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Inspector Maigret #48
Maigret tend un piège
En six mois, cinq femmes seules ont été assassinées à Montmartre. Un défi pour Maigret : une conversation avec un psychiatre lui fait découvrir quil lui faut dabord comprendre le mécanisme mental de l'assassin.
En annonçant larrestation dun faux coupable, il espère pousser le vrai à se manifester de nouveau. Le dispositif policier exceptionnel mis en place à cette occasion va se révéler efficace.
Encore faut-il comprendre les motifs du criminel. Et lorsqu'un nouveau meurtre intervient après son arrestation, deviner qui cherche ainsi à l'innocenter…
Le grand romancier analyse ici au scalpel une singulière figure de « tueur en série », incorporant magistralement à son univers des éléments venus de la psychanalyse.
En annonçant larrestation dun faux coupable, il espère pousser le vrai à se manifester de nouveau. Le dispositif policier exceptionnel mis en place à cette occasion va se révéler efficace.
Encore faut-il comprendre les motifs du criminel. Et lorsqu'un nouveau meurtre intervient après son arrestation, deviner qui cherche ainsi à l'innocenter…
Le grand romancier analyse ici au scalpel une singulière figure de « tueur en série », incorporant magistralement à son univers des éléments venus de la psychanalyse.
155 pages, Pocket Book
First published July 12, 1955
254 people are currently reading
1080 people want to read
About the author
Georges Simenon
2,732 books2,277 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 233 reviews
March 11, 2021
I took a break from heavier reading to dive into a Maigret. I choose this one because it is highly rated on GR and the book jacket says it is one of his more complex and difficult cases. (It’s #48 of the 75 (!) Maigret novels.)
There’s a serial killer on the loose in the Montmartre district of Paris. At the start of the story five women have been stabbed over a five-month period. The women are of various ages but tend to be short and plump. The Inspector sets a trap at great risk to the female police officers fitting that description who volunteer to act as decoys.
It works. Or does it? After Maigret has locked up a man he is certain is the killer, another identical murder occurs.
The story was published in 1955 so we get to see some early forensic techniques. A lot is made of the cat-and-mouse game Maigret plays with the press. The story is heavy on the psychology of the type of man who would do these crimes, first discussed over dinner by Maigret and a psychology professor, and eventually by Maigret confronting the criminal.
All in all, an enjoyable murder mystery that, other than using police radios rather than cell phones, seems pretty modern in many other ways.
You always get a good story from Simenon, the Belgian author who wrote in French and is best known for his Inspector Maigret series. Incredibly, Simenon wrote more than 500 novels. And it’s amazing to see some of the blurbs about his writing and who they are from (not necessarily about this book): John Banville wrote of his “extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” William Faulkner said “I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” And [maybe a bit much] a reviewer in The Independent wrote “Simenon ought to be spoken of in the same breath as Camus, Beckett and Kafka.”
A 1950's photo of Montmatre from akg-images.co.uk
Belgian stamp honoring Simenon from alamy.com
There’s a serial killer on the loose in the Montmartre district of Paris. At the start of the story five women have been stabbed over a five-month period. The women are of various ages but tend to be short and plump. The Inspector sets a trap at great risk to the female police officers fitting that description who volunteer to act as decoys.
It works. Or does it? After Maigret has locked up a man he is certain is the killer, another identical murder occurs.
The story was published in 1955 so we get to see some early forensic techniques. A lot is made of the cat-and-mouse game Maigret plays with the press. The story is heavy on the psychology of the type of man who would do these crimes, first discussed over dinner by Maigret and a psychology professor, and eventually by Maigret confronting the criminal.
All in all, an enjoyable murder mystery that, other than using police radios rather than cell phones, seems pretty modern in many other ways.
You always get a good story from Simenon, the Belgian author who wrote in French and is best known for his Inspector Maigret series. Incredibly, Simenon wrote more than 500 novels. And it’s amazing to see some of the blurbs about his writing and who they are from (not necessarily about this book): John Banville wrote of his “extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” William Faulkner said “I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” And [maybe a bit much] a reviewer in The Independent wrote “Simenon ought to be spoken of in the same breath as Camus, Beckett and Kafka.”
A 1950's photo of Montmatre from akg-images.co.uk
Belgian stamp honoring Simenon from alamy.com
March 14, 2021
Simenon is all about character. This doesn’t mean that in his police procedurals involving Chief Inspector Maigret there is no mystery, but plot is subservient to character.
Those stories (novels and shorter works), including this one, are all told in the third person but almost entirely from Maigret’s perspective. His methodology is always to attempt to put himself inside the mind of the criminal and then identify the person whose mind go he now knows.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Maigret Sets a Trap where, mostly by accident, he gets to sit down with a psychiatrist and explore possibilities within the criminal mind that involve a string of unsolved murders of women.
Here we get Simenon’s interest in and understand of the criminal mind. He deftly mixes issues of justice and law with psychology and human nature. And, as he does in so many of his works, he considers what it means to be human.
"When did you discover you were not like other people?"
The man's face quivered, but he manage to say with a derisive titter:
"You find I'm not like other people?"
"When you were a young man...."
"Well, what?"
"Did you know already?"
Maigret had a feeling, at that moment, that if he could find exactly the right words, the barrier between himself and the man sitting stiffly in his chair on the other side of the desk would be broken down."
The pace is a bit faster than some of the other “Maigrets” and I found it a struggle to put the book down for any of my other responsibilities. This is a great one and a “must read” for anyone who values Simenon or loves Inspector Maigret.
My thanks to GR friends Jim Fonseca for his review reminding me to “re-invest” in this novel and Jan-Maat for cheering me on.
