MAIGRET AND THE GANGSTERS

by Georges Simenon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 22, 1986

Old Maigret cases rarely seem particularly dated--but this 1952 item, featuring the Inspector on the trail of hit men from America, does indeed creak with age, especially since the plot is such a shallow one by Simenon standards. Pathetic, hapless Detective Lognon becomes entangled in a violent mystery when he sees a body (perhaps dead) tossed from a car onto a Paris street. . .followed, seconds later, by another car that retrieves the body! What's the explanation? And who are the thugs who follow Lognon home, rough him up, and threaten his ever-whining wife? To answer these questions, Maigret visits various American-expatriate hangouts--collecting info on a trio of US-based thugs who are clearly up to no good. There are rough encounters with the gangsters and their Folies molls. And there's a modestly surprising revelation about the Paris doings of a visiting American D.A., who's determined to keep a certain mob-trial witness alive. Despite some mild comedy (Lognon's ineptitude, Maigret's scorn for American macho posturing): minor, third-string Maigret.

Pub Date: Sept. 22, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION