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Inspector Maigret #58
Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse
When he is tasked with solving a seemingly motiveless murder, Inspector Maigret must rely on his famous intuition to discover the truth
A retired manufacturer is found murdered with his own pistol in his favorite armchair, shattering the tranquility of a quiet Paris community. The neighbors describe the Josselin household as a bastion of bourgeois compatibility, and Inspector Maigret is stymied by the absence of motive and by the reticence of the bereaved wife. It is not until a chance witness recalls an odd encounter between the deceased and a man in a bistro that the veil of propriety protecting the killer begins to dissolve.
Maigret suspects that he’s not being given all the facts in this case as he is drawn deeper into the complex web of family dramas and lies at the heart of it. In Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse, he must rely on his famous intuition above all to uncover the shocking truth.
A retired manufacturer is found murdered with his own pistol in his favorite armchair, shattering the tranquility of a quiet Paris community. The neighbors describe the Josselin household as a bastion of bourgeois compatibility, and Inspector Maigret is stymied by the absence of motive and by the reticence of the bereaved wife. It is not until a chance witness recalls an odd encounter between the deceased and a man in a bistro that the veil of propriety protecting the killer begins to dissolve.
Maigret suspects that he’s not being given all the facts in this case as he is drawn deeper into the complex web of family dramas and lies at the heart of it. In Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse, he must rely on his famous intuition above all to uncover the shocking truth.
170 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1962
244 people are currently reading
457 people want to read
About the author
Georges Simenon
2,736 books2,294 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 125 reviews
March 20, 2024
As far as I'm concerned, there is no poor Maigret novel by Georges Simenon.
A few of them are brilliant, the majority are very good and some lack a certain spark. That's the case here.
A few of them are brilliant, the majority are very good and some lack a certain spark. That's the case here.
October 21, 2023
Also published as Maigret and the Black Sheep, Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse is the fifty-eighth of the Inspector Maigret mysteries by the very prolific Belgian writer Georges Simenon with close to 400 novels, various volumes of autobiography and memoirs and numerous short stories to his credit. And it turned out one I enjoyed very much indeed.
In the book, Maigret and Madame Maigret have returned from an unusual three-week long vacation spent at their cottage, spent mostly doing up the house and pottering about the garden—unusual for not one call has disturbed them in this period, no urgent summons to return to work or solve a murder. And now back in Paris for five days, they are trying to ease back into daily life, but things seem far from ‘ordinary’—Paris is still in vacation mode, most people away (their friends, people at the office, later even neighbours of the murder victim), even the summer ‘refusing to die’—bringing in perhaps a sense of ennui. Thus as our story opens, Maigret is rather pleased to receive a phone call at a little past 2 in the night, from a colleague Saint-Hubert who calls him to the site of a murder. M. Rene Josselin, a respectable businessman known to Saint-Hubert has been found dead in his chair at home. His wife and married daughter were out watching a play, and his son-in-law Dr. Fabre, a paediatrician had been called away to see a patient, a call that turned out to be false—a deliberate ploy?
But other than the phone call, there is really no other clue in the matter. The Josselins were respectable, good people—with no enemies, no bad blood with any one or bad habits, no one with any reason to want to do away with any of them. The room where Josselin was murdered itself, as Maigret notes
was not only elegant and comfortable, it exuded peace and quiet family life. It was not a formal drawing room. It was a room that was pleasant to be in and where each piece of furniture had a purpose and a history.
Maigret speaks to the widow, daughter and son-in-law but none has much to say. Each have alibis and there seems no clue nor reason for the deceased to have been targeted. Even his former employees to whom M. Josselin had sold his business after he developed heart trouble are perfectly ordinary, good people, with ordinary lives and families. This profusion of normal people is needless to say frustrating for Maigret and he realises it wouldn’t take much more for him ‘to start loathing good people’. He even begins to be jealous of a colleague at work who has a much more passionate and violent murder on his hands which is resolved fairly easily. Nonetheless Maigret presses on with his team looking into every possible thread. And then a clue does emerge, but to really get to the bottom of things, much more painstaking digging is needed.
For a mystery in which not much really happens, at least for the first part of the story, and in which there are few suspects and almost no clues, this is a book that moves at a fairly fast pace from start to finish. At no point did I find myself bored or frustrated like Maigret but wanted to keep reading on to see how things pan out and what the solution to the mystery really is.
Maigret is no genius (like Holmes or even Poirot) but he is meticulous in his work ensuring with his supportive team that no possibility remains uninvestigated. He also likes to get a sense of the people and the environment he is working with himself, leading others to think that he doesn’t trust his colleagues. But
They didn’t understand that for him it was a necessity to get a sense of people’s lives, to try and put himself in their shoes.
It is thus that he picks up clues and gets an insight into motivations. While initially he finds himself not even knowing what questions to ask these perfect ordinary people, once among them for a time, he picks up on attitudes and reactions, giving him some direction to probe, even if this might be too much of an intrusion at times. And it isn’t that he does everything himself, for his team does turn up good information and in fact a major breakthough as well.
As we follow Maigret on his investigations, we get some sense of place as well—the Parisian streets, cafes, neighbourhoods—mostly of the well-to-do, but in a brief detour to Maigret’s colleague’s case, a glimpse of the slum occupied by the Polish community.
