Some Corpses Deserve Everything They Get Maigret and the Headless Corpse by Georges Simenon is (depending on who is counting) the 47th of 75 Maigret novels. Shrewd detection by Maigret and characterisation by Simenon. Get a Copy ★★★★ Synopsis A barge travelling up Canal Saint-Martin into central Paris bottomed out as it entered the basin by the Quai de Jemmapes. The barge was overloaded, and the water level was unseasonably low. A small crowd of onlookers materialised as the barge churned up silt from the bottom of the canal, trying to enter the lock. Then the propeller stopped with a clashing of gears. It had jammed on something. Cursing to themselves, the boatmen fished about with barge poles, trying to … [Read more...] about Maigret and the Headless Corpse
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Georges Simenon
Recommended Reading Three of Georges Simenon's books to try: Get a Copy Maigret and the Headless Corpse: Commissaire Maigret sets about the case in his characteristically unhurried manner. The (depending on who is counting) 47th of 75 Maigret novels. (Review) ★★★★ Get a Copy The Stain on the Snow: One of Simenon's "romans durs" or hard novels. Horrific cruelty and pointless, inexplicable violence. Not for the faint-hearted. (Notes) Get a Copy My Friend Maigret: Maigret teams up with Inspector Pyke of Scotland Yard. The 31st and many argue the best Maigret. It has been televised twice. (Notes) Image by Erling Mandelmann Biography Georges Simenon was born in … [Read more...] about Georges Simenon
My Friend Maigret
Notes My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon is the 31st, and some argue the best Maigret. It features a sun-drenched Mediterranean island and a detective from Scotland Yard who has been to see what he can learn from Maigret's painstaking observation of people. The book has been televised twice. Get a Copy Publisher's Synopsis Inspector Maigret investigates the murder of a small-time crook on a Mediterranean island While Inspector Pyke of Scotland Yard is staying with Maigret to observe his methods, Maigret receives word of a murder in the Midi on the island of Porquerolles. The victim is Marcellin, a man who claims to have been Maigret’s friend but was actually a criminal whose girlfriend, a sex worker, … [Read more...] about My Friend Maigret
The Incredulity of Father Brown
Miss Marple Meets Scooby-Doo The Incredulity of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton is a collection of short stories in which Father Brown reveals the identities of eight murderers, including his own. Interesting as a slice of early 20th Century crime fiction, though far too preachy for my taste. Get a Copy ★ Synopsis In the last story, "The Ghost of Gideon Wise", three millionaire businessmen are killed in their homes. They had been plotting to destroy the "Bolshevik" trade unions, and the unionists fought back. Then one of the murdered men returns from the grave as a ghostly apparition. Was he ever dead, and what happened to his two co-conspirators? Father Brown uncovers the truth using flashes of intellect and … [Read more...] about The Incredulity of Father Brown
The Stain on the Snow
Notes The Stain on the Snow by Georges Simenon is a story of horrific cruelty and pointless, senseless, inexplicable violence. It has its fans... "I read this only a year or so ago and was blown away by it. If you only know Simenon for his Maigret novels, this may come as a revelation. It is the chilling account of a venal young man in second world war France who is eventually imprisoned by the Nazis. We start off despising him and end up rooting for him." ~ Ian Rankin One of Simenon's romans durs, not to be confused with his Inspector Maigret series. Get a Copy Publisher's Synopsis At nineteen, Frank Friedmaier is a thief, pimp and murderer. He has never known his father, his mother keeps a brothel. … [Read more...] about The Stain on the Snow