Madame Maigret's Own Case [Paperback]

Georges Simenon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1991

On Rue de Turenne, two human teeth are found in the old furnace of a Flemish bookbinder, who is taken into custody. A neighboring shoemaker is willing to talk, but his stories vary with each trip he makes to the local tavern. The case seems impossibly perplexing until Madame Maigret leaves her kitchen to offer her husband able assistance. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chief Inspector Maigret remains in remarkably good humor tackling this knotty case involving a Belgian emigre bookbinder accused of burning a body in his furnace. The protracted search for evidence beyond the teeth found in the furnace and a blood-stained suit follows the arrival of spring in Paris, which finds Mme. Maigret befriending a woman in a white hat and the little boy she watches in the Place d'Anvers. When it turns out they are connected to her husband's case, Mme. Maigret herself begins to sleuth, tracking down the milliner who made the woman's hat. The ensuing complications involve an ambitious young attorney hoping to make a name for himself from the case, a circus acrobat turned con man, an elderly Italian countess and the leak of information from the Police Judiciare via the sister of a young policeman. Published in France in 1950, this tale is looser in plot than other Maigret mysteries, but, like them, displays Simenon's convincing evocation of his hero's world.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Maigret...ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals." -People

"Simenon is ... in a class by himself." -The New Yorker

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (October 31, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156551063
• ISBN-13: 978-0156551069
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,041,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maigret Gets a Little Help from Madame, July 31, 2010

By 

Douglas S. Wood "Vicarious Life" (Monona, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Madame Maigret's Own Case (Paperback)

If you don't know Maigret and you like detective stories, then you are in for a treat - or about 76 treats because that's how many Maigret novels the prolific Georges Simenon published. (I take this number from an excellent essay in the Times Literary Supplement about Simenon by Paul Theroux called "Georges Simenon, the existential hack". The essay is available online.) As with many of the Maigret stories, this one is also published under another name, The Friend of Madame Maigret (Inspector Maigret Mysteries).

Maigret is a seasoned French chief inspector of detectives with an eye for human foibles and a distinct humanism about his policing. Some lists include this title as one of the best of Maigret. Personally, I haven't found much to choose between them - as long as they are primarily set in Paris. Don't be put off by the title (either title). Madame Maigret's role, while key, is also collateral. She provides some crucial information, but Jules really does the work along with his crew of Lucas, Janvier and a very young La Pointe.

Highly recommended.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I like them all, July 12, 2007

By 

Laurel "Laurel" (Chicago, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Madame Maigret's Own Case (Paperback)

I am reading all of Maigret..I like Simenon's writing style..Especially the description that makes you experience Paris..No "clouds like cotton", etc...just blends right into the story..Always a full plot to bring you along.