The mystery in its own way is a complex one—there are next to no suspects, no one with real motives, and nothing concrete to probe, and for us readers too, there is nothing to do but go along as Maigret uncovers information and starts to piece together things. Not a solution one can guess, but after Maigret speaks to one person a little before the denouement, one can of course put things together. As for the denouement itself, it was interesting how it played out—while Maigret calls all involved to his office, there is no Poirot like grand scene or revelation, he merely speaks to one or two to confirm what he has worked out. But the reader, and to the extent it can, the people concerned are left satisfied.
My first sojourn into the world of Simenon and Maigret turned out to be very enjoyable and good fun—different I assume from Maigret’s usual adventures—but fast paced and readable all through. Can’t wait to get to the next one.
(p. s. The blurb I think reveals a little more than I’d have liked. Luckily I didn’t read it).
In the book, Maigret and Madame Maigret have returned from an unusual three-week long vacation spent at their cottage, spent mostly doing up the house and pottering about the garden—unusual for not one call has disturbed them in this period, no urgent summons to return to work or solve a murder. And now back in Paris for five days, they are trying to ease back into daily life, but things seem far from ‘ordinary’—Paris is still in vacation mode, most people away (their friends, people at the office, later even neighbours of the murder victim), even the summer ‘refusing to die’—bringing in perhaps a sense of ennui. Thus as our story opens, Maigret is rather pleased to receive a phone call at a little past 2 in the night, from a colleague Saint-Hubert who calls him to the site of a murder. M. Rene Josselin, a respectable businessman known to Saint-Hubert has been found dead in his chair at home. His wife and married daughter were out watching a play, and his son-in-law Dr. Fabre, a paediatrician had been called away to see a patient, a call that turned out to be false—a deliberate ploy?
But other than the phone call, there is really no other clue in the matter. The Josselins were respectable, good people—with no enemies, no bad blood with any one or bad habits, no one with any reason to want to do away with any of them. The room where Josselin was murdered itself, as Maigret notes
was not only elegant and comfortable, it exuded peace and quiet family life. It was not a formal drawing room. It was a room that was pleasant to be in and where each piece of furniture had a purpose and a history.
Maigret speaks to the widow, daughter and son-in-law but none has much to say. Each have alibis and there seems no clue nor reason for the deceased to have been targeted. Even his former employees to whom M. Josselin had sold his business after he developed heart trouble are perfectly ordinary, good people, with ordinary lives and families. This profusion of normal people is needless to say frustrating for Maigret and he realises it wouldn’t take much more for him ‘to start loathing good people’. He even begins to be jealous of a colleague at work who has a much more passionate and violent murder on his hands which is resolved fairly easily. Nonetheless Maigret presses on with his team looking into every possible thread. And then a clue does emerge, but to really get to the bottom of things, much more painstaking digging is needed.
For a mystery in which not much really happens, at least for the first part of the story, and in which there are few suspects and almost no clues, this is a book that moves at a fairly fast pace from start to finish. At no point did I find myself bored or frustrated like Maigret but wanted to keep reading on to see how things pan out and what the solution to the mystery really is.
Maigret is no genius (like Holmes or even Poirot) but he is meticulous in his work ensuring with his supportive team that no possibility remains uninvestigated. He also likes to get a sense of the people and the environment he is working with himself, leading others to think that he doesn’t trust his colleagues. But
They didn’t understand that for him it was a necessity to get a sense of people’s lives, to try and put himself in their shoes.
It is thus that he picks up clues and gets an insight into motivations. While initially he finds himself not even knowing what questions to ask these perfect ordinary people, once among them for a time, he picks up on attitudes and reactions, giving him some direction to probe, even if this might be too much of an intrusion at times. And it isn’t that he does everything himself, for his team does turn up good information and in fact a major breakthough as well.
As we follow Maigret on his investigations, we get some sense of place as well—the Parisian streets, cafes, neighbourhoods—mostly of the well-to-do, but in a brief detour to Maigret’s colleague’s case, a glimpse of the slum occupied by the Polish community.
The mystery in its own way is a complex one—there are next to no suspects, no one with real motives, and nothing concrete to probe, and for us readers too, there is nothing to do but go along as Maigret uncovers information and starts to piece together things. Not a solution one can guess, but after Maigret speaks to one person a little before the denouement, one can of course put things together. As for the denouement itself, it was interesting how it played out—while Maigret calls all involved to his office, there is no Poirot like grand scene or revelation, he merely speaks to one or two to confirm what he has worked out. But the reader, and to the extent it can, the people concerned are left satisfied.
My first sojourn into the world of Simenon and Maigret turned out to be very enjoyable and good fun—different I assume from Maigret’s usual adventures—but fast paced and readable all through. Can’t wait to get to the next one.
(p. s. The blurb I think reveals a little more than I’d have liked. Luckily I didn’t read it).
March 24, 2023
March Lunchtime Listen
Maigret just returned from holiday is woken in the middle of the night by one of his colleagues and informed that there has been a murder in the wealthy district of Montparnasse. Former businessman René Josselin has been found murdered in his apartment by his wife and daughter on their return from the theatre.
As Maigret gets into the case he struggles to understand both the family involved and also who on earth could have done the murder. The victim's son in law, a children's doctor, left his father in law that evening after a game of chess to visit a sick child following an emergency phone call, but the call turned out to be fictitious. As Maigret investigates further, he finds all the major players have watertight alibis, but a gap in the information he is receiving appears to be collecting. Can he define this gap and work out who could be the murderer amongst the "good" people of Montparnasse.
