検索キーワード： 著者 "Georges Simenon" すべてのカテゴリー

Psychologische Raffinesse ist gefragt: Maigret soll in einem Fall ermitteln, der noch gar keiner ist. Am Quai des Orfèvres herrscht Flaute, bis ein Besucher die allgemeine Trägheit stört: Xavier Marton, Verkaufskönig von Modelleisenbahnen in den Grands Magasins du Louvre, beschuldigt seine Frau, sie wolle ihn vergiften. Kaum aufgetaucht, ist Marton schon wieder verschwunden. Maigret will den Fall bereits zu den Akten legen. Doch noch am selben Tag wird die Gattin Marton bei ihm vorstellig und behauptet nun ihrerseits, ihr Mann sei verrückt und trachte ihr nach dem Leben.

Maigrets finsterste Ermittlung: Der Kommissar tappt buchstäblich im Dunkeln. Eine schwarze Novembernacht. Maigret wird zur vornehmen Place des Vosges gerufen. Raymond Couchet, Inhaber eines Pharmazielabors, ist erschossen worden. Im Innenhof steht der Kommissar vor erleuchteten Fenstern. Hinter einem zeichnet sich die Silhouette des eben erschossenen Couchet ab. Hinter einem anderen sieht er eine Frau wild gestikulieren. Und hinter einem dritten bringt eine Frau gerade ihr Kind zur Welt. Hängen die Schattenspiele miteinander zusammen?

Maigrets heikelster Fall: Dem Kommissar wird sein Revolver geklaut. Es kommt nicht oft vor, dass Madame Maigret ihren Gatten am Quai des Orfèvres anruft. Ein junger Mann warte am Boulevard Richard-Lenoir und wolle unbedingt mit Maigret sprechen. Doch als er zu Hause ankommt, ist der Besucher verschwunden - und mit ihm Maigrets Revolver, ein Smith & Wesson, den der Kommissar aus Amerika mitgebracht hat. Was hat der Dieb damit vor? Der Zufall will, dass Maigret am nächsten Tag den Vater des jungen Mannes kennenlernt.

Sein frustrierendster Fall: Ex-Kommissar Maigret kann es niemandem recht machen. Maigret ist seit zwei Jahren in Rente. Statt Verbrechern jagt er nur noch die Kartoffelkäfer in seinem Garten. Doch dann taucht eine resolute alte Dame auf und verlangt, dass der Ex-Kommissar dem Tod ihrer Enkelin auf den Grund gehe. Monita ist ertrunken, und ihre Großmutter ist überzeugt, dass jemand nachgeholfen hat. Und so begibt sich der pensionierte Kommissar nach Orsennes, wo die Verstorbene gewohnt hat.

Maigrets wunderlichster Fall: Ein Mann gesteht seine Mordabsichten, dann verschwindet er. Ein Januarabend in Paris. Samstag. Maigret freut sich auf den Feierabend zu Hause am Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, doch statt der berühmten Quiche Lorraine seiner Frau wartet ein unscheinbarer Mann auf ihn. Keineswegs ein Unbekannter: Schon seit Wochen drückt sich der Mann jeden Samstagabend am Quai des Orfèvres herum und verlangt, den Kommissar zu sprechen. Doch der mysteriöse Bittsteller ist stets verschwunden, bevor Maigret Zeit für ihn findet.

Verheiratet mit einer Fremden. Ein Mann steht vor den Trümmern seiner Existenz. Hôtel Gardénia in der Nähe der Champs-Élyséess: In Zimmer 44 liegt eine Frau tot im Bett, sie trägt ein weißes Seidenkleid, in den Händen hält sie einen Strauß verwelkter Rosen, auf einem kleinen Tisch steht eine leere Champagnerflasche. Jeanne hat sich mit Schlaftabletten das Leben genommen. Und ihr Mann Bernard versteht die Welt nicht mehr. Was hat seine Frau in diesem Hotel gemacht, woher hatte sie das teuere Kleid?

Lognon è un poliziotto scontroso e per questo antipatico ai suoi colleghi ma stimato da Maigret per le sue capacità investigative. Da anni si lamenta di non avere per le mani un'inchiesta sensazionale e adesso che gliene è capitata una, ci si è lanciato a capofitto. Purtroppo per lui però si tratta di un caso pericoloso che va ben al di là delle sue capacità: quelli che sta seguendo sono infatti gangster americani appena sbarcati a Parigi!

