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Inspector Maigret #short stories
The Short Cases of Inspector Maigret
In this intriguing collection are five of the great Inspector Maigret's shorter cases---appearing for the first time in book form. From the clatter and tumult of metropolitan Paris to the small villages of provincial France, these five adventures present an authentic and colorful picture of middle-class French life. And through them all moves the great sleuth himself---"slow, heavy, plodding, tormented, of inexhaustible patience, inextinguishable persistence"---who, whether he is holding a vicious killer at bay or pondering his latest lead in a peaceful bistro, remains one of the world's most formidable detectives. The five cases gathered here are:
Maigret's Christmas
Journey Backward into Time
Stan the Killer
The Old Lady of Bayeux
The Most Obstinate Man in Paris
Scene: France
These stories have appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
-from jacket flap
Maigret's Christmas
Journey Backward into Time
Stan the Killer
The Old Lady of Bayeux
The Most Obstinate Man in Paris
Scene: France
These stories have appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
-from jacket flap
188 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
About the author
Georges Simenon
2,623 books2,379 followersGeorges Joseph Christian Simenon (1903 – 1989) was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known as the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.
Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.
He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain.
During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)).
Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981).
In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.
In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.
Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life.
Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.
He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain.
During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)).
Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981).
In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.
In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 17, 2026
Maigret's Christmas
This entire story is set on Christmas Day and Maigret barely leaves his home. OK, so he's gone for an hour to talk to Colette and to see Madame Martin's apartment. But that's it. Do we even know what crime is being investigated? No, we do not. We expect murder mysteries in this series and yet there is no body.
This is the longest of the included stories in the collection. I look forward to seeing what truly short stories are like!
Journey Backward into Time
A short, short story. The town has seemingly been stuck in the 19th Century. This was not my favorite.
Stan the Killer
Rewarded from the previous by this, my favorite. Maigret's men have been on a stake out for nearly 2 weeks. Janvier is performing the duties of a waiter while Lucas was disguised as an old man. They are watching a gang holed up in a hotel who they believe has been committing murders on farmers away from Paris. In the meantime, a man calling himself Ozep approaches Maigret saying he knows the gang, and please, arrest them.
Such a good, good story.
The Old Lady of Bayeux
Young Maigret finds himself in Caen. A young woman insists her employer has been murdered, despite the medical examiner saying it was a heart attack. There is a novel Maigret's First Case, but this one ends by saying Maigret made his name on this one. The novel was written first, but did Simenon have this one tucked away? In any case, this was almost as much a favorite as Stan the Killer.
The Most Obstinate Man in Paris
The final story of the collection was mostly the lead up to the crime. And yet, we're not sure, even at the end, who was the perpetrator. Oh, Georges Simenon! How could you leave us wondering?
___
I ordered a physical copy of this and was quite pleased with the condition. But almost as soon as I began turning the pages, the old and brittle glue had the pages disengaging from the spine. Oh, yes it did except when it held the pages firm and then the somewhat brittle pages tore where they were attached to the spine. And by the end, I had to be careful turning the pages else one would fall to the floor.
I cannot pass this on, but I hope any who love Maigret as I do will find a copy. This isn't 5-stars, but nearly so.
This entire story is set on Christmas Day and Maigret barely leaves his home. OK, so he's gone for an hour to talk to Colette and to see Madame Martin's apartment. But that's it. Do we even know what crime is being investigated? No, we do not. We expect murder mysteries in this series and yet there is no body.
This is the longest of the included stories in the collection. I look forward to seeing what truly short stories are like!
Journey Backward into Time
A short, short story. The town has seemingly been stuck in the 19th Century. This was not my favorite.
Stan the Killer
Rewarded from the previous by this, my favorite. Maigret's men have been on a stake out for nearly 2 weeks. Janvier is performing the duties of a waiter while Lucas was disguised as an old man. They are watching a gang holed up in a hotel who they believe has been committing murders on farmers away from Paris. In the meantime, a man calling himself Ozep approaches Maigret saying he knows the gang, and please, arrest them.
Such a good, good story.
The Old Lady of Bayeux
Young Maigret finds himself in Caen. A young woman insists her employer has been murdered, despite the medical examiner saying it was a heart attack. There is a novel Maigret's First Case, but this one ends by saying Maigret made his name on this one. The novel was written first, but did Simenon have this one tucked away? In any case, this was almost as much a favorite as Stan the Killer.