Maigret just returned from holiday is woken in the middle of the night by one of his colleagues and informed that there has been a murder in the wealthy district of Montparnasse. Former businessman René Josselin has been found murdered in his apartment by his wife and daughter on their return from the theatre.
As Maigret gets into the case he struggles to understand both the family involved and also who on earth could have done the murder. The victim's son in law, a children's doctor, left his father in law that evening after a game of chess to visit a sick child following an emergency phone call, but the call turned out to be fictitious. As Maigret investigates further, he finds all the major players have watertight alibis, but a gap in the information he is receiving appears to be collecting. Can he define this gap and work out who could be the murderer amongst the "good" people of Montparnasse.
August 13, 2019
Another charming entry in the Maigret series.
This time, Maigret is called to the home of a seemingly perfect family, except that someone has murdered the head of the family. Everyone in this family seems exceptionally good and all appear to be telling the truth. But Maigret suspects that there are secrets being kept and that within these secrets is the identity of the killer.
As usual, the characters are the chief attraction of this book, although the plot was more than serviceable. I'm certainly not tired of this series as of now!
This time, Maigret is called to the home of a seemingly perfect family, except that someone has murdered the head of the family. Everyone in this family seems exceptionally good and all appear to be telling the truth. But Maigret suspects that there are secrets being kept and that within these secrets is the identity of the killer.
As usual, the characters are the chief attraction of this book, although the plot was more than serviceable. I'm certainly not tired of this series as of now!
February 19, 2022
The books in the Maigret series are really too short to write much of a review. This Kindle edition had some remarks about Simenon that I highlighted, mostly because I like the authors who made them.
I'm glad this series doesn't need to be read in order. Maigret doesn't seem to age. There isn't much back story. He is married and childless. Mrs. Maigret doesn't appear much, but it is obvious the two are dedicated to each other. The call about this murder wakens him at 2 am and she gets up and makes coffee for him. I can't recall her having a speaking part - beyond, maybe "will you be home for dinner?" - but Maigret never observes that she complains or seems put upon. And he would if it were so.
This is another series that I love much more than any of the individual installments. Is this one worth the 4-stars I'm giving it? Probably not, but I'm doing it anyway.
'I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov’ – William FaulknerA man was shot twice while his wife and married daughter were at the theater. He was a good man. Chief Inspector Maigret is such a good policeman. In this, what perplexed him was that no one in the family seemed willing to talk. Try as he might, nearly all of his questions were answered with words of one syllable. Why? What were they hiding?
‘Intense atmosphere and resonant detail … make Simenon’s fiction remarkably like life’ – Julian Barnes
I'm glad this series doesn't need to be read in order. Maigret doesn't seem to age. There isn't much back story. He is married and childless. Mrs. Maigret doesn't appear much, but it is obvious the two are dedicated to each other. The call about this murder wakens him at 2 am and she gets up and makes coffee for him. I can't recall her having a speaking part - beyond, maybe "will you be home for dinner?" - but Maigret never observes that she complains or seems put upon. And he would if it were so.
This is another series that I love much more than any of the individual installments. Is this one worth the 4-stars I'm giving it? Probably not, but I'm doing it anyway.
May 31, 2025
They were all such respectable people, but there was, after all, a murder in the family. What will Detective Inspector Jules Maigret do to shake loose the truth that they all appear to be hiding? Georges Simenon's Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse is yet another mystery masterpiece; and Simenon wrote 75 novels in the series! (I have yet to find a stinker in the bunch after having read at least half of them.)
It is always amazing how Maigret maneuvers himself into just the right position to solve the most refractory puzzles. However flummoxed he is at the start, by the last page he has divined the exact circumstances and surprised the family members of the victim who had so many secrets to keep from him.
RE-READ NOTES: Yup, still excellent.
It is always amazing how Maigret maneuvers himself into just the right position to solve the most refractory puzzles. However flummoxed he is at the start, by the last page he has divined the exact circumstances and surprised the family members of the victim who had so many secrets to keep from him.
RE-READ NOTES: Yup, still excellent.
May 12, 2022
Como siempre, Simenon consigue con pocas pinceladas dibujar un retrato magnífico de la psicología humana. Las novelas de Maigret son algo más que literatura policíaca, son un espejo de la vida. Aquí, el caso y sus vericuetos no son lo más importante. Eso, quizá, las hace trascender.
January 18, 2023
Nekem ez már túl vontatott, bár a korabeli Párizs hangulatát szerettem.
Akkoriban milyen ráérősek voltak ezek a francia zsaruk, semmi rohangálás, autós üldözés:)
Akkoriban milyen ráérősek voltak ezek a francia zsaruk, semmi rohangálás, autós üldözés:)
December 4, 2021
più ancora di tutte le altre storie di Maigret, questa vive della descrizione di un ambiente, in questo caso rispettabile , riservato, decoroso, ma anche chiuso e reticente. Un delitto è talmente fuori luogo fra certe persone che Maigret si sente in imbarazzo nell’indagare, anche se sa dal principio che è all’interno di quella cerchia che troverà l’assassino. O non lo troverà…..
October 8, 2019
A familiar story. The murder of a former industrialist with suspicion falling upon his extended family.
Are clues pointing away from the family connection?Maigret is not convinced initially. The great detective aware that an outside agency might be at work is frustrated by feelings that the family in mourning is not telling him everything.
