Customer Reviews

Maigret Sets a Trap (A Harvest/Hbj Book)

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It's not dames, blazing guns, nor exploding fists. It's a battle of wits, stake outs and interrogations that set Inspector Maigret at the top of his profession in a series of 88 books written by Simenon between 1930 and 1972; books that led to movies and a TV series. A good case could be made that Simenon was the Arthur Conan Doyle of his day and Maigret his Sherlock Holmes. Written in 1955, "Trap" presents a Jack The Ripper style serial killer who has evaded police for five months while stabbing and killing a woman per month. Following an after dinner discussion with a psychiatrist, Maigret forms a plan to trap the villain. The plan is put in motion, and seems to work. But did it? There has been another killing and the Inspector is beside himself with guilt. This is a fast paced read of 170 pages that seem to turn themselves. In Maigret, Simenon has created an interesting, consistent character with human traits and foibles that lend a great deal of believability to the story. A good-sized step above pulp fiction, the Maigret books are a pleasant way to spend a few hours.

Georges Simenon's MAIGRET SETS A TRAP is my introduction to Inspector Maigret, it will not be my last. Simenon gives readers a flesh and blood character who keeps his cool.
Five women have been murdered and their isn't a clue as to their killer. The reporters are blocking the hallways to Maigret's office for news of the investigation, but there isn't any. Frustrations are high in the department, but no one can discover an answer though man-hours of dogged police work is piling up.
Insp. Maigret devises an elaborate trap to use the newspaper reports to net the killer.
This one has a fantastic twist, but you'll have to read the book.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.

The suprise ending makes you want to read more!

I intentionally picked a book that looked lightweight in order to get me back in the practice of reading earnestly, and this book certainly didn't disappoint as far as its lightweightedness is concerned.

I wanted something thin and not too difficult, but this doesn't mean I didn't want something emotionally and intellectually satisfying. It's a ho-hum mystery with not too much thrillings. Georges Simenon doesn't even make it very suspensful with who the killer is.

Maigret Sets A Trap isn't bad. It's just--plain. Something you could read in a couple of days, discard, and forget about immediately.

I'll tell you one thing: just be grateful your mother isn't like the lady in this one. I can see how the guy became a serial killer.