Maigret's Holiday

Inspector Maigret, Book 28

By: Georges Simenon

Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong

At what point in the day could the note have been slipped into his pocket, his left breast pocket? It was an ordinary sheet of glazed squared paper, probably torn out of an exercise book. The words were written in pencil, in a regular handwriting that looked to him like a woman's.

For pity's sake, ask to see the patient in room 15.

When Inspector Maigret's wife falls ill on their seaside holiday, a visit to the hospital leads him on an unexpected quest to find justice for a young girl.

©2016 Georges Simenon (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"Compelling, remorseless, brilliant." (John Gray)
"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century.... Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." ( Guardian)
"A supreme writer...unforgettable vividness." ( Independent)

Maigret goes on vacation

I am not going to write a long review of this. I have been dipping in and out of Maigret for about six years. This is the 7th of the series I have read. I continue to enjoy them enough to keep reading. But I continue not to be blown away by them.

In this one, Maigret is on vacation with his wife. But she ends up in the hospital, and he is a bit lost.

I recently read The Black Tower by PD James (part of the Adam Dalgliesh series). In both books, the main character is a police homicide inspector. In The Black Tower, Dalgliesh himself is recovering from surgery, but both are officially off duty and are a bit irritated that their professional life seems to be following them. (The fourth Inspector Gamache is also about the inspector being on vacation and a murder happening.)

The idea of investigators or detectives never being able to get away from murder is both a joke and a trope. Dorothy Sayer named her last full Wimsey book Busman’s Honeymoon, a phrase connoting how it isn’t a vacation for a Bus Driver to take a bus to go away on vacation.

I picked up this book on audiobook in a buy-one-get-one-free sale. I will not complain about it because it was a good change of pace, and my cost was reasonable. But this is a series that, so far, I have enjoyed but not loved. And I don’t know why. I have a couple more that I have picked up on sale in various formats, but I think unless something really grabs me in those, I probably will not buy any more

an excellent maigret

I've read quite a few Maigrets but never found this in print. Has all the elements: rich atmosphere of a place, upper and lower class characters played off against each other, maigret's irritable doggedness. This narrator is excellent as well. Very good with the voices.

Atmosphere

A glimpse into France decades ago, and into the mind of a brilliant protagonist. Excellent narrator.