Maigret grows tired of repeated quotes about these folk as good people. In his style he tries to get inside their thinking and privilege life. As Simenon often alludes to, understand the social milieu.
What is interesting here though and a new insight, is that the story involves two doctors. That the victim and his wife used to socialise with their doctor friend and his wife. In a similar manner to Maigret and his wife in their social dinner parties. So this could in fact be a murder among Maigret’s social equals.
Perhaps the author is saying that crime and murder cuts across all social divides and the victims are classless rather than just the prostitutes of Montmartre?
I like that it again reflects the season and prevailing weather. What Maigret drinks is also of interest as his his need to smoke his pipe. The author is so comfortable with his protagonist he writes seemingly about a real person. I loved the line about his first pipe tasting of Autumn. I also enjoyed Maigret’s direct involvement and that with him there are no short cuts nor substitutes for simple hard graft, honest foot work, asking questions and persistence.
Are clues pointing away from the family connection?Maigret is not convinced initially. The great detective aware that an outside agency might be at work is frustrated by feelings that the family in mourning is not telling him everything.
Maigret grows tired of repeated quotes about these folk as good people. In his style he tries to get inside their thinking and privilege life. As Simenon often alludes to, understand the social milieu.
What is interesting here though and a new insight, is that the story involves two doctors. That the victim and his wife used to socialise with their doctor friend and his wife. In a similar manner to Maigret and his wife in their social dinner parties. So this could in fact be a murder among Maigret’s social equals.
Perhaps the author is saying that crime and murder cuts across all social divides and the victims are classless rather than just the prostitutes of Montmartre?
I like that it again reflects the season and prevailing weather. What Maigret drinks is also of interest as his his need to smoke his pipe. The author is so comfortable with his protagonist he writes seemingly about a real person. I loved the line about his first pipe tasting of Autumn. I also enjoyed Maigret’s direct involvement and that with him there are no short cuts nor substitutes for simple hard graft, honest foot work, asking questions and persistence.
March 8, 2024
Telefonon keresik Maigret-t az éjszaka közepén... René Josselint holtan találják, a helyszínre kell mennie.
Ebben a kötetben a felügyelő csupa becsületes emberrel van körülvéve. Mindenki mint a patyolat, nincs senkin fogás az ügyben, Maigret szinte meg is gyűlöli a "becsületes embereket" (és az olvasó is közel kerül ehhez az érzelemhez), és legszívesebben kidühöngené magát. René Josselin özvegyéről visszapattannak a kérdések, és a semmitmondó válaszok sűrűjében ottmarad a rejtély: mégis ki lőtte le Josselint, és miért?
"Ez is becsületes ember a javából! Lehet, hogy Maigret mással se találkozik, csak csupa becsületes emberrel ebben a nyomozásban? Lassan már az agyára megy ez a sok becsületes ember, elvégre egyfelől van egy hulla, másfelől meg egy ember, aki kétszer egymás után rálőtt René Josselinra."
Egy idő után még a sörözésből is elege lesz, és konyakot kér inkább. Van, hogy szódával. És eszik egy kis töltött káposztát is. :)
Maigret benyitott egy sörözőbe, a Montparnasse körúton. A söntés még néptelen volt. A csapos a pultot tisztogatta. – Egy pohár akármit – szólt oda Maigret –, csak sört ne. – Gyomorerősítőt? Konyakot? – Konyakot…
A nyomozás, és a megoldás is kicsit lagymatagabb volt a szokásosnál, mindenki tényleg túl becsületes - és ettől kissé unalmas - volt, és persze a háttérben lappang valami titok, de amikor kiderül, mi is az, nem csattan akkorát, és számomra kissé érthetetlen volt a motiváció, ami vezérelte a titkolózót.
Kicsit bővebben itt: https://pupillaolvas.blogspot.com/202...
Ebben a kötetben a felügyelő csupa becsületes emberrel van körülvéve. Mindenki mint a patyolat, nincs senkin fogás az ügyben, Maigret szinte meg is gyűlöli a "becsületes embereket" (és az olvasó is közel kerül ehhez az érzelemhez), és legszívesebben kidühöngené magát. René Josselin özvegyéről visszapattannak a kérdések, és a semmitmondó válaszok sűrűjében ottmarad a rejtély: mégis ki lőtte le Josselint, és miért?
"Ez is becsületes ember a javából! Lehet, hogy Maigret mással se találkozik, csak csupa becsületes emberrel ebben a nyomozásban? Lassan már az agyára megy ez a sok becsületes ember, elvégre egyfelől van egy hulla, másfelől meg egy ember, aki kétszer egymás után rálőtt René Josselinra."
Egy idő után még a sörözésből is elege lesz, és konyakot kér inkább. Van, hogy szódával. És eszik egy kis töltött káposztát is. :)
Maigret benyitott egy sörözőbe, a Montparnasse körúton. A söntés még néptelen volt. A csapos a pultot tisztogatta. – Egy pohár akármit – szólt oda Maigret –, csak sört ne. – Gyomorerősítőt? Konyakot? – Konyakot…
A nyomozás, és a megoldás is kicsit lagymatagabb volt a szokásosnál, mindenki tényleg túl becsületes - és ettől kissé unalmas - volt, és persze a háttérben lappang valami titok, de amikor kiderül, mi is az, nem csattan akkorát, és számomra kissé érthetetlen volt a motiváció, ami vezérelte a titkolózót.
