When a dinner between Inspector Maigret and friends ends abruptly at the discovery of a body, the detective must plumb the darker side of human nature to discover what motivates a killer

Maigret and wife have always enjoyed their occasional dinners with Mr. and Mrs. Pardon on the Boulevard Voltaire. But one of the congenial meals is interrupted by a neighbor who has stumbled across the body of a young man in the nearby Rue Popincourt. Maigret answers the call with his friend Dr. Pardon, and their pleasant evening is quickly brought to an end by the commencement of a complicated murder case. And when a tape recorder is discovered on the victim's body, it only complicates matters.

Maigret's investigation leads to the discovery of another crime altogether and the fascinating story of the murdered man's life. Maigret and the Killer is a taut, engrossing mystery that shows off Georges Simenon's flair for creating complex characters with deeply human problems and his ability to make a senseless crime understandable.

Maigret's War of Nerves

by Georges Simenon

Published 1 January 1940


Maigret Sets a Trap

by Georges Simenon

Published January 1968
Five women have been found stabbed to death in the Montmatre district of Paris and the killer is still at large; desperate, angry and exhausted, Maigret sets a trap for the killer - with terrible consequences. Set in the cafes, bars and busy streets of Paris in a blazing heat wave, Maigret's nerve and judgement are tested to the full as he uncovers the grotesque logic of a folie à deux.

“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

When a gambler is discovered dead in his home, a coincidence at the scene sends Inspector Maigret down a twisted path of secrets and lies in search of a killer

Maigret receives an urgent call in the middle of the night from a doctor friend who says he has just treated a wealthy woman for a suspicious gunshot wound. Not long after, Maigret is called to the home of professional gambler, Felix Nahour, who has just been found by his chambermaid, shot dead. The inspector is shocked to find that he recognizes a photo of the man's wife, who quickly becomes his main suspect. All signs point to her guilt, but as he digs deeper, Maigret begins to infer there might be more to this complicated affair.

Suspenseful and terrifically sinister, Maigret and the Nahour Case is a masterful exploration of the twin passions of love and hate as they mingle in the shadowy mind of a criminal.


Maigret's Rival

by Georges Simenon

Published 1 January 1979

'His artistry is supreme' John Banville

'There was no lack of picturesque individuals in a neighbourhood like Quai de Valmy. But he had seldom encountered the kind of inertia he had seen in that woman. It was hard to explain. When most people look at you, there is some sort of exchange, however small. A contact is established, even if that contact is a kind of defiance.

With her, on the contrary, there was nothing.'

The discovery of a dismembered body in the Canal Saint Martin leads Maigret into a tangled, baffling case involving a taciturn bistro-owner and a mysterious inheritance.

'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian'


Maigret's Pipe

by Georges Simenon

Published 13 October 1977