Synopses & Reviews
Three vintage Maigret novels by legendary mystery author Georges Simenon One of the world 's most successful crime writers, Georges Simenon has thrilled mystery lovers since 1931 with his matchless creation Inspector Maigret. In My Friend Maigret, Inspector Maigret investigates the murder of a small- time crook on a Mediterranean island. Told in Simenon's spare, unsentimental prose, Inspector Cadaver is a haunting exploration of provincial hypocrisy and snobbery, in which Maigret encounters a rival sleuth from his past. In Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard, Simenon's tenacious detective pieces together the life of a man who for three years lived a secret life-until he is found stabbed to death in an alleyway.
Review
"These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself."
-The Washington Post
"Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals."
-People
"Simenon created one of the great moral detectives . . . a master of the slow unfolding of the criminal mind."
-John Mortimer
"A writer who, more than any other crime novelist, combined a high literary reputation with popular appeal."
-P. D. James
"Simenon created some of the most enduring and compelling works of the twentieth century."
-Iain Pears
Review
Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals. (
People)
Simenon remains an incredibly expert, dry, and inventive storyteller; the spell is infallible. (V. S. Pritchett)
Simenon created one of the great moral detectives . . . a master of the slow unfolding of the criminal mind. (John Mortimer)
A truly wonderful writer, marvelously readableùlucid, simple, absolutely in tune with that world he creates. (Muriel Spark)
A writer who, more than any other crime novelist, combined a high literary reputation with popular appeal. (P. D. James)
Synopsis
A new translation of Georges Simenon's gripping novel set in an insular fishing community, book eight in the new Penguin Maigret series.
It was indeed a photograph, a picture of a woman. But the face was completely hidden, scribbled all over in red ink. Someone had tried to obliterate the head, someone very angry. The pen had bitten into the paper. There were so many criss-crossed lines that not a single square millimetre had been left visible. On the other hand, below the head, the torso had not been touched. A pair of large breasts. A light-coloured silk dress, very tight and very low cut.
Sailors don't talk much to other men, especially not to policemen. But after Captain Fallut's body is found floating near his trawler, they all mention the Evil Eye when they speak of the Ocean's voyage.
Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as The Sailors' Rendezvous.
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.' - John Gray
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.' - The Guardian
'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness.' - The Independent
Synopsis
"One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." --The GuardianIn this gripping novel set in an insular fishing community, Inspector Maigret must navigate an impenetrable subculture to solve a murder "It was indeed a photograph, a picture of a woman. But the face was completely hidden, scribbled all over in red ink. Someone had tried to obliterate the head, someone very angry. The pen had bitten into the paper. There were so many criss-crossed lines that not a single square millimetre had been left visible. On the other hand, below the head, the torso had not been touched. A pair of large breasts. A light-coloured silk dress, very tight and very low cut."
Sailors don't talk much to other men, especially not to policemen. But after Captain Fallut's body is found floating near his trawler, they all mention the Evil Eye when they speak of the Ocean's voyage.
Synopsis
"The matchless French crime novelist" -- Adam Gopnik, The New YorkerIn this gripping novel set in an insular fishing community, Inspector Maigret must navigate an impenetrable subculture to solve a murder "It was indeed a photograph, a picture of a woman. But the face was completely hidden, scribbled all over in red ink. Someone had tried to obliterate the head, someone very angry. The pen had bitten into the paper. There were so many criss-crossed lines that not a single square millimetre had been left visible. On the other hand, below the head, the torso had not been touched. A pair of large breasts. A light-coloured silk dress, very tight and very low cut."
Sailors don't talk much to other men, especially not to policemen. But after Captain Fallut's body is found floating near his trawler, they all mention the Evil Eye when they speak of the Ocean's voyage.
"One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." --The Guardian
Synopsis
'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves
It was indeed a photograph, a picture of a woman. But the face was completely hidden, scribbled all over in red ink. Someone had tried to obliterate the head, someone very angry. The pen had bitten into the paper. There were so many criss-crossed lines that not a single square millimetre had been left visible.
On the other hand, below the head, the torso had not been touched. A pair of large breasts. A light-coloured silk dress, very tight and very low cut.
Sailors don't talk much to other men, especially not to policemen. But after Captain Fallut's body is found floating near his trawler, they all mention the Evil Eye when they speak of the Ocean's voyage.
Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as The Sailors' Rendezvous.
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century' Guardian
'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent
Synopsis
"A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason." --John Le Carr In this gripping novel set in an insular fishing community, Inspector Maigret must navigate an impenetrable subculture to solve a murder "It was indeed a photograph, a picture of a woman. But the face was completely hidden, scribbled all over in red ink. Someone had tried to obliterate the head, someone very angry. The pen had bitten into the paper. There were so many criss-crossed lines that not a single square millimetre had been left visible. On the other hand, below the head, the torso had not been touched. A pair of large breasts. A light-coloured silk dress, very tight and very low cut."
Sailors don't talk much to other men, especially not to policemen. But after Captain Fallut's body is found floating near his trawler, they all mention the Evil Eye when they speak of the Ocean's voyage.
"One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." --The Guardian
Synopsis
Sailors don't talk much to other men, especially not to policemen. But after Captain Fallut's body is found floating near his trawler, they all mention the Evil Eye when they speak of the Ocean's voyage.
Featured the inimitable Inspector Maigret and written in the dark, grimly comic prose that Simenon is renowned for, A Crime In Holland will delight lifelong fans and new readers alike.
Synopsis
In
The Friend of Madame Maigret, Simenon?s economic prose brilliantly portrays the Marais quarter of Paris and those who haunt its narrow streets as Inspector Maigret attempts to prove that a murder has actually been committed without a corpse anywhere to be found. As the investigation becomes increasingly complex, seemingly unconnected characters are drawn into the case, and Maigret begins to wonder if his wife?s earlier strange encounter with a woman and her baby may be the missing link.
About the Author
Georges Simenon (19031989) was born in Liège, Belgium. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of more than four hundred novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe.
David Coward is a translator from French, whose translations include works by authors such as Alexandre Dumas, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, and the Marquis de Sade.