Kicsit bővebben itt: https://pupillaolvas.blogspot.com/202...
July 25, 2020
I enjoyed this for the escapism, concise writing and sense of Paris. Unlike Agatha Christie, it doesn’t give you so many clues that you feel like you can solve the mystery. But I enjoyed the genteel pace, Maigret questioning waiters & drinking beer in cafés & the French sensibility. He’s been compared w Camus & Kafka - I’d have to read more to get a sense of that. Maybe his look at social structures & light touch: lets you read between the lines.
October 15, 2008
While browsing among the discarded-book shelves at one of my libraries, I came across an omnibus volume of mysteries, one of which was this one (the other two are The Baby Merchants by Lillian O'Donnell and High Stakes by Dick Francis; I plan on reading the O'Donnell tome because I can't resist the title but I'll probably skip the Francis book - I've got a lot of other, more interesting sounding material to read).
But back to Maigret: I first became aware of the existence of Inspector Maigret through the good offices of the BBC and PBS's Mystery, where Michael Chabon (the 2nd Prof. Dumbledore) plays the Parisian detective in post-WW2 France. The television series is pretty good; I've found that Mystery does a decent job of translating police procedurals onto the screen -- Jane Tennyson, Inspector Linley, Morse, Poirot, Miss Marple, Chris Foyle, etc. -- and in Maigret's case, it's fun watching British-accented actors playing ostensibly Francophone gendarmes.
Unfortunately, I find that they often don't translate well into prose for me. It's a rare occasion to admit that I like a film over a book, but I prefer to watch a mystery rather than read it in many cases. (This is also true of Ellis Peters' Cadfael series.)
The story in Black Sheep is that a man who is well liked and apparently without enemies is found shot dead in his apartment, and all the clues indicate that someone familiar with the family and the apartment did it. The remainder of the short novel (only 132 pages in this edition) follows Maigret and some of his underlings as they question everyone they can until they finally track down the murderer. On screen, a good writer, director and/or actors can bring this to life but as presented in this novel, Simenon fails to make it all that compelling or interesting.
But back to Maigret: I first became aware of the existence of Inspector Maigret through the good offices of the BBC and PBS's Mystery, where Michael Chabon (the 2nd Prof. Dumbledore) plays the Parisian detective in post-WW2 France. The television series is pretty good; I've found that Mystery does a decent job of translating police procedurals onto the screen -- Jane Tennyson, Inspector Linley, Morse, Poirot, Miss Marple, Chris Foyle, etc. -- and in Maigret's case, it's fun watching British-accented actors playing ostensibly Francophone gendarmes.
Unfortunately, I find that they often don't translate well into prose for me. It's a rare occasion to admit that I like a film over a book, but I prefer to watch a mystery rather than read it in many cases. (This is also true of Ellis Peters' Cadfael series.)
The story in Black Sheep is that a man who is well liked and apparently without enemies is found shot dead in his apartment, and all the clues indicate that someone familiar with the family and the apartment did it. The remainder of the short novel (only 132 pages in this edition) follows Maigret and some of his underlings as they question everyone they can until they finally track down the murderer. On screen, a good writer, director and/or actors can bring this to life but as presented in this novel, Simenon fails to make it all that compelling or interesting.
December 17, 2024
Four stars is possibly a bit generous for this book but I give it them nevertheless. Simenon was a genius.
In this story the actual crime, for me, is secondary to the psychological description of Maigret's thought processes and the atmospherics of the locations. Such wonderfully clever writing !
As one of the other reviewers points out his investigations are to be enjoyed as a journey rather than a destination and the solution often doesn't matter that much.
I have read most of the Maigret stories and on the now quite rare occasion that I find one that I haven't read it is a great treat.
Highly recommended.
December 16, 2023
I experience an almost visceral sense of displeasure when, as I approach the end of a Maigret novella, I gradually begin to sense that Simenon is about to serve me up some of the worst overcooked shaggy dog 19th century Conan Doyle bullshit in lieu of a coherent Christie-esque resolution of the previous 100-150 pages of rational, forensic, murder investigation.
It was the insane brother in the attic! The ex-husband presumed dead in South America! It was a disreputable ethnic minority/immigrant! Some other stock character that was never mentioned or discussed at any point in the hundreds of pages of prior setup!
Get absolutely fucked Georges.
It was the insane brother in the attic! The ex-husband presumed dead in South America! It was a disreputable ethnic minority/immigrant! Some other stock character that was never mentioned or discussed at any point in the hundreds of pages of prior setup!
Get absolutely fucked Georges.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2014
3½ stars. Solid police procedural mystery. I also enjoyed learning a bit more about Maigret in this one.
September 1, 2022
Every Maigret book is awesome, it is a personal bucket list item to finish every single one!
September 6, 2023
Libro scritto alla fine del 1961 e pubblicato nel 1962, quindi ha la mia stessa età.
Simenon non mi delude mai, e anche in questo episodio con protagonista Maigret mi è piaciuto molto.
Lo scrittore tratta i crimini più efferati con un garbo che al lettore giunge tutto come ovattato.
Da grande rilevo a luoghi e personaggi, descritti in modo tale che pare di conoscerli da sempre.
La soluzione non è mai così scontata e a portata di mano e Parigi val sempre la pena di essere nominata ei suoi libri.