Those stories (novels and shorter works), including this one, are all told in the third person but almost entirely from Maigret’s perspective. His methodology is always to attempt to put himself inside the mind of the criminal and then identify the person whose mind go he now knows.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Maigret Sets a Trap where, mostly by accident, he gets to sit down with a psychiatrist and explore possibilities within the criminal mind that involve a string of unsolved murders of women.
Here we get Simenon’s interest in and understand of the criminal mind. He deftly mixes issues of justice and law with psychology and human nature. And, as he does in so many of his works, he considers what it means to be human.
"When did you discover you were not like other people?"
The man's face quivered, but he manage to say with a derisive titter:
"You find I'm not like other people?"
"When you were a young man...."
"Well, what?"
"Did you know already?"
Maigret had a feeling, at that moment, that if he could find exactly the right words, the barrier between himself and the man sitting stiffly in his chair on the other side of the desk would be broken down."
The pace is a bit faster than some of the other “Maigrets” and I found it a struggle to put the book down for any of my other responsibilities. This is a great one and a “must read” for anyone who values Simenon or loves Inspector Maigret.
My thanks to GR friends Jim Fonseca for his review reminding me to “re-invest” in this novel and Jan-Maat for cheering me on.
September 5, 2025
Written in 1955
Terror reigns in Paris: A series of murders puts the judicial police on alert, which reminds us of a confident Jack the Ripper, a killer who, at night, murders women alone. Four women will already find themselves stabbed and torn their clothes. Optimistic about the culprit's susceptibility, Superintendent Maigret makes his arrest to encourage him to come forward.
They were consenting to compel the real murderer to act again during the reconstruction of the last crime. The killer attacks a police auxiliary but manages to flee well-crafted Polar again with enough nuggets of arcane suspense quotes ubiquitous along the narrative, and keeps us in suspense until the last chapter.
An engaging classic mystery novel.
Terror reigns in Paris: A series of murders puts the judicial police on alert, which reminds us of a confident Jack the Ripper, a killer who, at night, murders women alone. Four women will already find themselves stabbed and torn their clothes. Optimistic about the culprit's susceptibility, Superintendent Maigret makes his arrest to encourage him to come forward.
They were consenting to compel the real murderer to act again during the reconstruction of the last crime. The killer attacks a police auxiliary but manages to flee well-crafted Polar again with enough nuggets of arcane suspense quotes ubiquitous along the narrative, and keeps us in suspense until the last chapter.
An engaging classic mystery novel.
September 26, 2021
Un Maigret a tinte forti, che a differenza di altri inizia subito nel cuore delle indagini: in sei mesi sono state uccise cinque donne per le strade di Montmartre, sempre alla stessa ora e con le stesse modalità, senza che tra le vittime vi sia un collegamento. La polizia brancola nel buio. Maigret sta trascorrendo un’estate pessima, depresso e preoccupato per il fallimento delle indagini finora svolte, finchè gli viene un’idea per dare una svolta alla vicenda. L’esito sembra favorevole, ma come sempre non aspettiamoci la soluzione classica del caso, con il colpevole che confessa inchiodato dalle prove a suo carico. Ancora una volta viviamo i dubbi e i tormenti del commissario, le sue paure, le ansie e soprattutto lo studio della persona che si trova davanti, per tentare di comprenderla. Questa volta non sarà facile, siamo in presenza di un serial killer con un forte disagio psicologico, ma la penna ipnotica di Simenon alla fine crea un quadro tanto desolante quanto perfetto nella patologia del criminale. La definisco “penna ipnotica”perché mi ha catturato, l'ho iniziato ieri sera e non ho potuto smettere fino a quando non l’ho terminato!
Read
March 19, 2025oui, oui, mon ami
I’m gonna try to write my review in french, so please bear with me
c'etait bon, mais ce n'est pas une livre spécial...
avis à chaud (do french ppl use that for hot take?): j'ai lu de meilleurs romans policiers-
read this for school/lire pour l'école
I’m gonna try to write my review in french, so please bear with me
c'etait bon, mais ce n'est pas une livre spécial...
avis à chaud (do french ppl use that for hot take?): j'ai lu de meilleurs romans policiers-
read this for school/lire pour l'école
Read
May 24, 2025At the end of the book there is a note (finished) Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes) 12th July 1955. Sadly there is no note at the start of the book telling us when Simenon began to type, sometimes I wonder if he wrote some of his books faster than they would be read.
I had seen a TV adaptation of this story made in the 1990s, I believe it was mostly filmed in Prague and the Czech Republic which obviously looks more like Paris and France in the 1950s than the originals . Anyway I had seen the TV version so I thought with unusual cunning that I could risk reading it in French since I already knew the story and I could remember who had commited the crime and how the dastard was caught, and even what the twist was. I was over optimistic. I don't find Simenon easy to read in French, his phrasing seems to me to on the more complex end of the writing spectrum, and at times I had the interesting feeling that I could understand the individual words but not the complete sentence. I ended up reading the book one and a half times, up to page 85 or so, then I started again from the beginning and found that it made more sense.
Simenon wrote, I think, over seventy Maigret stories, so you often see him trying a different approach. In this one there is more interest in the psychology of the killer. For a Maigret story there is the unusually high body count of five victims, but no evidence or leads to follow . Naturally a dinner party conversation with a psychologist leads towards something like a psychological profile of the criminal based on the limited facts of the crimes committed.
Most of the story is establishing atmosphere, then there is a brief flurry of activity, followed by the resolution.
