret.
All is not what it seems. A crazy daughter, a not to bright lover and a quick tempered brother, Albert. Maigret is in his element and enjoying himself solving the murder. A few twists and surprises with the atmospheric seaside town with its mussels. The different characters are excellent.
All is not what it seems. A crazy daughter, a not to bright lover and a quick tempered brother, Albert. Maigret is in his element and enjoying himself solving the murder. A few twists and surprises with the atmospheric seaside town with its mussels. The different characters are excellent.
April 27, 2020
Il commissario Maigret si ritrova, momentaneamente, in "esilio" a Luçon, in Vandea, dove la sua noiosa routine quotidiana viene, un giorno, interrotta da una notizia da parte della pettegola Didine: nella casa del giudice vi è un cadavere. Così il nostro commissario si apposta nei dintorni dell'abitazione e trova il giudice che trascina fuori casa un sacco, dove c'è per l'appunto il cadavere di un uomo. Ma egli ammette che non è stato lui a commettere l'omicidio, così il commissario inizia ad indagare.
Come avrò già ripetuto mille volte nelle altre recensioni riguardanti il commissario Maigret, adoro leggere le sue inchieste e non mi stancherò mai di poter dire: oggi inizio un nuovo Maigret! Stavolta il nostro investigatore si ritrova di fronte a un caso con un incipit spiazzante: un uomo che cerca di disfarsi del cadavere di un altro uomo, provando a gettarlo in mare! Ritorna l'ambientazione, tanto cara a Simenon, di luoghi marittimi, stavolta un piccolo borgo marinaro, dove tra i sospetti troveremo pure un allevatore di cozze. L'indagine sembra portare il Nostro nell'ambito familiare, e anche stavolta verranno a galla diversi tradimenti e l'intuito del commissario non sbaglia colpo.
Come avrò già ripetuto mille volte nelle altre recensioni riguardanti il commissario Maigret, adoro leggere le sue inchieste e non mi stancherò mai di poter dire: oggi inizio un nuovo Maigret! Stavolta il nostro investigatore si ritrova di fronte a un caso con un incipit spiazzante: un uomo che cerca di disfarsi del cadavere di un altro uomo, provando a gettarlo in mare! Ritorna l'ambientazione, tanto cara a Simenon, di luoghi marittimi, stavolta un piccolo borgo marinaro, dove tra i sospetti troveremo pure un allevatore di cozze. L'indagine sembra portare il Nostro nell'ambito familiare, e anche stavolta verranno a galla diversi tradimenti e l'intuito del commissario non sbaglia colpo.
September 1, 2026
La casa del juez sucede en un pequeño poblado francés llamado L’Aiguillon.
Protagonizada por el detective Maigret, a quien encontramos refundido en un pueblo como represalia por su manera de abordar un caso anterior.
De la manera más peculiar se entera que en la casa de un juez retirado hay un cadaver en la alfombra desde hace varios días, sin que al parecer nadie haya hecho nada por retirarlo de ahí.
Las preguntas empiezan a surgir, ¿quién es el cadaver?, ¿cómo llego allí?, ¿el juez tiene que ver?
Hay varias historias que se van descubriendo por medio de chismorreos que parecen tener algo que ver, pero al investigar más a fondo Maigret se encuentra con un drama que viene arrastrándose de tiempo atrás pero que parece estallar ahora.
Hay todo lo que caracteriza al escritor, personajes complejos, atmósferas asfixiantes, pueblitos encantadores, pero sobre todo esa siniestra tranquilidad que a veces cubre los secretos más perturbadores.
Protagonizada por el detective Maigret, a quien encontramos refundido en un pueblo como represalia por su manera de abordar un caso anterior.
De la manera más peculiar se entera que en la casa de un juez retirado hay un cadaver en la alfombra desde hace varios días, sin que al parecer nadie haya hecho nada por retirarlo de ahí.
Las preguntas empiezan a surgir, ¿quién es el cadaver?, ¿cómo llego allí?, ¿el juez tiene que ver?
Hay varias historias que se van descubriendo por medio de chismorreos que parecen tener algo que ver, pero al investigar más a fondo Maigret se encuentra con un drama que viene arrastrándose de tiempo atrás pero que parece estallar ahora.
Hay todo lo que caracteriza al escritor, personajes complejos, atmósferas asfixiantes, pueblitos encantadores, pero sobre todo esa siniestra tranquilidad que a veces cubre los secretos más perturbadores.
May 16, 2023
For some reason even he doesn't know, Maigret has been banished to Luçon and he's bored to tears. There is nothing to do but play billiards or cards at the hotel. And then a woman travels from L'Aiguillon to tell them there is a body in the Judge's House. It's been there for a day and a half - has no one reported it? Maigret can't get a cab soon enough to travel the 30 kilometers.
And so the investigation begins. The characters are presented and we are left, along with Maigret, to sort things out. We learn the very few facts as he learns them. As usual, he thinks of things to ask about that I had not thought about and eventually he puts things together.
I must admit that if this were my first Maigret, it might also have been my last. I like Maigret in Paris where he directs the investigation. I like him in Paris where he has staff who know him and who follow directions without question. I like him in Paris where he goes home to his wife every night. In L'Aiguillon, he got a telegram saying she'd put a suitcase on the bus so he'll have a change of clothes. Just not good enough. I missed them all.
And so the investigation begins. The characters are presented and we are left, along with Maigret, to sort things out. We learn the very few facts as he learns them. As usual, he thinks of things to ask about that I had not thought about and eventually he puts things together.
I must admit that if this were my first Maigret, it might also have been my last. I like Maigret in Paris where he directs the investigation. I like him in Paris where he has staff who know him and who follow directions without question. I like him in Paris where he goes home to his wife every night. In L'Aiguillon, he got a telegram saying she'd put a suitcase on the bus so he'll have a change of clothes. Just not good enough. I missed them all.
January 15, 2020
The English review follows the French :
Simenon sait comment surprendre par ses écrits. Il n’y a rien d’habituel dans cette histoire, tout est à l’envers. Le crime racontée par un autre, le juge imperterble, les parties de l’histoire redigée dans des lettres, ou raconté par après dans les souvenirs de Maigret. J’adore lire le tout “de travers” comme cela. Ce n’est pas la première fois que Simenon joue comme cela, et ce ne sera pas la dernière non plus. On dirai qu’il avait horreur des formules, et que même si son inpecteur suivait une formule après l’avoir créer, que Simenon s’est arrangé pour bousculer le tout par sa manière de l’écrire. La plupart des auteurs de polars suivent une formule, mais Simenon l’évite, au moins une partie du temps.
Aussi, plus que tout autre écrivain de polars. Simenon adore peindre des personnages les plus intriguantes, plein de traits ou de caractéristiques particulières. Un genre de Romain Gary du polar. Même les titres de ses chapitres relèvent de cette fascination du particularité chez les personnes. Et le dernier paragraphe du livre renforce cette lecture du livre.
** English review
Simenon knows how to surprise the reader. This is a mystery both unlike others, and yet like slso. It’s all in theway the story is told. Everything is inside out. The crime is told to Maigret by another, many of the key elements are revealed via letters, or are revealed afterwards in Maigret’s own memory. The imperturbable judge, one of the main suspects, with whom Maigret develops a kind of affinity. I love reading a mystery told in this way, unexpected in its style. This isn’t the first time Simenon plays with us via the writing, and it won’t be the last. One suspects that after creating a kind of “formula” for the way Maigret solves a crime, Simenon wanted to step out of the formula, so that he wouldn’t get bored in the writing.
Also, more than any other mystery writer, I think, Simenon loves to paint a myriad of quirky characters - he is the Romain Gary of mystery writers, or, to use an English language reference, the John Irving of whodunits. Other mystery writers focus on the character of the detective more than on the suspects and witnesses. Simenon does that too, but partly as a result of Maigret’s observations of the others. Even his chapter titles emphasize the quirkiness of his characters - the “Potato Eaters” for example. The final paragraphs of the book confirm this reading, that the characters are the heart and soul of these books.
Simenon sait comment surprendre par ses écrits. Il n’y a rien d’habituel dans cette histoire, tout est à l’envers. Le crime racontée par un autre, le juge imperterble, les parties de l’histoire redigée dans des lettres, ou raconté par après dans les souvenirs de Maigret. J’adore lire le tout “de travers” comme cela. Ce n’est pas la première fois que Simenon joue comme cela, et ce ne sera pas la dernière non plus. On dirai qu’il avait horreur des formules, et que même si son inpecteur suivait une formule après l’avoir créer, que Simenon s’est arrangé pour bousculer le tout par sa manière de l’écrire. La plupart des auteurs de polars suivent une formule, mais Simenon l’évite, au moins une partie du temps.
Aussi, plus que tout autre écrivain de polars. Simenon adore peindre des personnages les plus intriguantes, plein de traits ou de caractéristiques particulières. Un genre de Romain Gary du polar. Même les titres de ses chapitres relèvent de cette fascination du particularité chez les personnes. Et le dernier paragraphe du livre renforce cette lecture du livre.
** English review
Simenon knows how to surprise the reader. This is a mystery both unlike others, and yet like slso. It’s all in theway the story is told. Everything is inside out. The crime is told to Maigret by another, many of the key elements are revealed via letters, or are revealed afterwards in Maigret’s own memory. The imperturbable judge, one of the main suspects, with whom Maigret develops a kind of affinity. I love reading a mystery told in this way, unexpected in its style. This isn’t the first time Simenon plays with us via the writing, and it won’t be the last. One suspects that after creating a kind of “formula” for the way Maigret solves a crime, Simenon wanted to step out of the formula, so that he wouldn’t get bored in the writing.
Also, more than any other mystery writer, I think, Simenon loves to paint a myriad of quirky characters - he is the Romain Gary of mystery writers, or, to use an English language reference, the John Irving of whodunits. Other mystery writers focus on the character of the detective more than on the suspects and witnesses. Simenon does that too, but partly as a result of Maigret’s observations of the others. Even his chapter titles emphasize the quirkiness of his characters - the “Potato Eaters” for example. The final paragraphs of the book confirm this reading, that the characters are the heart and soul of these books.
October 15, 2010
I've enjoyed the Inspector Maigret mysteries I've read so far. Maigret in Exile by Georges Simenon, originally published in 1942, finds the irrepressible inspector banished from Paris to a small coastal town, for some unknown reason. An elderly woman shows up at his office and tells him that there is a body at her neighbour's house in a nearby town.
In his meandering way, Maigret begins his investigation. There seems to be no particular reason for what he is doing, but in his way, he slowly gathers the inspiration to solve the crime.
Maigret relies more on instinct than facts in working through the crime. There are many interesting characters in the story, especially the neighbour, Didine, and her husband, who seem to know everything that goes on in the village. Maigret is a grumpy soul but also very intuitive. As he investigates he pretty well has everything sorted out but seems also to fly by the seat of his pants. It's interesting how he works through things, basically keeping things to himself until he comes to his resolution. An enjoyable series and story. (3.5 stars)
In his meandering way, Maigret begins his investigation. There seems to be no particular reason for what he is doing, but in his way, he slowly gathers the inspiration to solve the crime.
Maigret relies more on instinct than facts in working through the crime. There are many interesting characters in the story, especially the neighbour, Didine, and her husband, who seem to know everything that goes on in the village. Maigret is a grumpy soul but also very intuitive. As he investigates he pretty well has everything sorted out but seems also to fly by the seat of his pants. It's interesting how he works through things, basically keeping things to himself until he comes to his resolution. An enjoyable series and story. (3.5 stars)
April 16, 2016
An observant old lady alerts Detective Chief Inspector Maigret to some strange goings-on at her neighbor’s house in the 1942 novel The Judge’s House (also published as Maigret in Exile). And what Didine Hulot has seen at Judge Forlacroix’s house in L’Aiguillion is a dead body. She ensures that Maigret is on the scene when the retired judge tries to dispose of the corpse. And that’s just the beginning of this suspenseful novel, full of twists and turns. One of the best of Georges Simenon’s wonderful novels. And if you get to listen to the book narrated by Gareth Armstrong, so much the better.
March 8, 2026
The Maigret novels often had various titles in English, and one of such titles for this was Maigret in Exile, which was just as accurate as the title in French as the detective has been sent in disgrace out to a rural village as punishment for some unknown infraction. Here he learns that a dead body has been seen in a local judge's house for some days. Maigret, eager to escape the village boredom, rushes to investigate and soon learns that the allegation is true. Nobody seems to know the identity of the corpse. Here the Simenon formula comes into play. Not the careful deduction of Holmes or Poirot. No. Take a number of unique characters more or less described, more or less interesting, learn about their lives, their tastes, their needs and desires, their relationships, friends and family, marinade all that in the local atmosphere of taverns, restaurants, hotels, businesses, work and working people, and above all with meals and drink. That is a Maigret novel. The reader gets a vague sense of direction, a hint of suspicions, but not all the clues or all the information as new witnesses come seemingly from nowhere and new facts spring forward at random. Maigret ponders, smokes his pipe, drinks heavily, eats well, basks in the glow of his stove, and gradually, remotely, puts all these feelings, emotions, sentiments, and passions together with his notions, impressions, suspicions, and hunches and (as when Holmes smokes his shag or when Poirot goes into a fugue state) puts it all together in what is ineluctably the correct conclusion. One reads Maigret for the atmosphere, characters, and picture painting. Not for the gimlet eye, riveting genius, or architectural deduction. Do not expect exact, methodical, and logical calculation. All too British. Succumb to the French world of emotion, philosophy, and the study of lives. Simenon enjoys his people.
July 24, 2020
It’s Maigret season again (summer). Maigret’s been exiled to western France but surprise surprise a lady shows up in his office (requesting him directly of course) to report a strange occurrence in the seaside town of L’Aiguillon. Heaps of mussels and wine ensue. This one takes place a bit after Christmas and yet the seaside setting will do for summer reading in a pinch.
July 19, 2009
This is a wonderful book. Maigret and Madame Maigret have been ordered to a remote province, having offended the judicial system in Paris. Because he is in unknown territory, Maigret is really starting from scratch. As he is led to a secret corpse about to be released at high tide, he works from his open mind... but his habits are intact. He directs his fellow policemen, the switchboard mademoiselle, the Flying Squad, the hotel staff, the witnesses and their families, and eventually the suspects with unwavering self-assurance. He drinks white wine for breakfast, beer, brandy, cordials, port, and marc as his investigation develops. And he delivers a breathtaking denoument, turning everyone around and around as they attempt to follow his reasoning, or his logic, or his random tirade, whatever is driving this lumbering phenomenon to a conclusion.
What I love is how Maigret's vast experience is available to him but very little else. He has none of his faithful inspectors, his well-trained assistants. He is forced to create the staff, the atmosphere, and the energy required to finish the investigation. As he does all this, we are able to watch how he does it. Masterfully.
What I love is how Maigret's vast experience is available to him but very little else. He has none of his faithful inspectors, his well-trained assistants. He is forced to create the staff, the atmosphere, and the energy required to finish the investigation. As he does all this, we are able to watch how he does it. Masterfully.
June 21, 2017
In a mussel-harvesting seaside village in the marshy Vendee in the atlantic south of France, Maigret is temporarily exiled after falling foul of police politics in Paris.
At the top of a ladder, pruning his hedge, a man sees a man (a body?) lying in a room in the Judge's house next door. It is still there the next day. Maigret is informed and is involved in a case involving adultery, madness, murder and deception, with its seeds going back many years.
A wonderful novel, with a real insight and exposition of the lives and characters of all social classes within the community, in addition, of course, to the plotting and denouement. Great.
