8797999's review against another edition
4.0
Quite enjoyed this one, a bit different to the other books where Maigret is on a holiday and is seeing the case through the newspapers instead of being at the heart of it. Not so much comedic characters but some cunning ones. A nice change of pace.
Poor Madame Maigrets feet!
Poor Madame Maigrets feet!
melissa2's review against another edition
4.0
This one's a bit different from the other Maigret's I've read. Maigret is technically on vacation this time, so the entire book is him following the case through newspaper stories and other public announcements (and sending a few anonymous tips to the police). I though it worked pretty well - there was still a solid mystery in it. It also had very nice descriptions of Paris. (Maigret spends his vacation time wandering around Paris.)
shawnaandherloveofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
J'ai beaucoup aimé retrouver Maigret avec une enquête où il n'a plus véritablement le rôle principal... J'ai hâte de découvrir d'autres histoires
furfff's review
2.0
Well, at least someone enjoyed themselves.
One can say that there is an intereting idea here as Simenon experiments the way with which he tells these stories. So here we have Maigret (mostly successfully) fighting his workaholic tendencies and staying out of a case since he promised everyone (his wife, his colleagues, the adoring public) that he would be on vacation. Unfortunately, the method Simenon uses to then tell the story is through a barrage of newspaper articles and exposition-crammed dialogue. It's just not a fun way to discover what's happening in the investigation of "how did the nude murdered lady end up in the closet."
One can say that there is an intereting idea here as Simenon experiments the way with which he tells these stories. So here we have Maigret (mostly successfully) fighting his workaholic tendencies and staying out of a case since he promised everyone (his wife, his colleagues, the adoring public) that he would be on vacation. Unfortunately, the method Simenon uses to then tell the story is through a barrage of newspaper articles and exposition-crammed dialogue. It's just not a fun way to discover what's happening in the investigation of "how did the nude murdered lady end up in the closet."
oldpondnewfrog's review against another edition
3.0
Maigret s'amuse. I refer to this book in my mind by the French title, whose tone matches the story's better than the English. Maigret, the famous chief inspector, is this once on holiday. Not knowing what to do with himself, but enjoying it nonetheless. When a case comes up, more interesting than watching Maigret try to follow/solve it as a common newspaper reader would is watching him try simultaneously to figure out how to spend his free time. He revels in discovering "what went on when he wasn't there": how his wife spends her day, how trucks back out of the warehouse across the street. He and his wife go on walks, find new restaurants and revisit near-forgotten favorites, visit the movie house twice in one week, develop new daily routines, and together become tourists in their own city. This was my first Maigret novel, my third Simenon, and the second of his in which characters find a kind of new lease on life. I'm more interested in reading Simenon's standalones than his potboilers, but I like Maigret. He asks himself too many questions, though. And the paragraphs are slightly too monotonously short. Still, it's fun getting to know 1950s Paris with him.
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