This is a hot, sweaty, 1950s Paris with lots of beer drinking and pipe smoking. Is Maigret frustrated? Maybe that's a question best left to Madame Maigret to answer.
There's an angle to this story about women's bodies and threatened masculinities, but perhaps that's simply the lietmotif of modern times (or perhaps since writing began?). Then again women's bodies are a central element in most Simenon novels, just as they were in his life. I wonder how far Simenon modelled his criminals in tbe Maigret stories on himself, is this him saying: 'look, if you don't let me have mistresses, and visit prostitutes, this is the kind of thing that can happen'?
I had seen a TV adaptation of this story made in the 1990s, I believe it was mostly filmed in Prague and the Czech Republic which obviously looks more like Paris and France in the 1950s than the originals . Anyway I had seen the TV version so I thought with unusual cunning that I could risk reading it in French since I already knew the story and I could remember who had commited the crime and how the dastard was caught, and even what the twist was. I was over optimistic. I don't find Simenon easy to read in French, his phrasing seems to me to on the more complex end of the writing spectrum, and at times I had the interesting feeling that I could understand the individual words but not the complete sentence. I ended up reading the book one and a half times, up to page 85 or so, then I started again from the beginning and found that it made more sense.
Simenon wrote, I think, over seventy Maigret stories, so you often see him trying a different approach. In this one there is more interest in the psychology of the killer. For a Maigret story there is the unusually high body count of five victims, but no evidence or leads to follow . Naturally a dinner party conversation with a psychologist leads towards something like a psychological profile of the criminal based on the limited facts of the crimes committed.
Most of the story is establishing atmosphere, then there is a brief flurry of activity, followed by the resolution.
This is a hot, sweaty, 1950s Paris with lots of beer drinking and pipe smoking. Is Maigret frustrated? Maybe that's a question best left to Madame Maigret to answer.
There's an angle to this story about women's bodies and threatened masculinities, but perhaps that's simply the lietmotif of modern times (or perhaps since writing began?). Then again women's bodies are a central element in most Simenon novels, just as they were in his life. I wonder how far Simenon modelled his criminals in tbe Maigret stories on himself, is this him saying: 'look, if you don't let me have mistresses, and visit prostitutes, this is the kind of thing that can happen'?
March 13, 2022
از همین کتاب اول خوشحالم که قرار است چند ماه با سیمنون همراه شوم. مگره دام میگسترد ذهن غریب و جذاب او را به خوبی بازتاب میدهد. مردی که سالهاست زیر سلطهی دو زن قرار گرفته چندین زن را به قتل میرساند. قتلهایی عجیب که نشان از مشکلات روانی قاتل دارند. در زمان دستگیری و اثبات مجرم بودن او قتل دیگری رخ میدهد. کارآگاه مگره معتقد است یکی از دو زنی که سالهاست او را زیر سلطه دارند قتل آخر را برای تغییردادن عقاید پلیس انجام داده. کدام زن؟ مادر یا همسر؟
January 6, 2019
There is a serial killer in the Montmartre area of Paris. It is a hot and stifling August and a woman a month has been stabbed on the street since February. The police have no leads, and Maigret worries there will be another, and soon, if he doesn't do something. How do you go about looking for someone who kills entirely randomly? There is an element of the thriller in this one.
For me, the most interesting part of this was when Maigret has an opportunity to talk with a psychiatrist, informally, when he has been invited to dinner at a friend's. This title, originally published in 1955, provided an insight to the early days of criminal profiling.
Though in no way as dark as his standalone novels, to me it is obviously Maigret comes from the same authorial thinking. I cannot account for my being drawn to such as I avoid horror. What I have read of that genre stepped over the line into non-believability, where Simenon is entirely believable. I picked this up when it was on sale, and will continue to snap him up when I have such an opportunity. I liked this better than many of the noir/mystery genre and happily mark it 4-stars.
For me, the most interesting part of this was when Maigret has an opportunity to talk with a psychiatrist, informally, when he has been invited to dinner at a friend's. This title, originally published in 1955, provided an insight to the early days of criminal profiling.
Though in no way as dark as his standalone novels, to me it is obviously Maigret comes from the same authorial thinking. I cannot account for my being drawn to such as I avoid horror. What I have read of that genre stepped over the line into non-believability, where Simenon is entirely believable. I picked this up when it was on sale, and will continue to snap him up when I have such an opportunity. I liked this better than many of the noir/mystery genre and happily mark it 4-stars.
April 4, 2025
Lunchtime Listen March 2025
Well this has to rate as one of the most enjoyable Maigret listens. A great story brilliantly read as ever by Gareth Armstrong.
During a hot Summer in Paris a madman murderer is terrifying the city. Preying on Women, the murderer stabs them then slashes their clothes. No woman appears to be safe especially in a certain district of Paris.
Maigret and his team are struggling to even come up with any clue, as after every murder the perpetrator seems to vanish into the shadows no matter how quick the alarm is raised.
At one of the regular evenings he and Mme Maigret spend with their friends the Pardons, Maigret is introduced to Professor Tissot , and the three men spend the evening discussing the murders that have occurred over the last few months.
During the discussions an idea is formed that it is felt will flush out the murderer and the trap is set. Taking all the responsibility upon himself, Maigret organises the trap which involves hundreds of officers including many volunteer women officers posing as potential bait.
Initially it is feared that the trap was sprung but with nobody captured and that it was all an expensive and dangerous waste of time, but one tiny clue was found, and from this Maigret and his team begin to build their first real picture of the murderer.
An excellent story, and one of the few (four) covered by Roman Atkinson as Inspector Maigret in 2017. Oh what a pity they did not continue the series, a real waste of what was becoming a tv detective series you just had to watch.
Well this has to rate as one of the most enjoyable Maigret listens. A great story brilliantly read as ever by Gareth Armstrong.
During a hot Summer in Paris a madman murderer is terrifying the city. Preying on Women, the murderer stabs them then slashes their clothes. No woman appears to be safe especially in a certain district of Paris.
Maigret and his team are struggling to even come up with any clue, as after every murder the perpetrator seems to vanish into the shadows no matter how quick the alarm is raised.
At one of the regular evenings he and Mme Maigret spend with their friends the Pardons, Maigret is introduced to Professor Tissot , and the three men spend the evening discussing the murders that have occurred over the last few months.
During the discussions an idea is formed that it is felt will flush out the murderer and the trap is set. Taking all the responsibility upon himself, Maigret organises the trap which involves hundreds of officers including many volunteer women officers posing as potential bait.
Initially it is feared that the trap was sprung but with nobody captured and that it was all an expensive and dangerous waste of time, but one tiny clue was found, and from this Maigret and his team begin to build their first real picture of the murderer.
An excellent story, and one of the few (four) covered by Roman Atkinson as Inspector Maigret in 2017. Oh what a pity they did not continue the series, a real waste of what was becoming a tv detective series you just had to watch.
August 16, 2023
I have bought this one last Sunday, 13th Aug, and have read it on same day. The name in the title ‘Maigret’ didn’t tell me anything. Also, to disclose in full my complete ignorance, there should be noted that I didn’t hear of this famous Belgian writer till then. When I got home with my self-made gifts, my mom, filled by a cat curiosity, checked my recent acquisitions, and expressed huge surprise that I have bought 2 books of Georges Simenon. My inaudible feedback was, ‘And who is this guy?’
It would have been better to keep my mouth shut, like a true ignoramus that I was! She made me a quick and brief presentation of the facts, who is GS, what he wrote, and so and so forth. And most importantly she taught me how to pronounce ‘Maigret’ and ‘Georges Simenon’. Pity I cannot put sound in this review :D
This is my first read of Georges Simenon and, like the title says, it is a trap. If you happen to have it fallen in your hands, you might be trapped and find out that you’re on the wave of developing a new, strong addiction to a new writer. This happens with me now. Of course, now the sting has been effected, I will have to read more of him.
The strange thing about this book is that it made me feel melancholy and depressed. I guess there is a good reason for that. Anyways, I loved the final paragraphs, it restored my cheerfulness and joie de vivre :))
“He slept until six in the evening, in sheets damp with sweat, the window open on to the sounds of Paris, and when at last he reappeared in the dining room, his eyes still puffy, it was to announce to his wife:
‘Tonight, we’re going to the cinema…
Arm in arm, as was their habit.
Madame Maigret asked no questions. She had a feeling he was coming back from a distant place, that he needed to get used to everyday life again, to rub shoulders with ordinary, reassuring people.”
It would have been better to keep my mouth shut, like a true ignoramus that I was! She made me a quick and brief presentation of the facts, who is GS, what he wrote, and so and so forth. And most importantly she taught me how to pronounce ‘Maigret’ and ‘Georges Simenon’. Pity I cannot put sound in this review :D
This is my first read of Georges Simenon and, like the title says, it is a trap. If you happen to have it fallen in your hands, you might be trapped and find out that you’re on the wave of developing a new, strong addiction to a new writer. This happens with me now. Of course, now the sting has been effected, I will have to read more of him.
The strange thing about this book is that it made me feel melancholy and depressed. I guess there is a good reason for that. Anyways, I loved the final paragraphs, it restored my cheerfulness and joie de vivre :))
“He slept until six in the evening, in sheets damp with sweat, the window open on to the sounds of Paris, and when at last he reappeared in the dining room, his eyes still puffy, it was to announce to his wife:
‘Tonight, we’re going to the cinema…
Arm in arm, as was their habit.
Madame Maigret asked no questions. She had a feeling he was coming back from a distant place, that he needed to get used to everyday life again, to rub shoulders with ordinary, reassuring people.”
February 26, 2025
Georges Simenon is the most addictive of writers along with Agatha Christie.
In this story, Paris is on edge when someone starts murdering plump women in the neighbourhood to the west of Montmartre.
Maigret's trap sort of works when a undercover female officer manages to fight off the attacker and grabs a button from his jacket. This is the clue the police required and leads to an arrest, but then a sixth murder occurs with the suspect behind bars...
This book is superbly written with dialogue and description flowing together through the story. Maigret is an amazing protagonist and he has the respect of everyone he works with and of most people on the streets of Paris.
In this story, Paris is on edge when someone starts murdering plump women in the neighbourhood to the west of Montmartre.
Maigret's trap sort of works when a undercover female officer manages to fight off the attacker and grabs a button from his jacket. This is the clue the police required and leads to an arrest, but then a sixth murder occurs with the suspect behind bars...
This book is superbly written with dialogue and description flowing together through the story. Maigret is an amazing protagonist and he has the respect of everyone he works with and of most people on the streets of Paris.
September 24, 2015
Dramatisation with Denholm ElliottWL The Man Who Watched Trains Go By
3* Maigret in Society
3* The Blue Room
WL My Friend Maigret (Maigret #31)
3* The Saint-Fiacre Affair
3* Maigret in Montmartre
3* Maigret Has Scruples
3* Maigret Bides His Time
3* Striptease
3* Maigret Sets A Trap
December 4, 2018
My fun weekend read. I gobble Maigret mysteries up like a bowl of chocolate.
