The 20th book in the Maigret series was published 8 years after its predecessor.  There had been ten Maigrets in their debut year, 1931, seven in in 1932, two in 1933, and one in 1934. Then this 8 year gap for some reason that is unclear to me.  Must read Simenon’s memoir or a biography to figure that one out.

At any rate, this fine jewel of a book finds our intrepid Chief Inspector exiled from Paris where the Paris police are being reorganized with the merger of the Police Judiciare and the Surete.  For some unstated reason, Maigret has fallen afoul of the authorities and despite his role as Chief Inspector, he has been exiled to Lucon, a rural backwater, where we find him playing pool and cards with the locals and stewing about his downfall.  Just when it looks like Maigret will be sidelined forever, an old woman (Simenon loves these old busybodies who show up in her office unannounced and serve as the intro to many of Maigret’s cases with a request or an observation) arrives with the story of a dead body lying on the floor of her neighbor’s house in a coastline hamlet not far from Lucon.

Maigret spends the next week in the small town learning its ways, walking around the harbor, talking with its inhabitants and doing what he does best—- trying to understand the backstory and mind set that has led someone to commit murder.  It’s a long story that he untangles and, as always,  ultimately identifies the murderer.  Unlike many Simenons, this one ends up with everyone in a neat package.  A good and quick read.

As an aside, when I went to Amazon to grab the image of the cover, there was a recent Penguin reissue version but also the 1978 version from Harcourt that was offered at $367.43 (what’s with the two decimal places???).  I had bought my copy of that edition at a used bookstore many, many years ago for a few dollars.  Who knew!