At the top of a ladder, pruning his hedge, a man sees a man (a body?) lying in a room in the Judge's house next door. It is still there the next day. Maigret is informed and is involved in a case involving adultery, madness, murder and deception, with its seeds going back many years.
A wonderful novel, with a real insight and exposition of the lives and characters of all social classes within the community, in addition, of course, to the plotting and denouement. Great.
April 20, 2026
3.5-4/5
Maigret è lontano dalla nebbia parigina, in "castigo" nell'atmosfera salmastra e stagnante di Luçon, in Vandea. La trama inizia col ritrovamento di un cadavere nell'abitazione del giudice Forlacroix, un uomo austero che sembra custodire segreti ben più profondi del delitto stesso. Il commissario si muove in un ambiente provinciale ostile e chiuso, decifrando i silenzi e le ipocrisie di una borghesia decadente che tenta disperatamente di salvare le apparenze, dando vita a un’indagine filosofica sulla fatalità del male e sulla fragilità dei legami familiari. Maigret non giudica, osserva; cerca la "verità umana" dietro quella giudiziaria, arrivando a una risoluzione che lascia nel lettore un senso di amara malinconia. È uno dei romanzi più atmosferici della serie, dove il talento dello scrittore nel dipingere le zone d'ombra dell'animo raggiunge vette di straordinaria intensità poetica e realismo sociale.
Maigret è lontano dalla nebbia parigina, in "castigo" nell'atmosfera salmastra e stagnante di Luçon, in Vandea. La trama inizia col ritrovamento di un cadavere nell'abitazione del giudice Forlacroix, un uomo austero che sembra custodire segreti ben più profondi del delitto stesso. Il commissario si muove in un ambiente provinciale ostile e chiuso, decifrando i silenzi e le ipocrisie di una borghesia decadente che tenta disperatamente di salvare le apparenze, dando vita a un’indagine filosofica sulla fatalità del male e sulla fragilità dei legami familiari. Maigret non giudica, osserva; cerca la "verità umana" dietro quella giudiziaria, arrivando a una risoluzione che lascia nel lettore un senso di amara malinconia. È uno dei romanzi più atmosferici della serie, dove il talento dello scrittore nel dipingere le zone d'ombra dell'animo raggiunge vette di straordinaria intensità poetica e realismo sociale.
January 17, 2026
Maigret are in exile due to an undisclosed incident and pretty bored in the provincial Lucon, so he immediately jumps at it when an extremely nosy old lady approaches him about a dead body.
Most of the Maigret stories are pretty sketchy, without to much explanation, after all it’s more about the people and the atmosphere, than solving the crime, but this one felt more loose and unfinished than the previous novels, or maybe I just lost concentration at the wrong place and missed the plot, in any case not my favourite Maigret.
Most of the Maigret stories are pretty sketchy, without to much explanation, after all it’s more about the people and the atmosphere, than solving the crime, but this one felt more loose and unfinished than the previous novels, or maybe I just lost concentration at the wrong place and missed the plot, in any case not my favourite Maigret.
April 7, 2022
Another strong work.
December 11, 2018
On ne se trompe jamais avec Maigret.
May 6, 2020
Good old Maigret does it again! This was a little like a page from Hercule Poirot, crazy old lady barging in and asking for help. Like Poirot, Maigret dashes to the rescue and saves the day. My kinda guy!
July 7, 2017
I romanzi di Simenon con protagonista Maigret sono una sicurezza.
Ne ho letti oltre 30 e mai una volta sono rimasto deluso.
Arrivederci al prossimo....
Ne ho letti oltre 30 e mai una volta sono rimasto deluso.
Arrivederci al prossimo....
December 12, 2019
My first Simenon book and I have really enjoyed it. Both the characters and the story. I will read more by him.
October 25, 2024
Confinato nel paesino di Lucon dopo essere stato sfiduciato dai suoi superiori parigini, il Commissario Maigret ha il morale sotto i tacchi, ed è talmente rassegnato che la noia, la flemma e il piattismo del paesino lo annichiliscono sempre più ogni giorno che passa. Un copione scontato e inesorabile, almeno fino all'arrivo di Didine Hulot, un'anziana estremamente ficcanaso che, accompagnata dall'altrettanto eccentrico marito, denuncia al detective la presenza di un cadavere nella casa del giudice Forlacroix: una vera e propria 'manna dal cielo' per il protagonista, che decide subitaneamente di gettarsi a capofitto nello spinoso caso, sia per fare luce sul mistero sia per ritrovare se stesso e 'sentirsi rivivere'.
Un romanzo dalla trama complessa e articolata, costruita in mezzo ai liquidi villaggi della Vandea, straordinariamente incolumi e slegati dal continuo (tra)scorrere del tempo. Uno scenario inedito e sconosciuto che cozza tremendamente con il 'futurista' e mai domo Maigret, impegnato nella ricerca di un malfattore che ben si nasconde fra gli introversi e ritrosi paesani, eufemisticamente 'poco disponibili con i forestieri'.
Il tutto circondato da un ritmo lineare e un registro linguistico informale e privo di raffinatezze, che rendono il testo di facile lettura e amabile comprensione.
Un giallo, dunque, piacevole, intrigante e adatto praticamente a tutti. L'ideale per sgombrare un po' la mente e svicolare dalla opprimente calura estiva.
Il Commissario Maigret è stato allontanato da Parigi, nel piovoso paese di Luçon. Demoralizzato e rassegnato, il Commissario riceve però la visita della signora Didine, moglie di una sua vecchia conoscenza, un doganiere guercio; la stramba e pettegola signora denuncerà un omicidio avvenuto proprio, come da titolo, nela casa del giudice. Maigret partirà, quindi, alla volta di L’Aiguillon, un apparente tranquillo paese di mitilicultori. Qui le indagini si svolgeranno, gravitando attorno alla famiglia del giudice, portando a alla luce anfratti oscuri che nessuno avrebbe mai creduto possibili.
“La casa del giudice” è un piacevole romanzo giallo, di tipico stampo simenoniano. Lo stile è asciutto, le descrizioni sono essenziali ed i dialoghi abbondanti, intervallati da pause allusive che stuzzicano la mente del lettore, incentivandolo a completare le ipotesi del famosissimo Commissario.
La trama è ben sviluppata, piacevole da leggere e spinge inevitabilmente colui che legge a risolvere il caso assieme all’ardito poliziotto. Mi sono divertita a stilare mentalmente l’elenco dei moventi dei diversi personaggi implicati nella vicenda (stranamente, anche sfiorando quello corretto).
Lo consiglierei? Sì. Sebbene si tratti di una lettura poco pretenziosa, atta a svagarsi e rilassarsi, si è rivelata davvero piacevole ed adatta a tutti.
Un romanzo dalla trama complessa e articolata, costruita in mezzo ai liquidi villaggi della Vandea, straordinariamente incolumi e slegati dal continuo (tra)scorrere del tempo. Uno scenario inedito e sconosciuto che cozza tremendamente con il 'futurista' e mai domo Maigret, impegnato nella ricerca di un malfattore che ben si nasconde fra gli introversi e ritrosi paesani, eufemisticamente 'poco disponibili con i forestieri'.
Il tutto circondato da un ritmo lineare e un registro linguistico informale e privo di raffinatezze, che rendono il testo di facile lettura e amabile comprensione.
Un giallo, dunque, piacevole, intrigante e adatto praticamente a tutti. L'ideale per sgombrare un po' la mente e svicolare dalla opprimente calura estiva.
Il Commissario Maigret è stato allontanato da Parigi, nel piovoso paese di Luçon. Demoralizzato e rassegnato, il Commissario riceve però la visita della signora Didine, moglie di una sua vecchia conoscenza, un doganiere guercio; la stramba e pettegola signora denuncerà un omicidio avvenuto proprio, come da titolo, nela casa del giudice. Maigret partirà, quindi, alla volta di L’Aiguillon, un apparente tranquillo paese di mitilicultori. Qui le indagini si svolgeranno, gravitando attorno alla famiglia del giudice, portando a alla luce anfratti oscuri che nessuno avrebbe mai creduto possibili.
“La casa del giudice” è un piacevole romanzo giallo, di tipico stampo simenoniano. Lo stile è asciutto, le descrizioni sono essenziali ed i dialoghi abbondanti, intervallati da pause allusive che stuzzicano la mente del lettore, incentivandolo a completare le ipotesi del famosissimo Commissario.
La trama è ben sviluppata, piacevole da leggere e spinge inevitabilmente colui che legge a risolvere il caso assieme all’ardito poliziotto. Mi sono divertita a stilare mentalmente l’elenco dei moventi dei diversi personaggi implicati nella vicenda (stranamente, anche sfiorando quello corretto).
Lo consiglierei? Sì. Sebbene si tratti di una lettura poco pretenziosa, atta a svagarsi e rilassarsi, si è rivelata davvero piacevole ed adatta a tutti.
March 3, 2022
È un giallo tra quelli belli di Simenon, in cui l’autore riesce a sprigionare con disinvoltura la sua potenza espressiva. Aiguillon, la sua gente, il suo mare, i suoi piatti sono impressi nel lettore da pennellate decise, spesse ma veloci, marcate da tinte forti come quelle che Simenon sa gettare. Le dinamiche borghesi penetrano, come la marea fa con il villaggio di pescatori, un universo dai sapori antichi. Caricature e drammi interiori vengono sciolti da Maigret, che nel suo spirito corpulento è un occhio disincantato - talvolta severo talvolta benevolo - su mondi che finiscono e che cambiano in tutta la loro umanità. Forse non tutto torna come dovrebbe, certe piste non vengono sviluppate quanto ci si attenderebbe, ma Simenon lascia sempre qualche tratto sfumato, perché la vita non ci dà mai il senso di completezza che vorremmo da un libro; in questo breve romanzo la dispersione è ben bilanciata, e la sensazione che ci resta dopo aver chiuso l’ultima pagina è quella di una certa armonia più che di angoscia o disagio.
March 6, 2021
3.5 stars. Also titled ‘Maigret in Exile’. Another interesting array of ordinary characters mixed up in the mystery of a dead body that is found in the judge’s house. Detective Inspector Maigret is in exile for a misdemeanour. He is in the fishing village of L’Aiguillon when he sees the judge pulling a dead body for the judge’s house. The judge’s daughter is 23 years old and unwell. She is locked up in her bedroom at night, but this doesn’t prevent her having men coming and going from her bedroom at night!
Maigret fans should find this novella a satisfying read. First published in France in 1942.
Maigret fans should find this novella a satisfying read. First published in France in 1942.
December 29, 2021
So spannend sich die ersten beiden Kapitel auch lasen, insgesamt lässt mich diese Maigret-Folge enttäuscht zurück. Die Handlung wird zunehmend langweilig wie undurchsichtig. Immer mehr Personen werden hineingezogen. Die Erzählweise ist ausgesprochen holprig. Maigret, fernab von Paris, missfällt mir in seiner Laune und der Art, wie er die Verdächtigen und andere Dorfbewohner behandelt. Er wünschte sich wahrscheinlich ebenso sehr in die Heimat zurück, wie ich mir das Ende herbeisehnte und Simenon womöglich selbst diesen Krimi wenig mochte.
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June 3, 2021This happened to be the second Simenon mystery I have read in which a woman is locked in a room, Mrs. Rochester-style, and flashes of breast appear (plus yet another heartless promiscuous wife.) But these little mysteries hum along.
February 23, 2025
Sometimes I think Simenon is writing travel guides with a heavy emphasis on local cuisine. He is certainly a master of local color. This is a good one.
June 22, 2023
I thought this Maigret was weaker than most of the others I've read, although still entertaining. I've noticed that the books tend to be between 120 and 160 pages in length but that the longer ones tend to sag in the middle. This is one of those longer books. Maigret seems to take a while to get going and the usual tension between himself and the other characters isn't present. Still essential to read of course - especially when the goal is to read every one - but for Simenon this is average.
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