This mystery is about a serial killer. Someone is killing women in Montmartre. All the victims are found on the street, stabbed, with their clothes slashed. They have not been sexually assaulted or robbed. The woman have nothing in common, one is a prostitute, one a housewife and one a professional. They are murdered around the same time at night in the same neighborhood. Who is doing it and why?
The story largely circles around the psychology of a serial killer. What sort of mind wants to kill. And why does this particular murderer kill only women in a certain place at a certain time? This is what Maigret, using the principals of psychology plans to find out.
Of course he does and the result is interesting, but you'll have to read the book to find out for yourself.
This mystery is about a serial killer. Someone is killing women in Montmartre. All the victims are found on the street, stabbed, with their clothes slashed. They have not been sexually assaulted or robbed. The woman have nothing in common, one is a prostitute, one a housewife and one a professional. They are murdered around the same time at night in the same neighborhood. Who is doing it and why?
The story largely circles around the psychology of a serial killer. What sort of mind wants to kill. And why does this particular murderer kill only women in a certain place at a certain time? This is what Maigret, using the principals of psychology plans to find out.
Of course he does and the result is interesting, but you'll have to read the book to find out for yourself.
November 29, 2023
Quite a different novel from the usual ones.
First of all, five victims were never seen in stories involving Maigret. And second, the usual strong psychological aspect is combined with a large scale police investigation.
First of all, five victims were never seen in stories involving Maigret. And second, the usual strong psychological aspect is combined with a large scale police investigation.
November 5, 2017
This remains one of my favourite Maigret novels, yet it isn’t typical of the vast number that one can read.
Published originally in 1955 at a time when France maintained capital punishment in murder convictions. The reason I like this book so much comes down to a number of strands. Firstly the vulnerability of Maigret; secondly that it is a serial killer story with a clever intervention, rather than luck or mere chance and finally the twist in the story to provide doubt in the arrest of the suspect.
I like that mind of the killer is established in dialogue and not in flashback incidents. Indeed the story follows a real timeline but for an explanation arising from Maigret’s invitation out the previous Friday.
The story begins after 5 young women have been killed during the past few months. Paris is gripped by a fear that anyone female could be the next victim and the police seemingly devoid of ideas, short on clues and meaningful leads.
The book starts with an arrest, perhaps not everything is as it seems and down to subterfuge and Maigret’s own intuition.
So we return to the pivotal dinner party, Maigret was able to outline his ideas and psychology of his thinking to move the investigation forward.
Also present is a man who wanted to speak about the case with the detective. That is Professor Tissot, director of the Sainte-Anne Psychiatric Institute in Rue Cabanis in Paris. The professor has his own ideas and the conversation perhaps gives Maigret the courage of his convictions to carry his plan forward and Set a Trap.
This use of female police officers to go undercover and help draw out the killer is common today in the detective genre. It remains a risky strategy and for Maigret he is left to carry the can if this move fails. He is placing his reputation and ultimately his career on the line. This is not hyperbole as the book has a inner tension running throughout.
Maigret says to the suspect, “I will remember you all my life, because in my entire career no case has disturbed me so much, or taken so much out of me.”
And ends. ‘Madame Maigret asked no questions. She had a feeling he was coming back from a distant place, that he needed to get used to everyday life again, to rub shoulders with ordinary, reassuring people.’
So without hesitation I recommend this latest re-released Georges Simenon’s masterpiece.
Published originally in 1955 at a time when France maintained capital punishment in murder convictions. The reason I like this book so much comes down to a number of strands. Firstly the vulnerability of Maigret; secondly that it is a serial killer story with a clever intervention, rather than luck or mere chance and finally the twist in the story to provide doubt in the arrest of the suspect.
I like that mind of the killer is established in dialogue and not in flashback incidents. Indeed the story follows a real timeline but for an explanation arising from Maigret’s invitation out the previous Friday.
The story begins after 5 young women have been killed during the past few months. Paris is gripped by a fear that anyone female could be the next victim and the police seemingly devoid of ideas, short on clues and meaningful leads.
The book starts with an arrest, perhaps not everything is as it seems and down to subterfuge and Maigret’s own intuition.
So we return to the pivotal dinner party, Maigret was able to outline his ideas and psychology of his thinking to move the investigation forward.
Also present is a man who wanted to speak about the case with the detective. That is Professor Tissot, director of the Sainte-Anne Psychiatric Institute in Rue Cabanis in Paris. The professor has his own ideas and the conversation perhaps gives Maigret the courage of his convictions to carry his plan forward and Set a Trap.
This use of female police officers to go undercover and help draw out the killer is common today in the detective genre. It remains a risky strategy and for Maigret he is left to carry the can if this move fails. He is placing his reputation and ultimately his career on the line. This is not hyperbole as the book has a inner tension running throughout.
Maigret says to the suspect, “I will remember you all my life, because in my entire career no case has disturbed me so much, or taken so much out of me.”
And ends. ‘Madame Maigret asked no questions. She had a feeling he was coming back from a distant place, that he needed to get used to everyday life again, to rub shoulders with ordinary, reassuring people.’
So without hesitation I recommend this latest re-released Georges Simenon’s masterpiece.
June 26, 2017
Simenon was ahead of his time. The psychological approach is similar to today's crime novels. I like Maigret: he's just a clever detective solving crimes. The writing is crisp; the book is short. No pyrotechnics, very little soap opera about the detective.
Boisson cette fois: un blanc Vichy.
Boisson cette fois: un blanc Vichy.
October 14, 2015
I have read so many of Georges Simenon's Maigret mysteries, and always with such avidity that I would deeply regret getting to the end of his bibliography. Maigret Sets a Trap (1955) is about a serial killer who stabs plump women in Montmartre with a pen knife and slashes their clothing.
