Maigret is cajoled out of retirement by a case involving an old classmate in book twenty-six of the new Penguin Maigret series. All that was still unclear, for sure. Ernest Malik had been right when he had looked at Maigret with a smile that was a mixture of sarcasm and contempt. This wasn't a case for him. He was out of his depth.
'Acute psychological insight and a distinctive, spare, atmospheric style ... Simenon ought to be spoken of in the same breath as Camus, Beckett and Kafka' Independent on Sunday
In this classic novel, a dramatic case unfolds while Inspector Maigret is visiting colleagues in America
'The FBI man was convinced, in short, that Maigret was a big shot in his own country but that here, in the United States, he was incapable of figuring out anything'
Inspector Maigret is touring the United States to observe American policing methods, when a visit to a troubling coroner's inquest in Arizona sparks a fascination with the story of a young girl and five airmen in the desert.
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century' Guardian
'Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend' Boyd Tonkin, The Times
Praise for Georges Simenon:“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” —
The Guardian “These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself.” —
The Washington Post “Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals.” —
People “I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” —William Faulkner
“The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature.” —André Gide
“A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness.” —
The Independent (London)
“Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales.” —
The Observer (London)
“Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.” —John Gray
“A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable—lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates.” —Muriel Spark
“A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it.”lle —Peter Ackroyd
“Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” —John Banville
