Maigret's War of Nerves [Paperback]

Georges Simenon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1989

These audiocassettes feature BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of four stories by Maigret creator Georges Simenon.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Expertly translated by Sainsbury, this novel remains as intensely absorbing as when it first appeared in 1939. Here again is Inspector Maigret, guided by humane feelings behind his stolid facade, putting himself at grave risk to arrange the escape of a condemned man from prison. Judged guilty and awaiting execution for the killing of a rich American woman, Mrs. Henderson, and her maid, Joseph Heurtin is innocent, as Maigret suspects. Unaware that the police have deliberately let him escape, Heurtin dodges about the streets, leading the inspector and his detectives to cafes where they observe their quarry's interest in Henderson's free-spending heir and the women with him, as well as Heurtin's concentration on a penniless, eccentric student. The results of Maigret's scheme are utterly unexpected. Without one unnecessary word, Simenon brings all the characters to life and keeps the reader engrossed right up to the shattering denouement.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

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

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (February 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380704137
• ISBN-13: 978-0380704132
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,679,780 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Notch Work by a Master of Mystery and Psychology, March 20, 2008

By 

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

This review is from: Maigret's War of Nerves (Hardcover)

Although not strictly speaking one of Georges Simenon's "psychological novels", Maigret's War of Nerves nonetheless explores the psychology of several characters. Detective Maigret arranges the `escape' from prison of a convicted killer that he helped put away in the first place. Maigret had become convinced of the defendant's guilt, but the evidence at trial had been overwhelming. In this 1940 work, Maigret places his well-established career at risk.

Maigret slowly unravels the mystery behind the true killer, but will it be enough to save the wrongly convicted man or Maigret's own reputation? Simenon leads the reader through an examination of the most basic and most extreme human motivations. Simenon wrote dozens of Maigret mysteries as well as other `romans durs'. Maigret's War of Nerves is one of his better efforts.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Same as "A Man's Head", July 16, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Maigret's War of Nerves (Paperback)

Be warned that this is the same book as A Man's Head with a different title. I'm submitting this mini review to help protect other readers from buying the same book twice. I myself am often caught by the title switch beloved of publishers.

Maigret takes a tremendous risk in this book by helping a condemned man escape from jail. In this way he gains time to find the real killer, a diabolical trickster whose mentality defies classification.

A Man's Head has a pleasant format, and it's available new at a reasonable price. So I'd recommend it over this edition. But whichever title you choose, you're in for an excellent Maigret.

5.0 out of 5 stars Simenon-Master of the Psychological Detective Story, March 19, 2004

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maigret's War of Nerves (Paperback)

The setting is Paris in the 1930's. A starving Czech medical student nurses his coffee and eats his yogurt in a fashionable Montmartre bar. A popular American socialite goes about his glamorous life unaware that the quiet man in the corner is planning his destruction. Enter Inspector Maigret, the taciturn and brilliant detective. Soon the high strung medical student and the deep thinking Maigret are engaged in a war of nerves.

There is just something special about Paris during the interwar years. It is a deep well from which many of the worlds great espionage and mystery writers have drawn. What makes Goerges Simenon's Maigret so special is that he is a contemporary. Maigret's Paris and the criminal world which he inhabits are drawn from Simenon's direct on the spot experience and not from the history books.