Il commissario con la pipa, burbero quanto basta, ma umano come pochi, sempre attento a non ferire le persone con cui viene in contatto nelle sue indagini, come nella circostanza in questo caso specifico, di non andare dai parenti della vittima subito dopo le pompe funebri.
Piccolezze che ne fanno un grande commissario e uomo.
Consigliato.
Simenon non mi delude mai, e anche in questo episodio con protagonista Maigret mi è piaciuto molto.
Lo scrittore tratta i crimini più efferati con un garbo che al lettore giunge tutto come ovattato.
Da grande rilevo a luoghi e personaggi, descritti in modo tale che pare di conoscerli da sempre.
La soluzione non è mai così scontata e a portata di mano e Parigi val sempre la pena di essere nominata ei suoi libri.
Il commissario con la pipa, burbero quanto basta, ma umano come pochi, sempre attento a non ferire le persone con cui viene in contatto nelle sue indagini, come nella circostanza in questo caso specifico, di non andare dai parenti della vittima subito dopo le pompe funebri.
Piccolezze che ne fanno un grande commissario e uomo.
Consigliato.
July 2, 2020
It's wonderful to finally get back to Maigret and reading in general.
A respectable retired man is found dead in his own home with no obvious lead as to who the killer is. When Maigret follows up on a dangling thread produced by the dead man's family, the solution is found.
I may give this three stars, but Simenon is still one of my favourite authors, as he gives a strong sense of humanity to his characters, even those who only appear for the briefest of moments.
A respectable retired man is found dead in his own home with no obvious lead as to who the killer is. When Maigret follows up on a dangling thread produced by the dead man's family, the solution is found.
I may give this three stars, but Simenon is still one of my favourite authors, as he gives a strong sense of humanity to his characters, even those who only appear for the briefest of moments.
February 4, 2022
3.5 stars. An engaging crime fiction novel about Maigret investigating the murder of a retired businessman who by all accounts was a decent man. Interviewing the businessman’s wife, daughter and son in law, initially turns up no clues as to who the murderer could be.
This book was first published in France in 1962. The 58th novel in the Maigret series.
This book was first published in France in 1962. The 58th novel in the Maigret series.
March 7, 2018
An account of an investigation of a murder by Maigret in which the reader never gets to meet the murderer. Most odd.
October 22, 2022
I loved this short book. I first read of Georges Simenon in am article in my New Yorker magazine. Next, I headed to my local library and was fortunate to find several books by Simenon. This was the shortest so I decided it was a good one to test. It was delightful. The book is very conversational which makes for a fun fast read. I enjoyed the movement of Maigrets questioning of one character to the next and back again. I enjoyed the input he obtained from others helping him with the case of finding the murderer. Maigret is an easy going and thoughtful character to read. I want to read all 75 in the series! A fun goal. Next up Maigret and the Informer. I’m giving it five stars because I truly enjoyed it.
February 14, 2025
اول اینکه اسم کتاب مگره و مردمان محترم است
اما خود کتاب: کمکم و نامحسوس، مرورهایم برای کتابهای مگره شکل یکسانی پیدا کردهاند
داستانهایی خوشخوان، بدون پیچیدگی، ظاهرا پلیسی ولی عملا اجتماعی
تنها تفاوت کتابها در اون بخش اجتماعی داستان است که هر کتاب به یک موضوع میپردازد: مردان تنها، بورژواها، زنان خارجی و غیره؛ این داستان: خانوادههای محترمی که هیچ نقطه تاریکی در زندگی آنها نیست، آنقدر شفاف که حتی آدم یک جاهایی حالش به هم میخورد
اما خود کتاب: کمکم و نامحسوس، مرورهایم برای کتابهای مگره شکل یکسانی پیدا کردهاند
داستانهایی خوشخوان، بدون پیچیدگی، ظاهرا پلیسی ولی عملا اجتماعی
تنها تفاوت کتابها در اون بخش اجتماعی داستان است که هر کتاب به یک موضوع میپردازد: مردان تنها، بورژواها، زنان خارجی و غیره؛ این داستان: خانوادههای محترمی که هیچ نقطه تاریکی در زندگی آنها نیست، آنقدر شفاف که حتی آدم یک جاهایی حالش به هم میخورد
December 21, 2025
Another compulsive Maigret mystery. Here, there is a murder within a family who on the surface are considered to be good. And in fact this is the case. They were too good and had been taken advantage of. It takes a long while for this to be clear, but when the explanation comes it is absolutely fitting. I enjoyed this one in the series, and as always will look forward to reading the next.
May 17, 2020
Summary: Maigret investigates a murder of a loved and respected retired businessman, with no hint of motive from family, neighbors or associates--all good people.
René Josselin has been found dead in his apartment, seated in his favorite chair, two bullets to the heart, fired from his own pistol, missing from his apartment. His wife and daughter had been out at the theatre, witnessed by the people who sat behind them. His son-in-law, a devoted physician, had stopped by earlier in the evening for their favorite pastime, a game of chess. There had been no disaffection and the son had left on a call that ended up being a false call.
The men Josselin had sold his business to were faithfully meeting the terms, thriving, and appreciative of Josselin. Neighbors, if they knew the Josselins, spoke of them as good people, and from what Maigret can discover, they were good people themselves. As far as he can tell, everyone around René Josselin were good people, and yet Josselin had been murdered.
Then puzzling, stubborn facts emerge. Madame Josselin and her daughter Veronique do not seem entirely forthcoming. The motive obviously was not robbery but there was one other thing missing--a key to a room in the servant quarters, a room that had been empty but occupied the night of the murder. Another dead end. The fingerprints did not match any known criminal. Then there is the restaurateur who witnessed the same individual meeting both Monsieur or Madame Josselin right before the murder.
Maigret knows there is a killer out there. He struggles with caring for grieving people and the need to discover what they are hiding. Who could possibly had a motive to kill Monsieur Josselin?
I had watched several adaptations of Simenon's novels on Mystery. I found that like many of the detectives I enjoyed the most, Inspector Maigret was both a gentleman and a thinker, careful not to jump to conclusions but willing to pursue his intuitions. Simenon unfolds a story of step by step investigation, deliberate without being plodding, that moves steadily toward a conclusion, one that we didn't see coming until it arrived. A good story about good people--and a killer. Kudos to Penguin Classics for reissuing this series!
René Josselin has been found dead in his apartment, seated in his favorite chair, two bullets to the heart, fired from his own pistol, missing from his apartment. His wife and daughter had been out at the theatre, witnessed by the people who sat behind them. His son-in-law, a devoted physician, had stopped by earlier in the evening for their favorite pastime, a game of chess. There had been no disaffection and the son had left on a call that ended up being a false call.
The men Josselin had sold his business to were faithfully meeting the terms, thriving, and appreciative of Josselin. Neighbors, if they knew the Josselins, spoke of them as good people, and from what Maigret can discover, they were good people themselves. As far as he can tell, everyone around René Josselin were good people, and yet Josselin had been murdered.
Then puzzling, stubborn facts emerge. Madame Josselin and her daughter Veronique do not seem entirely forthcoming. The motive obviously was not robbery but there was one other thing missing--a key to a room in the servant quarters, a room that had been empty but occupied the night of the murder. Another dead end. The fingerprints did not match any known criminal. Then there is the restaurateur who witnessed the same individual meeting both Monsieur or Madame Josselin right before the murder.
Maigret knows there is a killer out there. He struggles with caring for grieving people and the need to discover what they are hiding. Who could possibly had a motive to kill Monsieur Josselin?
I had watched several adaptations of Simenon's novels on Mystery. I found that like many of the detectives I enjoyed the most, Inspector Maigret was both a gentleman and a thinker, careful not to jump to conclusions but willing to pursue his intuitions. Simenon unfolds a story of step by step investigation, deliberate without being plodding, that moves steadily toward a conclusion, one that we didn't see coming until it arrived. A good story about good people--and a killer. Kudos to Penguin Classics for reissuing this series!
October 5, 2011
Il fatto sta tutto nell’omicidio di un uomo perbene dell’alta borghesia parigina; sua moglie è una donna discreta e poco incline ai pettegolezzi, sua figlia è cresciuta coccolata e ha sposato un medico serio. Tutti sospettati, ma nessun è indagato perchè tutti sono personaggi con una vita abitudinaria e trasparente. Non c’è l’assassino da nessuna parte. Ogni buon ragionamento non torna. Intorno all’omicidio solo persone perbene.
Ma Maigret non si persuadeva e rischiava d’impazzire. Arrivò a provare un distinto senso di fastidio perchè chiunque interrogasse gli scatenava addirittura un margine di senso di colpa e nulla sembrava trovare un senso. Sarà giusto interrogarlo? E’ corretto riversare dei sospetti sulla tale persona? Si guardava intorno sentendo pure gli sguardi dubbiosi dei suoi colleghi e una volta, senza che nessuno gli avesse veramente rivolto alcuna domanda, esclamò quasi vergognandosene: “Era necessario!”
Mentre leggevo questo caso di Maigret stavo per lanciare il libro in aria: non mi piaceva. Poi sono arrivata alla scena dove i protagonisti sono usciti dalle pagine, si sono accomodati nel mio salotto e hanno iniziato a recitare lì. Maigret interroga un’insospettabile e l’interrogatorio, in base alle convenzioni e all’etichetta, sembra sconveniente. Mi sono ritrovata a voltare gli occhi da un’altra parte per l’imbarazzo. Sentivo la tensione, guardavo Maigret che voleva risolvere una volta e per tutte, ma non c’era verso di sbrogliare la matassa. Tutti troppo perbene.
Maigret e le persone perbene è una storia quasi senza svolgimento d’azione. Finchè l’azione non genera se stessa. Simenon come un antropologo vorace, un archeologo delle patologie del vivere. Le persone perbene rimangono immobili nella loro condizione perchè il minimo spostamento d’aria genererebbe mostri della memoria.
Ma Maigret non si persuadeva e rischiava d’impazzire. Arrivò a provare un distinto senso di fastidio perchè chiunque interrogasse gli scatenava addirittura un margine di senso di colpa e nulla sembrava trovare un senso. Sarà giusto interrogarlo? E’ corretto riversare dei sospetti sulla tale persona? Si guardava intorno sentendo pure gli sguardi dubbiosi dei suoi colleghi e una volta, senza che nessuno gli avesse veramente rivolto alcuna domanda, esclamò quasi vergognandosene: “Era necessario!”
Mentre leggevo questo caso di Maigret stavo per lanciare il libro in aria: non mi piaceva. Poi sono arrivata alla scena dove i protagonisti sono usciti dalle pagine, si sono accomodati nel mio salotto e hanno iniziato a recitare lì. Maigret interroga un’insospettabile e l’interrogatorio, in base alle convenzioni e all’etichetta, sembra sconveniente. Mi sono ritrovata a voltare gli occhi da un’altra parte per l’imbarazzo. Sentivo la tensione, guardavo Maigret che voleva risolvere una volta e per tutte, ma non c’era verso di sbrogliare la matassa. Tutti troppo perbene.
Maigret e le persone perbene è una storia quasi senza svolgimento d’azione. Finchè l’azione non genera se stessa. Simenon come un antropologo vorace, un archeologo delle patologie del vivere. Le persone perbene rimangono immobili nella loro condizione perchè il minimo spostamento d’aria genererebbe mostri della memoria.
December 10, 2012
E’ stato uno dei pochi polizieschi in cui ho intuito come potessero essersi svolti i fatti parecchio prima di arrivare alla fine. Per me è un vero traguardo, non sono intuitiva e normalmente giungo alla fine del giallo senza aver capito quasi niente. Invece questo Maigret si svolge in modo lineare e lascia intuire, dopo un iniziale stallo e anche fastidio da parte del commissario, chi possa aver ucciso il signor Josselin, un pensionato parigino benestante, che trascorre le sue giornate come ogni pensionato che si rispetti: passeggiate mattutine, acquisto del giornale, spesa nei negozi vicino casa, una birra alla brasserie più vicina, e la sera in poltrona. Chi può volere la morte, con due pallottole sparate da una pistola che l’uomo teneva in casa da anni, di una persona così per bene, tranquilla e abitudinaria, con una moglie, una figlia ed un genero medico pediatra, un marito, padre e nonno affettuoso?
Maigret durante l’indagine si infastidisce: è appena tornato dalle vacanze con la moglie, la ripresa del lavoro è lenta perché sembra ancora estate a Parigi, molti sono ancora in vacanza, e poi … lui è insofferente alle persone “perbene”, che pare non abbiano segreti o misteri nelle loro vite, quelle persone che non ci si sognerebbe mai di vedere invischiate in vicende torbide.
“Sono proprio le persone per bene quelle che ci fanno penare di più”.
Maigret durante l’indagine si infastidisce: è appena tornato dalle vacanze con la moglie, la ripresa del lavoro è lenta perché sembra ancora estate a Parigi, molti sono ancora in vacanza, e poi … lui è insofferente alle persone “perbene”, che pare non abbiano segreti o misteri nelle loro vite, quelle persone che non ci si sognerebbe mai di vedere invischiate in vicende torbide.
“Sono proprio le persone per bene quelle che ci fanno penare di più”.
October 25, 2021
“It’s the good people who give us the most trouble.” — Maigret
***
The title of this one has always misled me. I read it as “the people of Montparnasse”, ignoring the word “good” as merely an affectation. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, it’s Montparnasse that is almost irrelevant, as “good people” is the refrain throughout the book.
All people have secrets, but it is the “good people” who are more invested in keeping theirs. In this case, the “good people” are a well-off family in Montparnasse to whom the unthinkable has happened: the patriarch has been murdered in his own sitting room with his own gun while his wife was at the theatre with their daughter. The daughter’s husband, a busy pediatrician, had spent part of the evening playing chess with his father-in-law, but was called away suddenly to see a sick child (in what turned out to be a dubious situation). On returning from the theatre, the women discover the dead man.
Maigret works the case in his usual way (hint, part of it involves drinking beer in a nearby bistro), and quickly determines that all is not as it seems with this family, especially the high-strung wife. As with most of these cases, we learn the story as Maigret learns it, without foreshadowing or planted clues. Simenon is all about psychology. Recommended.
***
The title of this one has always misled me. I read it as “the people of Montparnasse”, ignoring the word “good” as merely an affectation. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, it’s Montparnasse that is almost irrelevant, as “good people” is the refrain throughout the book.
All people have secrets, but it is the “good people” who are more invested in keeping theirs. In this case, the “good people” are a well-off family in Montparnasse to whom the unthinkable has happened: the patriarch has been murdered in his own sitting room with his own gun while his wife was at the theatre with their daughter. The daughter’s husband, a busy pediatrician, had spent part of the evening playing chess with his father-in-law, but was called away suddenly to see a sick child (in what turned out to be a dubious situation). On returning from the theatre, the women discover the dead man.
Maigret works the case in his usual way (hint, part of it involves drinking beer in a nearby bistro), and quickly determines that all is not as it seems with this family, especially the high-strung wife. As with most of these cases, we learn the story as Maigret learns it, without foreshadowing or planted clues. Simenon is all about psychology. Recommended.
March 9, 2014
I've read maybe a half-dozen of the Maigret books. They each ostensibly derserve about as many stars as Maigret has drinks, or maybe the square root of the number of drinks. Slow, steady, repeating gray frames for stories with little whiffs of suspense keeping things just above ground. Inertia solves every mystery, which is why the French do not get so worked up about irony the way young Americans do. The more sitting down a Maigret novel has the better.
February 18, 2020
another book that started out well but ended below par. i am beginning to think i will enjoy Maigret more on TV than in the translated printed form.
on the plus side, most of the books seem to be small and easy to read in a day. perfect when you want to indulge in some crime fiction or as an aeroplane or holiday read
on the plus side, most of the books seem to be small and easy to read in a day. perfect when you want to indulge in some crime fiction or as an aeroplane or holiday read
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