Even when the Superintendent finds a suspect, he is dismayed to discover that yet another woman has been killed. It is then that we see Maigret at his most impenetrable. We never really get into his mind in any of the stories. We, as it were, stand next to him and watch his mind and instincts at work. When the crimes are solved, we are surprised, because we were not privy to his thinking. In fact, at the end of Maigret Sets a Trap, we hear his monologue, as he is not quite willing to admit that his prime suspect was not, in fact, the killer.
How he solves the case is nothing short of brilliant -- and, typically, instinctive.
Even when the Superintendent finds a suspect, he is dismayed to discover that yet another woman has been killed. It is then that we see Maigret at his most impenetrable. We never really get into his mind in any of the stories. We, as it were, stand next to him and watch his mind and instincts at work. When the crimes are solved, we are surprised, because we were not privy to his thinking. In fact, at the end of Maigret Sets a Trap, we hear his monologue, as he is not quite willing to admit that his prime suspect was not, in fact, the killer.
How he solves the case is nothing short of brilliant -- and, typically, instinctive.
May 27, 2017
کتاب خوبی بود و من دوستش داشتم موضوع قتل ها کاملا روانشناسی بود. سیمنون واسه مخاطب ارزش قائله توضیحات صفحه پر کن نمیده خلاصه همه چی میگه. البته اگر دوستانی که در نقد واردتر هستن ابن کتاب رو بخونن اشکالاتی در همین قضیه خلاصه طور بود کتاب میگیرن. اولین مگره بود که میخوندم و صد البته ازش بیشتر هم خواهم خواند.
August 24, 2023
Bu Maigret macerası, diğerlerinden daha uzun bilimsel ve psikolojik analizler içeriyor. Bu zaman zaman hikayenin akışını yavaşlatıyor. Ancak tüm unsurları ile takip edilebilen bir macera. Akıcı ve sürükleyici.
Çok beğendim.
Çok beğendim.
August 16, 2020
Από τα καλύτερα του Σιμενόν με κεντρικό ήρωα τον επιθεωρητή Μαιγκρέ (αλλά και γενικότερα αν λάβουμε υπόψη και τα "σκληρά" μυθιστορήματά του).
December 27, 2018
A serial killer is murdering women in Montmartre, which is in Paris’ 18th arrondissement. Obviously, Chief Inspector Maigret sets a trap for the killer, but I fear saying too much about it, which would spoil the suspense. Let me just say that the trap’s a very clever one, and the novel has more than its share of twists. An excellent read.
Read
April 30, 2020This book along with Seferis' Complete Poems Ποιήματα were two of the five books I took with me to London, books I wasn't able to start.
Let's not forget that books are like holidays and journeys. They take you on a journey, they take you to different countries, foreign places.
And as Kazantzakis says in his book England: A travel journal that I finished today: "Every new soil we step on can and should be an occasion for our souls to expand."
And since I had the luxury of journeying with my body to museums to galleries and sightseeing in London, I was only reading my book before going to bed and a little bit on the bus.
The most I can read in a day when I'm on holidays is 30 pages, and in my 14 days in London I read more or less 400 pages, so more or less 30 pages a day. So for Maigret and Seferis, of course, I didn't have time.
Those of you who know me a little bit will know that Rowan Atkinson is my favourite actor who, in addition to being a slapstick Mr. Bean, he also created the witty Blackadder.
So hearing that he was going to play the French detective Maigret by Belgian writer Simenon in a TV series, it was a normal reaction for me to get excited. And although detective books are not my cup of tea for Maigret I made an exception.
And of course I started with those books that had Atkinson on the cover, another exception I made for my dear Atkinson (I detest movie tie-in covers).
The first I read was the one for Agra Editions Ο Μαιγκρέ και ο νεκρός του "Maigret's Dead Man", in November 2018 and this one from Penguin editions, when I was still in the transitional period between holidays and routine a.k.a. holiday blues.
I cannot remember a lot from this book, but what I remember is the atmosphere, the noir atmosphere and the slow and steady pace of the plot. In "Maigret's Dead Man" we had a man who felt threatened and called from various parts of the city to Maigret's office for a chance to help him and catch his persecutors, but the title gives us the answer whether this man succeeds to escape or not.
In "Maigret sets a trap" women are murdered one after the other in Montmartre and Maigret has to find a way to lure the killer with a bait, a human being.
Unfortunately, the series was cancelled after 4 adaptations of 4 books by Simenon.
Of course, I will also read the other two books adapted with Atkinson as Maigret: "The Night at the Crossroads" and "Maigret at Picratt's", unfortunately without Atkinson on the cover.
But I have to learn and live without this obsession of having a matching cover for everything I buy.
More in Greek at βιβλιοαλχημείες
Let's not forget that books are like holidays and journeys. They take you on a journey, they take you to different countries, foreign places.
And as Kazantzakis says in his book England: A travel journal that I finished today: "Every new soil we step on can and should be an occasion for our souls to expand."
And since I had the luxury of journeying with my body to museums to galleries and sightseeing in London, I was only reading my book before going to bed and a little bit on the bus.
The most I can read in a day when I'm on holidays is 30 pages, and in my 14 days in London I read more or less 400 pages, so more or less 30 pages a day. So for Maigret and Seferis, of course, I didn't have time.
Those of you who know me a little bit will know that Rowan Atkinson is my favourite actor who, in addition to being a slapstick Mr. Bean, he also created the witty Blackadder.
So hearing that he was going to play the French detective Maigret by Belgian writer Simenon in a TV series, it was a normal reaction for me to get excited. And although detective books are not my cup of tea for Maigret I made an exception.
And of course I started with those books that had Atkinson on the cover, another exception I made for my dear Atkinson (I detest movie tie-in covers).
The first I read was the one for Agra Editions Ο Μαιγκρέ και ο νεκρός του "Maigret's Dead Man", in November 2018 and this one from Penguin editions, when I was still in the transitional period between holidays and routine a.k.a. holiday blues.
I cannot remember a lot from this book, but what I remember is the atmosphere, the noir atmosphere and the slow and steady pace of the plot. In "Maigret's Dead Man" we had a man who felt threatened and called from various parts of the city to Maigret's office for a chance to help him and catch his persecutors, but the title gives us the answer whether this man succeeds to escape or not.
In "Maigret sets a trap" women are murdered one after the other in Montmartre and Maigret has to find a way to lure the killer with a bait, a human being.
Unfortunately, the series was cancelled after 4 adaptations of 4 books by Simenon.
Of course, I will also read the other two books adapted with Atkinson as Maigret: "The Night at the Crossroads" and "Maigret at Picratt's", unfortunately without Atkinson on the cover.
But I have to learn and live without this obsession of having a matching cover for everything I buy.
More in Greek at βιβλιοαλχημείες
November 10, 2023
I’m most definitely a fan. He is a bit grumpy, but it is golden era of crime writing
April 5, 2016
So the British have made another stab at adapting Simenon's often literary but mostly straightforward Maigret whodunnit's in to a TV series, via the highly unlikely interpretation of the contemplative and more than probably rotund detective by Mr Bean. The first episode just happened to be a book I hadn't read yet and so as in most cases I choose the source material as a first exploration of the work and delay my televisual gratification.
"I shall remember you all my life, because never before in my career has a case bothered me so much, taken so much out of me."
Maigret Sets a Trap is something of an unusual Maigret and as such an unusual choice for an introductory episode. There's no sitting and contemplating the crime and the psychological aspects of the criminal over countless meals and drinks in Parisian bars here, instead you get an internal self-analysis of Maigret himself as he doubts his abilities as a detective and specifically his decision making in the case of the 18th Arrondissement slasher and his last ditch attempt to draw the killer out. For fans of the detective and the books he is featured in this would be a welcome addition, much like the meta-fictional Maigret's Memoirs, but coming to this story first would surely give you the wrong idea about the series, not to mention the fact that TV cannot do internal self-analysis and doubt justice, so what were they thinking?
"I shall remember you all my life, because never before in my career has a case bothered me so much, taken so much out of me."
Maigret Sets a Trap is something of an unusual Maigret and as such an unusual choice for an introductory episode. There's no sitting and contemplating the crime and the psychological aspects of the criminal over countless meals and drinks in Parisian bars here, instead you get an internal self-analysis of Maigret himself as he doubts his abilities as a detective and specifically his decision making in the case of the 18th Arrondissement slasher and his last ditch attempt to draw the killer out. For fans of the detective and the books he is featured in this would be a welcome addition, much like the meta-fictional Maigret's Memoirs, but coming to this story first would surely give you the wrong idea about the series, not to mention the fact that TV cannot do internal self-analysis and doubt justice, so what were they thinking?
December 13, 2019
Τρίτο βιβλίο του Ζορζ Σιμενόν που διαβάζω φέτος, ένατο συνολικά. Επίσης είναι μόλις το δεύτερο βιβλίο με ήρωα τον επιθεωρητή Μαιγκρέ, μετά το "Ο τρελός του Μπερζεράκ" που διάβασα το 2012 και το οποίο θυμάμαι ότι δεν με είχε ενθουσιάσει ιδιαίτερα (ίσως να έφταιγε και η παλιομοδίτικη μετάφραση). Τέλος πάντων, τούτο το βιβλίο μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ, ειλικρινά με μεγάλη δυσκολία το άφηνα στην άκρη για να κάνω οτιδήποτε άλλο, έτσι καλογραμμένο και ενδιαφέρον όπως ήταν. Πέρα από την υπέροχη και οξυδερκή γραφή του Σιμενόν, το πιο απολαυστικό στοιχείο του βιβλίου είναι η όλη αποτύπωση των αστυνομικών διαδικασιών και του τρόπου σκέψης του Μαιγκρέ για την εξιχνίαση μιας σειράς ανθρωποκτονιών από έναν κατά συρροή δολοφόνο. Με λιτές περιγραφές ο Σιμενόν δημιούργησε μια καταπληκτική νουάρ ατμόσφαιρα, ενώ επίσης με μετέφερε στο καλοκαιρινό Παρίσι της δεκαετίας του '50. Και, βέβαια, κατάφερε να με κάνει ένα με την αγωνία του Μαιγκρέ για να βρει τον δολοφόνο και να σταματήσει το καταστροφικό του έργο. Σίγουρα είναι λιγότερο σκοτεινό και δραματικό από τα "μαύρα" αυτοτελή μυθιστορήματά του, αλλά δεν παύει να είναι μια απόλυτα ψυχαγωγική και αγωνιώδης αστυνομική ιστορία.
April 25, 2024
Parigi. Quartiere di Montmartre. Cinque donne, di età ed estrazione diverse, sono state uccise a coltellate in zone appartate e poco illuminate. L’assassino è ancora a piede libero ed impensierisce le autorità e le persone.
Maigret decide di tendergli una trappola, mettendo in campo tutte le forze che riesce ad ottenere, nonostante lo scetticismo del suo superiore.
