Maigret and the Old Lady (Inspector Maigret #33)

“Maigret and the Old Lady,” originally published in 1950 as “Maigret et la vieille dame,” is among the very best of the police procedurals wherein Commissaire Jules Maigret operates outside the confines of Paris. Author Georges Simenon has chosen a fishing village in Normandy to set a mystery that focuses on two families, one that of a once-wealthy widow and the other of her poisoned maid. The investigation lacks the teamwork of Maigret’s investigators in Paris, laboratory forensics, surveillance chases through the streets of the capital, and classic interrogations of suspects. Substituting are excellent descriptions of life and attitudes in a rural area and of the weather, with summer giving way to autumn and moons that are halo-ringed in mist. As I read “Maigret and the Old Lady,” I was repeatedly reminded of Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries featuring Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot. In this case, as in Christie’s books, the crime is solved by a solo investigator skilled in artful conversation and blessed with a deep knowledge of the human heart. Indeed, Maigret’s lengthy conversation with the daughter of the widow is so extraordinary that she even propositions him.

Like A Murder in Holland and The Flemish House, this is one of those stories in which someone induces Maigret to go by himself to some strange place to investigate a crime. The reader meets some interesting characters, but not as many as in Maigret’s best adventures. The real problem with this novel is that Maigret (and everybody else officially involved in the case, for that matter) has an obvious clue right at the start but seems unaware of its existence or significance. For that reason this is not the best introduction to Maigret–but his interactions with the eponymous old lady are fun.

exellent book. i suggest it to everybook. you should read it

I love all of the books from this series. This book was great to read for pleasure. It is a mystery.

Simenon’s character development is wonderful

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