The Most Obstinate Man in Paris
The final story of the collection was mostly the lead up to the crime. And yet, we're not sure, even at the end, who was the perpetrator. Oh, Georges Simenon! How could you leave us wondering?
___
I ordered a physical copy of this and was quite pleased with the condition. But almost as soon as I began turning the pages, the old and brittle glue had the pages disengaging from the spine. Oh, yes it did except when it held the pages firm and then the somewhat brittle pages tore where they were attached to the spine. And by the end, I had to be careful turning the pages else one would fall to the floor.
I cannot pass this on, but I hope any who love Maigret as I do will find a copy. This isn't 5-stars, but nearly so.
October 2, 2024
Half the fun of any Maigret story is tracking his boozing. I counted eight drinks in the course of one afternoon "investigating", and this is not remarked upon as in any way unusual 😅
February 16, 2016
Another detective who uses his powers of deduction to solve cases, however unlike Hercules, he is not boastful nor egocentric. He is a warm man (I learned this in the first story when he agrees to "foster" a young child caught up in a crime in order to make his wife happy), his stories follow his progress from step one until the end, he is meticulous in his descriptions, there is no desire to subterfuge the reader into making false assessments, and the Paris & other areas in which he works are filled w/ real people.
It has taken me over 30 years to read a Maigret book..... I thoroughly enjoyed the stories, they were interesting, filled w/ human characterization, and easy to read. I even figured out "who done it" in three of the stories..... I will definitely be reading more of the series and I might look into adding replacement copies to the Library's holdings.
Unfortunately for me, this was on my list for the Christmas portion of the Fall Flurry Challenge.... but as it is due back in 2 weeks, I decided to read it now.
It has taken me over 30 years to read a Maigret book..... I thoroughly enjoyed the stories, they were interesting, filled w/ human characterization, and easy to read. I even figured out "who done it" in three of the stories..... I will definitely be reading more of the series and I might look into adding replacement copies to the Library's holdings.
Unfortunately for me, this was on my list for the Christmas portion of the Fall Flurry Challenge.... but as it is due back in 2 weeks, I decided to read it now.
September 10, 2025
Short mysteries translated from French, featuring the justifiably famous police inspector Maigret. Many of them read more like police procedurals than mysteries, but the procedures are generally informed by extraordinary mystery-solving.
June 27, 2025
This is a collections of stories regarding French Inspector Maigret. They are an entertaining collection of stories.
March 10, 2026
Maigret's Christmas--3
Journey backward into time--2
Stan the killer --2
The old lady of Bayeux (aka The Bayeux murder)--3
The most obstinate man in Paris--3
***
Crime in the Rue Sainte-Catherine (aka The evidence of the altar boy) --3
Inspector Maigret deduces (aka Jeumont: 51 minutes' wait) --2
Inspector Maigret directs (aka Under the hammer) --2
Inspector Maigret hesitates --2
Inspector Maigret pursues (aka The man on the run) --3
Madame Maigret's admirer (aka The stronger vessel) --3
Maigret thinks (aka Dead man's barge, aka Two bodies on a barge) --3
Storm over the Channel --3
Journey backward into time--2
Stan the killer --2
The old lady of Bayeux (aka The Bayeux murder)--3
The most obstinate man in Paris--3
***
Crime in the Rue Sainte-Catherine (aka The evidence of the altar boy) --3
Inspector Maigret deduces (aka Jeumont: 51 minutes' wait) --2
Inspector Maigret directs (aka Under the hammer) --2
Inspector Maigret hesitates --2
Inspector Maigret pursues (aka The man on the run) --3
Madame Maigret's admirer (aka The stronger vessel) --3
Maigret thinks (aka Dead man's barge, aka Two bodies on a barge) --3
Storm over the Channel --3
February 6, 2026
I enjoyed this set of stories. Some were especially interesting and some had good endings. Maigret is a unique detective. I knew I'd like this. I liked this more the fourth time I read it.
Want to Read
January 24, 2019Synopsis: here are five short stories that demonstrate the style of Jules Maigret as he solves terrible crimes in and near the French capital.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews