Maigret and the Spinster [Paperback]

Georges Simenon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Helen and Kurt Wolff Books | Publication Date: April 21, 2003

A young woman who shares an apartment with an elderly aunt returns to police headquarters repeatedly to complain of strange shifts in the position of her furniture during the night. On a particularly busy day the Inspector puts her off just long enough for disaster to strike. Translated by Eileen Ellenbogen.

Maigret is a registered trademark of the Estate of Georges Simenon.

Editorial Reviews

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

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (April 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156028433
• ISBN-13: 978-0156028431
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #653,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great characters and two bewildering murders, December 5, 2009

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Blue in Washington "Barry Ballow" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Maigret and the Spinster (Paperback)

Georges Simenon's Maigret books are often more about the characters than the mysteries (often murders). "Maigret and the Spinster" is no exception in its exploration of the trials and tribulations of the extended Pardon family, a group with a depressing and sordid past that leads to a double murder. One of those murdered is a young woman who has been attempting, without much success, to convince Chief Inspector Maigret of the Police Judiciare of Paris that serious trouble is brewing within her family. When the trouble comes--the two murders--Maigret is heartsick that he ignored the woman's entreaties and sets out to solve the murders to pay back a perceived debt to her.

What Maigret gradually uncovers is a family history that is as base and sordid as some of Emile Zola's more unsavory characters (Therese Raquin comes to mind). "Maigret and the Spinster" is an entertaining story, evocative of Paris neighborhoods and middle-class life of the period (more or less the 1930s).

Enjoyable and recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An early Maigret - not his best, November 19, 2009

By 

John E. Drury "jedrury" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Maigret and the Spinster (Paperback)

This book was published in 1942 along with six other books written that year by Georges Simenon; two Maigrets and four novels. Simenon was living in Fontenay le Compte, a locale which figures in this book. It is an early Maigret novel showing the author still testing the Chief Superintendent's character, moods, his dream like analytical trances and the psychology of murderers. The confusing plot weakens in the middle and at the end when the reader is adrift to speculate on the suspect Charles Dandurand's fate. He relishes the twisted sex life of the wealthy dead spinster and her lover; much like his own. Simenon's real life distractions can be presumed; he was living in a castle in the Vendee, the Germans chopping at the fence posts, and his multi tiered personal life in temporary disarray. He, however, followed up this book with one of his strongest Maigret's roman policier, "Maigret and the Majestic Hotel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Simenon, July 11, 2005

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Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Maigret and the Spinster (Paperback)

Maigret and the Spinster was written in 1942, while Paris was occupied by the Germans. Although not dealing with the Occupation, Simenon paints a wonderful picture of a sordid apartment building and its creepy tenants. There is a wonderful noir feel to the book that would appeal to any fan of Alan Furst or Eric Ambler.

In a Maigret novel, there is almost no gun play or car chases. It is just Chief Inspector Maigret doing what he does best, using his knowledge of human psychology to figure out a complex mystery. Picture in your mind Jules Maigret in a heavy coat and bowler hat wandering the streets of Paris puzzling out a mystery while he smokes his pipe.

Georges Simenon wrote over 200 novels and more than 500 million copies of his books have been published worldwide. He was able to do this because like Alexandre Dumas he almost limitless imagination. If you have not read Simenon before, this is a good solid start.