“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré
At a lavish dinner party, Inspector Maigret recounts the tale of an old case that has haunted him for years
At one of his friends’ frequent dinner parties, Maigret shares the story of a case from a few years back that haunts him to this day, in which a man named Adrien Josset was found guilty and was executed for the murder of his wife, Christine. Adrien had been a weak-willed, mild-mannered man, but Christine, who was much wealthier than he, had used her connections to land him an influential position in an important career. Maigret had interviewed Adrien only once when the examining magistrate took over the case and successfully moved to have him executed. But though all the clues pointed to Adrien’s guilt, Maigret remained unconvinced, and years later, he still doubts the murderer’s true identity.
Maigret’s Secret is a thought-provoking dive into the machinations of justice, and the ways in which they can sweep away an innocent man’s life.
Praise for Georges Simenon:
“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
“These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself.” —The Washington Post
“The matchless French crime novelist.” —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker
“Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals.” —People
“I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” —William Faulkner
“An astute observer of human nature, writing in a spare and vivid style.” —Amor Towles
“I never read contemporary fiction–with one exception: the works of Simenon.” —T.S. Eliot
“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré
“One of the most important writers of our century.” —Gabriel García Márquez
“A favorite writer of mine.” —Sigrid Nunez
“A great writer of detail, of atmosphere.” —Leïla Slimani
“Feels incredibly modern…A great writer.” —Ian Rankin
“The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature.” —André Gide
“Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales.” —The Observer (London)
“Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.” —John Gray
“A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable—lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates.” —Muriel Spark
“A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it.” —Peter Ackroyd
“Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” —John Banville
"Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor" ―Times (London)
"Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts." ―Margaret Atwood
"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere." ―Financial Times
"Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn." ―Stig Abell, The Sunday Times (London)
“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré
At a lavish dinner party, Inspector Maigret recounts the tale of an old case that has haunted him for years
At one of his friends’ frequent dinner parties, Maigret shares the story of a case from a few years back that haunts him to this day, in which a man named Adrien Josset was found guilty and was executed for the murder of his wife, Christine. Adrien had been a weak-willed, mild-mannered man, but Christine, who was much wealthier than he, had used her connections to land him an influential position in an important career. Maigret had interviewed Adrien only once when the examining magistrate took over the case and successfully moved to have him executed. But though all the clues pointed to Adrien’s guilt, Maigret remained unconvinced, and years later, he still doubts the murderer’s true identity.
Maigret’s Secret is a thought-provoking dive into the machinations of justice, and the ways in which they can sweep away an innocent man’s life.
Praise
Praise for Georges Simenon:
“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
“These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself.” —The Washington Post
“The matchless French crime novelist.” —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker
“Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals.” —People
“I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” —William Faulkner
“An astute observer of human nature, writing in a spare and vivid style.” —Amor Towles
“I never read contemporary fiction–with one exception: the works of Simenon.” —T.S. Eliot
“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré
“One of the most important writers of our century.” —Gabriel García Márquez
“A favorite writer of mine.” —Sigrid Nunez
“A great writer of detail, of atmosphere.” —Leïla Slimani
“Feels incredibly modern…A great writer.” —Ian Rankin
“The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature.” —André Gide
“Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales.” —The Observer (London)
“Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.” —John Gray
“A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable—lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates.” —Muriel Spark
“A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it.” —Peter Ackroyd
“Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” —John Banville
"Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor" ―Times (London)
"Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts." ―Margaret Atwood
"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere." ―Financial Times
"Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn." ―Stig Abell, The Sunday Times (London)