Una vedova protesta perché il cadavere del marito, ucciso con una coltellata, è stato ritrovato con indosso scarpe gialle e cravatta rossa che il defunto non si sarebbe mai sognato di possedere. Thouret, infatti, a detta della moglie, era un insulso magazziniere privo di qualsiasi fantasia. Ma Maigret non ci mette molto a scoprire la doppia vita dell'uomo: casa a Parigi, amante e grosso giro di denaro. In quali affari era coinvolto il nient'affatto scialbo magazziniere?

He needed to get out of his office, soak up the atmosphere and discover different worlds with each new investigation. He needed the cafés and bars where he so often ended up waiting, at the counter, drinking a beer or a calvados depending on the circumstances. He needed to do battle patiently in his office with a suspect who refused to talk and sometimes, after hours and hours, he'd obtain a dramatic confession. In Simenon's final novel featuring Inspector Maigret, the famous detective reaches a pivotal moment in his career.

'You see, I mainly work at night. I've ended up getting to know everybody. They're used to me in Pigalle, I exchange a few words with this person or that person. I go into the bars and cabarets where they give me a quarter bottle of Vichy without waiting for me to order anything.' An anonymous tip-off regarding the death of a restaurant owner sends Maigret into the world of Parisian nightlife, a notorious criminal gang and a man known as 'the Flea'. This novel has been pubished in a previous translation as Maigret and the Flea.

The death of a homeless man in a condemned building in Les Halles leads Maigret on the trail of the vagrant's mysterious past and an event that happened years ago in the close-knit community of Montmartre.

'He hadn't seen her arrive. She had stopped on the pavement a few steps away from him and was peering into the courtyard of the Police Judiciaire, where the small staff cars were parked. She ventured as far as the entrance, looked the officer up and down, then turned round and walked away towards the Pont-Neuf.' When an old lady tells Maigret someone has been moving things in her apartment, she is dismissed as a fantasist - until a shocking event proves otherwise.

'Maigret had never been comfortable in certain circles, among the wealthy bourgeoisie where he felt clumsy and awkward.... Built like a labourer, Oscar Chabut had hauled himself up into this little world through sheer hard work and, to convince himself that he was accepted, he felt the need to sleep with most of the women.' When a wealthy wine merchant is shot in a Paris street, Maigret must investigate a long list of the ruthless businessman's enemies before he can get to the sad truth of the affair.

Leaning on the banisters, Madame Maigret watched her husband going heavily downstairs.... What the newspapers didn't know was how much energy he put into trying to understand, how much he concentrated during certain investigations. It was as if he identified with the people he was hunting and suffered the same torments as they did.

A visit from a long-lost schoolmate who has fallen on hard times forces Maigret to unpick a seedy tangle of love affairs in Montmartre, and to confront the tragedy of a wasted life. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret's Boyhood Friend.

What else did they have to do with their days? They ambled around casually. From time to time, they paused, not because they were out of breath but to admire a tree, a house, the play of light and shadow, or a face. While taking a much-needed rest cure in Vichy with his wife, Maigret feels compelled to help with a local investigation, unravelling the secrets of the spa town's elegant inhabitants.

Maigret would have found it difficult to formulate an opinion of him. Intelligent, yes, certainly, and highly so, as far as one could tell from what lay beneath some of his utterances. Yet alongside that, there was a naive, rather childish side to him. Maigret is savouring a beautiful spring morning in Paris when an aspiring film-maker draws his attention to a much less inspiring scene, one where ever-changing loyalties can have tragic consequences.

'Maigret looked at him in some confusion, wondering if he was dealing with a skilful actor or, on the contrary, with a sickly little man who found consolation in a subtle sense of humour.' A series of anonymous letters leads Maigret into the wealthy household of an eminent lawyer and a curious game of cat and mouse with Paris high society.

Le cadavre d'une jeune fille est découvert place Vintimille, à Paris. Maigret parvient à identifier la victime : il s'agit de Louise Laboine, d'origine niçoise. En venant tenter sa chance à Paris quelques années plus tôt, elle se lie d'amitié dans le train avec Jeanine Armenieu, une jeune Lyonnaise.

Maigret is called to the home of professional gambler Felix Nahour, who has been found shot dead by his chambermaid. Maigret is shocked to recognise a photo of the man's wife, who becomes the main suspect. All signs point to her guilt, but Maigret suspects there might be more to this complicated affair.

This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret on the Defensive.