L’azione non va propriamente a buon fine, ma se ne ricava un indizio importante che porterà in breve tempo a puntare l’attenzione su una persona che si reputa sia quella giusta, un uomo giovane che molto probabilmente vive un forte disagio psicologico.
Ma mentre il sospettato è nelle mani della polizia, un nuovo delitto ha luogo. Sorgono dubbi ed incertezze che minano il castello costruito dal commissario, che pure è certo della colpevolezza dell’arrestato.
Vengono messe a confronto la madre e la moglie dell’uomo, che pure giocano ruoli importanti nella vicenda, ed allora emergerà una verità che lascia molto amaro in bocca.
Molto d’atmosfera l’ambientazione in una delle zone più caratteristiche e romantiche di Parigi. La trama è molto semplice, ma ben costruita; buona la tempistica del racconto: le attese, le pause, i pensieri e la pazienza del commissario scandiscono la vicenda; spietata e attenta, come sempre, l’analisi psicologica dei personaggi implicati, come solo Simenon sa fare.
🌍 LdM - Sfida 2024: Francia 🇫🇷
✍️ GS/Maigret
Maigret decide di tendergli una trappola, mettendo in campo tutte le forze che riesce ad ottenere, nonostante lo scetticismo del suo superiore.
L’azione non va propriamente a buon fine, ma se ne ricava un indizio importante che porterà in breve tempo a puntare l’attenzione su una persona che si reputa sia quella giusta, un uomo giovane che molto probabilmente vive un forte disagio psicologico.
Ma mentre il sospettato è nelle mani della polizia, un nuovo delitto ha luogo. Sorgono dubbi ed incertezze che minano il castello costruito dal commissario, che pure è certo della colpevolezza dell’arrestato.
Vengono messe a confronto la madre e la moglie dell’uomo, che pure giocano ruoli importanti nella vicenda, ed allora emergerà una verità che lascia molto amaro in bocca.
Molto d’atmosfera l’ambientazione in una delle zone più caratteristiche e romantiche di Parigi. La trama è molto semplice, ma ben costruita; buona la tempistica del racconto: le attese, le pause, i pensieri e la pazienza del commissario scandiscono la vicenda; spietata e attenta, come sempre, l’analisi psicologica dei personaggi implicati, come solo Simenon sa fare.
🌍 LdM - Sfida 2024: Francia 🇫🇷
✍️ GS/Maigret
December 13, 2024
I really enjoyed Maigret Sets a Trap. Sweltering Paris, serial killer on the loose, Maigret out of his comfort zone. Cleverly done.
April 23, 2025
дуже цікаво написано, легко читається. не був схожий на типовий детектив, бо вже це відбувається трошки як постфактум, вже майже з середини є зачіпки (хоча до кінця не знаємо, хто винен). гарно поставлені психологічні питання, автор зосереджується не на тому, *хто* це зробив, а *чому* хтось це зробив. але мені все ж таки забракло інтриги. достатньо швидко, хоч він і ходить навколо одного й того самого
December 16, 2023
23ο βιβλίο του Σιμενόν που διαβάζω και δεν με έχει απογοητεύσει ούτε μία φορά. Παρίσι 1955. Αυτή την φορά ένας κατά συρροή δολοφόνος κάνει πέντε φόνους σε έξι μήνες και ο Μαιγκρέ φέρνει τούμπα την Μονμάρτη για να τον ανακαλύψει.
Καταπληκτική η ταινία του 1958 με τον Ζαν Γκαμπέν στον ρόλο του επιθεωρητή Μαιγκρέ.
Καταπληκτική η ταινία του 1958 με τον Ζαν Γκαμπέν στον ρόλο του επιθεωρητή Μαιγκρέ.
December 3, 2021
It is a hot, steamy August in Paris and Maigret is faced with the deaths of five women in a bourgeoise part of the 18th Arrondissement. All five were killed early in the night, all stabbed in the back, their clothing ripped but not sexually assaulted nor robbed. Consistency in pattern all point to a single perpetrator. Obviously, there is a serial killer on the loose, but who?
The Maigrets are invited to a regular dinner where another interesting couple are always invited. In this case it is the Tissots, the monsieur being a forensic psychiatrist who had testified many times in court, some of them murder trials. The two men begin discussing what kind of man would be capable of these murders – essentially developing a psycho-social profile of the killer years before it was made a regular part of official detection. Would this characterization hold when the culprit was apprehended?
Maigret decides to set a trap for the elusive culprit by saturating the district with plainclothes officers and using several female decoys recruited from another branch of the Paris police force. This is a very expensive, large-scale bet that Maigret is making. Will the gamble pay off?
The story uses two aspects of police work now standard – profiling the killer and setting a trap. So, this is a display of Maigret’s techniques in case solution. This is not the most devious of his cases, but it is one of the most intellectual and frustrating to solve – and to read! But when is a Maigret story bad???
The Maigrets are invited to a regular dinner where another interesting couple are always invited. In this case it is the Tissots, the monsieur being a forensic psychiatrist who had testified many times in court, some of them murder trials. The two men begin discussing what kind of man would be capable of these murders – essentially developing a psycho-social profile of the killer years before it was made a regular part of official detection. Would this characterization hold when the culprit was apprehended?
Maigret decides to set a trap for the elusive culprit by saturating the district with plainclothes officers and using several female decoys recruited from another branch of the Paris police force. This is a very expensive, large-scale bet that Maigret is making. Will the gamble pay off?
The story uses two aspects of police work now standard – profiling the killer and setting a trap. So, this is a display of Maigret’s techniques in case solution. This is not the most devious of his cases, but it is one of the most intellectual and frustrating to solve – and to read! But when is a Maigret story bad???
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