Maigret and the Death of a Harbor-Master [Paperback]

Georges Simenon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 1989

The regularity of life in a quiet village on the English Channel is broken when the local harbor-master is murdered. Inspector Maigret, down from Paris, is on unfamiliar ground here as he plunges into the harborside gloom, searching for killer and motive. Translated by Stuart Gilbert.A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was born in Lie`ge, Belgium. As a young man he worked as a baker, journalist, and bookseller and published his first novel at seventeen. He went on to write more than two hundred novels, becoming one of the world's most prolific and bestselling authors. His books have sold more than 500 million copies and have been translated into fifty languages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; paperback / softback edition (October 16, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156551616
• ISBN-13: 978-0156551618
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Drath of A Harbor-Master, June 19, 2010

By 

Jane R. Thompson (philadelphia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Maigret and the Death of a Harbor-Master (Paperback)

Classic Maigret as he faces a wall of silence in a coastal port.
In trying to solve the inexplicable injuries to the Harbor-Master, Maigret is befriended by the denizens of the local tavern - sailors and locksmen - who enjoy his company and tell him nothing, despite the fact that they have most of the pieces of the puzzle.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sinister seamen guard a secret, May 30, 2009

By 

Patto (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Maigret and the Death of a Harbor-Master (Paperback)

Simenon was clearly drawn to obscure ports. He achieves the terse intensity of haiku with his offhand descriptions of busy locks, clanking winches and turbulent weather.

And in the fog-drenched atmosphere of this book, we encounter a bizarre mystery right from the start.

A middle-aged man is found wandering around Paris acting strangely. A wig falls off his head to reveal that a bullet has split his skull and been expertly patched! He can't talk, seems to have no memory of anything. He just smiles amiably!

Photos circulate to the papers and finally his chic young housekeeper Julie identifies him as Captain Joris, harbor-master of the little coastal town of Ouistreham.

And Maigret is off to Ouistreham with the Captain and Julie to solve the mystery of the Captain's strange condition. Shockingly, the Captain is murdered his first night home.

Wherever Maigret goes, and he goes everywhere, he encounters a conspiracy of silence. And he's quite certain everybody knows something.

The story is rich in astonishing scenes and strange behavior. I loved it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Who Would Kill an Amnesiac Who Was Mute, July 17, 2008

By 

Grey Wolffe "Zeb Kantrowitz" (North Waltham, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Maigret and the Death of a Harbor-Master (Paperback)

A man in nice clothing is found wandering around Paris. He is unable to speak and has a surgical scar under the wig he is wearing. There are no labels in his clothing and no identity papers in his pockets. After putting his picture in the paper, a woman arrives in Paris to tell Maigret that he is the Harbor-Master from a small town on the coast. She is his housekeeper, and he disappeared six weeks ago.

Maigret accompanies the two of them back to the little town on the coast, and on the first day home, someone poisons the Harbor-Master. The housekeeper is distraught and everyone else in town is silent. What is this all about? As always, Maigret will get to the bottom of this problem, but how will he get the stiff-necked Bretons to tell him what is going on?

Once again, Simenon shows his great capacity to help readers envision these Pre-WW2 towns on the fringes of France. His narrative and description of the people and their attitudes are as always and entre into a world that no longer exist.