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A Man's Head (Inspector Maigret Mysteries)

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That is the cry when the condemned convict Joseph Huertin escapes from death row in a Parisian jail. Huertin had been tried and convicted of the brutal murder of a rich American widow and her maid. This escape would ordinarily be one for famed Inspector Maigret to investigate. However, it turns out that it was Maigret who placed the escape in motion. Maigret, who arrested Huertin in the first instance, has had doubts about his guilt. Huertin's mental skills are minimal but he didn't strike Maigret as someone, in the absence of any possible motive, who could plan and execute such a brutal pair of murders. Maigret has arranged for Huertin to escape in the hopes that Huertin will lead Maigret to the real killer.

For those not familiar with his work Georges Simenon was the author of over 100 Inspector Maigret mystery stories. They were immensely popular in the 1930s through the 1960s. Inspector Maigret stories also appeared in film and TV version. Simenon and Maigret seem to have fallen under the radar in recent decades but in recent years he seems to have been rediscovered by a new generation of mystery/detective story fans. Penguin Books has begun to reissue some of those Maigret mysteries and the New York Review of Books Press has reissued some of his `hard stories', stories that did not feature Inspector Maigret. Simenon's Inspector Maigret Mystery, "A Man's Head" was an exciting book that lived up to the expectations of its opening chapter.

"A Man's Head" does not stray from the 20th-century detective formula. There is a murder or series of murders, a number of possible suspects, and a detective or investigator tasked with putting the pieces together and solving the crime. So fans of the detective genre will find the form and structure of the book `comfortable'. In this instance, Maigret traipses around Paris and environs on Huertin's tail while finding clues and resisting pressure from the press and his superiors to solve the case quickly. The story line progresses rapidly (the book is relatively brief at 170 pages) until a final resolution has been reached.

What sets Simenon's Maigret stories apart from those of his contemporaries is the character of Maigret and down to earth settings of the stories. Maigret is not a character that is revealed to the reader immediately. Simenon doesn't set about to provide you with a character map to Maigret's personality in any one book. Rather, he grows on you over time. He has an innate disdain for higher authority that is appealing. Simenon's settings and other characters also add a dash to his Maigret mysteries. These are not parlor room mysteries where the reader has to determine which upper-class member of the gentry (or the butler) committed murder most foul in the library. Simenon's stories have the feel of grit and the demimonde about them that adds a bit of spice to the `formula'.

Simenon's Inspector Maigret mysteries are a treat to read and should be enjoyed by anyone who likes the detective genre. L. Fleisig

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.

Note: A number of the Miagret books have been published under duplicate names. This book was also published As Maigret's War of Nerves. It would be useful if someone put together a definitive list of these duplicate titles.

Good mysteries, written better than most. IF you are a mystery reader (or Francophile) and haven't tried the pleasures of Georges Simenon, you have a lot to look forward to.

PLUS my books arrived fast and in excellent condition.

Rich

Trivia: Several times in the book, the William Desmond Taylor murder is referred to. In one such instance, a magazine article on the Taylor case is quoted, although the specific source is not cited in the book. The article quoted is "I Know Who Killed Desmond Taylor" by Ed. C. King, in True Detective Mysteries, Oct. 1930, which has been reprinted in Taylorology #50.

Maigret does an audacious thing at the beginning of this book. He arranges for a condemned man to escape from his cell.

All the evidence points to the man's guilt, yet Maigret does not believe the simple fellow can be guilty of viciously stabbing to death a rich old lady and her companion. He didn't even know the victims, and he stole nothing from them.

What diabolical puppeteer is hiding behind the scenes, plotting events, contriving scenes and pulling everyone's strings?

This Maigret mystery is a fascinating study of how the warped personality of a killer can get under the skin of the investigator.

Simenon thought a novel should be concise enough to read in one sitting. I suggest reading A Man's Head in one sitting if you can, to experience fully the mounting tension of tracking down the killer.