Just Finished Reading: The Late Monsieur Gallet by Georges Simenon (FP: 1931) [155pp] 

It was just a matter of luck – good or bad he had yet to decide. The King of Spain was visiting Paris, passing through really, and Inspector Maigret was the only one available for this rather seedy and seemingly straightforward case. At least it would get him out of the office and away from the sweltering city streets. On arrival at the scene of the crime – the Hotel de la Loire in Sancerre – his initial assessment was that something distinctly ‘odd’ had occurred. The victim, a travelling salesman and a regular at the hotel, had been shot AND stabbed without anyone seeing or hearing any kind of confrontation. Maigret considered, for a few moments, the possibility that it was a suicide, but the absence of the gun quashed that idea. So, murder it was. Then, almost immediately, things moved from simply odd to downright strange. When the Inspectors requests for information came back any kind of certainty had vanished. The dead man's name was a false one, as was his profession. He had, in fact, been leading a double life for years unknown to his family. But who leads such a life to stay in a hotel room and, seemingly, do nothing. There was no other woman involved, that was certain. So why the deception and why would anyone want to kill him for it? It would seem that the late Monsieur Gallet would need to answer quite a few questions before the investigation was over. It was such a shame that he was quite dead... 

This was my second Inspector Maigret outing. Whilst the first book revolved around a fairly complex crime, this was at least on the face of things a much simpler affair. The style of the writing was quite sublime and, as I thought numerous times, VERY French! Maigret himself is a wonderful character. He doesn’t say very much and seems, from an outside perspective, not particularly bright. But his mind, the way he weighs possibilities, the way he circles back to problems, the way he asks just the right question and just the right time and to just the right person is a delight to be a part of. He’s also relentless. If something can be found out, he’ll find it! Despite being (again) a very short novel this felt much longer – and in a very good way. I expect that was because it was just so immersive. You really felt you were with the Inspector as he walked the streets of Sancerre chatting to the locals and the Hotel manager about events in the village. Of the around 8-10 main characters all of them were well drawn and believable. Although at least some of the plot depended on a historical thread running through French life and culture – which the contemporary French readership would’ve been most familiar with – I did know enough about French history to understand it. But for modern readers not familiar with those ideas it's safe to simply recognise it as a plot point and move on – it’s not central to the overall narrative. To be honest I can’t fault this book in the least. I fell into it almost from the first line and emerged a few days later as if I’d spent a few weeks in France during a hot dry summer. As you might be able to tell by now, I LOVED every minute of the experience. I may not be able to read all 75 Maigret novels (!), but I’m going to try for the first 20 or so. HIGHLY recommended to all classic crime and French literature fans.  

Translated from the French by Anthea Bell