The fifth book in the new Penguin Maigret series: Georges Simenon's gripping tale of small town suspicion and revenge, in Linda Asher's timeless translation.

There was an exaggerated humility about her. Her cowed eyes, her way of gliding noiselessly about without bumping into things, of quivering nervously at the slight est word, were the very image of a scullery maid accustomed to hardship. And yet he sensed, beneath that image, glints of pride held firmly in check. She was anaemic. Her flat chest was not formed to rouse desire. Nevertheless, she was strangely appealing, perhaps because she seemed troubled, despondent, sickly.

In the windswept seaside town of Concarneau, a local wine merchant is shot. In fact, someone is out to kill all the influential men and the entire town is soon sent into a state of panic. For Maigret, the answers lie with the pale, downtrodden waitress Emma, and a strange yellow dog lurking in the shadows...

Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as A Face for a Clue.

'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray

'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century' Guardian

In the windswept seaside town of Concarneau, a local wine merchant is shot. In fact, someone is out to kill all the influential men and the entire town is soon sent into a state of panic.


About the Author
Georges Simenon was born in Liege, Belgium, in 1903. He is best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret novels and his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.

Reviews
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 Carre

"One of the most important writers of our century." -Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"A favorite writer of mine." -Sigrid Nunez

"A great writer of detail, of atmosphere." -Leila Slimani

"Feels incredibly modern...A great writer." -Ian Rankin

"The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature." -Andre Gide

"A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness." -The Independent (London)

"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)



Book Information
ISBN 9780141393476
Author Georges Simenon
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 112g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 8mm