Most Popular Books by Georges Simenon

''The father of contemporary European detective fiction'' Ann Cleeves ''A radiant late afternoon. The sunshine almost as thick as syrup in the quiet streets of the Left Bank . . . there are days like this, when ordinary life seems heightened, when the people walking down the street, the trams and cars all seem to exist in a fairy tale.'' A story told by a condemned man leads Maigret to a bar by the Seine and into the sleazy underside of respectable Parisian life. In the oppressive heat of summer, a forgotten crime comes to light. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel is a revised translation, previously published as The Bar on the Seine. ''Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'' John Gray ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth 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

Hardworking Dutch family man Kees Popinga loses his money when the shipping firm he works for collapses. Something snaps and from the shell of a modern citizen emerges a calculating paranoiac, capable of random acts of violence - even murder.

''Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'' John Gray For the first time in his career Inspector Maigret receives written summons to the Prefect''s office where he learns that he has been accused of assaulting a young woman. With his career and reputation on the line, Maigret must fight to prove his innocence. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret on the Defensive. ''His artistry is supreme'' John Banville ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth 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

''Powerful . . . unputdownably gripping'' Guardian ''The island itself. Its throbbing heat as if in a belljar under the sun, the scorpion in his son''s bed, the deafening sound of cicadas'' During his first holiday on the island of Porquerolles Dr Mahé caught a glimpse of something irresistible. As the memory continues to haunt him, he falls prey to a delusion that may offer an escape from his conventional existence - or may destroy him. This is the first English translation of The Mahé Circle, Simenon''s dark, malevolent depiction of an ordinary man trapped in mundanity and consumed by obsession. ''Extraordinary . . . Simenon is one of the most important writers of the 20th century'' Independent

''Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'' John Gray It wasn''t a traditional painter''s smock that Madam Jonker was wearing. It was more a Dominican''s monk''s habit, the fabric as thick and soft as a bathrobe...She was holding a palette in her left hand, a brush in her right, and her black eyes lighted on Maigret with curiosity. During an undercover case Inspector Lognon is shot in a room he was sharing with a beautiful woman who has since disappeared. Inspector Maigret retraces Lognon''s secretive last few days and is drawn into the darker side of the art world. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret and the Apparition. ''His artistry is supreme'' John Banville ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth 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 writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré Maigret stumbles upon a series of murders in Fontenay-le-Comte while visiting an old school friend On his way home from a conference, Maigret stops to visit an old school friend in Fontenay-le-Comte. A man in the same train car introduces himself and asks if Maigret has come to help solve the murder case. In fact, the man’s brother-in-law had been murdered four days earlier, followed by the murder of a local widow in the same way, a blow to the head with a pipe. While Maigret is in town, a third murder is reported. Maigret soon discovers that there are two warring factions in the town, a clear class separation, and an air of suspicion that only he can put to rest.

Two couples, Ray and Mona Sanders and Donald and Isabel Dodd, attend a party together. On their way home, a violent snowstorm prevents Dodd''s car from reaching the house. The four set out on foot, when they arrive, Ray has gone missing. Donald pretends to go looking for him in the snow, but, stupefied by fatigue and alcohol, he prefers to take refuge in the barn. As the night passes, Donald considers that his attachment to Ray is in fact only a badly disguised envy for a man who has succeeded financially. He begins to hate Ray and is convinced that he has just killed him by not coming to his aid. Donald''s physical and moral state deteriorates as he is tortured by his fantasies.

''The father of contemporary European detective fiction'' Ann Cleeves She wasn''t an ordinary supplicant. She didn''t lower her eyes. There was nothing humble about her bearing. She spoke frankly, looking straight ahead, as if to claim what was rightfully hers. ''If you don''t agree to look at our case, my parents and I will be lost, and it will be the most hateful legal error...'' Maigret is asked to the windswept, rainy border town of Givet by a young woman desperate to clear her family of murder. But their well-kept shop, the sleepy community and its raging river all hide their own mysteries. This novel has been published in a previous translation as The Flemish Shop. ''Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'' John Gray ''A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness'' Independent

''Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'' John Gray Maigret finds himself back on the Rue des Acacias just ten days after cracking another case there. This time it is the murder of a criminal Maigret has known for over twenty years and one he always suspected was behind a string of jewellery robberies in the city. Maigret''s patience is tested as he eliminates neighbour by neighbour in his hunt for the murderer. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret Bides His Time. ''His artistry is supreme'' John Banville ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth 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

''His artistry is supreme'' John Banville They suddenly found themselves in an impersonal world, where everyday words no longer seemed to mean anything, where the most mundane details were translated into unintelligible formulae. The judges'' black gowns, the ermine, the prosecutor''s red robe further added to the impression of a ceremony set in stone where the individual counted for nothing Maigret receives an anonymous phone call concerning the brutal murder of a woman and young child. The tip off concerns the woman''s nephew, a mild-mannered man by the name of Gaston Meurant. Maigret remains unconvinced of the man''s guilt and at his trial exposes some shocking truths about Meurant''s private life that may prove his innocence. ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth 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

''His artistry is supreme'' John Banville ''He had seldom been so perplexed by human beings. Would a psychiatrist, a teacher or a novelist...have been better placed to understand characters who had suddenly materialized from another century?'' Maigret is called to the home of Armand de Saint-Hilaire, a highly respected official who has been found shot dead in his study by his housekeeper. After interviewing everyone concerned Maigret is at a loss to the identity of the perpetrator until he comes across a series of letters from the past fifty years between the victim and a recently widowed woman. As Maigret uncovers the details behind the two''s relationship he gets closer to discovering the tragic truth behind the official''s demise. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret in Society. ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth 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

''The father of contemporary European detective fiction'' Ann Cleeves Maigret savoured the sensations of his youth again: the cold, stinging eyes, frozen fingertips, an aftertaste of coffee. Then, stepping inside the church, a blast of heat, soft light; the smell of candles and incense. The last time Maigret went home to the village of his birth was for his father''s funeral. Now an anonymous note predicting a crime during All Souls'' Day mass draws him back there, where troubling memories resurface and hidden vices are revealed. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret Goes Home. ''Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'' John Gray ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth 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

Three vintage Maigret novels by legendary mystery author Georges Simenon One of the world ''s most successful crime writers, Georges Simenon has thrilled mystery lovers since 1931 with his matchless creation Inspector Maigret. In My Friend Maigret, Inspector Maigret investigates the murder of a small- time crook on a Mediterranean island. Told in Simenon''s spare, unsentimental prose, Inspector Cadaver is a haunting exploration of provincial hypocrisy and snobbery, in which Maigret encounters a rival sleuth from his past. In Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard, Simenon''s tenacious detective pieces together the life of a man who for three years lived a secret life-until he is found stabbed to death in an alleyway.

A Helen and Kurt Wolff book.

A kind, elderly lady-- meticulously groomed and showing no signs of derangement-- appeals to Inspector Maigret, frightened because someone has been moving furniture in her apartment. Nothing, however, has been stolen, and Maigret''s subordinates at Police Headquarters shrug her off as "Maigret''s madwoman." Touched by the imploring look in her eyes, Maigret promises to investigate-- but someone gets there ahead of him.

It''s closing time at the Gai Moulin, and Jean Chabot and Rene Delfrosse are planning to rob the till to pay of their debts. To their surprise, they stumble upon a dead body. What at first seems to the police an open and shut case proves more complicated when the body turns up next at the zoo, stuffed into a wicker basket. Into the puzzlement steps Maigret, who makes one of the most dramatic and colorful entrances of his career as he sorts out the tangled web of deceit. Maigret is a registered trademark of the Estate of Georges Simenon.

''A unique teller of tales ... What interested Simenon was the average man losing control of his own fate'' Observer ''She was beautiful, full of vitality, and he was sixteen years older, a dusty, lonely bookseller whose only passion in life was collecting stamps.'' Jonas is used to his young wife disappearing. Everyone in the town knows that she goes off with other men. This time, however, he tells a small lie to protect her, saying she is visiting a school friend. It is a lie, however, that eats into him like an illness, provoking hostility and resentment of this timid little Russian-Jewish bookseller, who always thought he had been accepted. As suspicion mounts, his true, terrifying isolation is revealed.

For a weekend, the Arbelet family stops in Pouilly, at the Hôtel du Cheval-Blanc. Maurice Arbelet is immediately seduced by the atmosphere of the inn: he will keep in his memory the image of a very pleasant place. Singular characters are found there however: Felix, the night watchman, former colonial soldier who''s become messy and cynical, an uncle of Mme Arbelet, lost for years; M. Jean, the owner of the hotel, who abuses his maids, Rose and Thérèse; and the latter''s husband, a Pole, who only shows up when he needs money. Why does Maurice Arbelet come back alone one afternoon to the Cheval-Blanc? This novel explores the hidden links two different milieus have with one another: the landlords of the inn and their employees, and the members of a middle-class family who frequent the restaurant, related to one of those employees.

“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré Inspector Maigret loses himself in coastal luxury—and danger—in this devastating mystery set on the French Riviera “It had a smell of holidays. The previous evening, in Cannes Harbour, with the setting sun, had also had the smell of holidays, especially the Ardena, whose owner swaggered in front of two girls with gorgeous figures...” Dazzled at first by the glamour of sunny Antibes, Maigret soon finds himself immersed in the less salubrious side of the Riviera as he retraces the final steps of a local eccentric.

A new translation of this gripping domestic tragedy, set in Simenon''s very own neighbourhood. One by one the lighted windows went dark. The silhouette of the dead man could still be seen through the frosted glass like a Chinese shadow puppet. A taxi pulled up. It wasn''t the public prosecutor yet. A young woman crossed the courtyard with hurried steps, leaving a whiff of perfume in her wake. Summoned to the dimly-lit Place des Vosges one night, where he sees shadowy figures at apartment windows, Maigret uncovers a tragic story of desperate lives, unhappy families, addiction and a terrible, fatal greed. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in previous translations as Maigret Mystified and The Shadow in the Courtyard. ''Compelling, remorseless, brilliant'' John Gray ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth 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 writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré Inspector Maigret steps in when an anonymous note to the police reports that a body has been burned in a bookbinder’s furnace An anonymous note to the police reports that a body has been burned in the furnace of a bookbinder on the Rue de Turenne. Preliminary investigations turn up suspicious details—and two human teeth of a man who’d been alive not long before. Meanwhile, Madame Maigret has had a strange experience while waiting for her dentist appointment. A woman she had often met on the bench while waiting suddenly leaves her young child in Madame Maigret’s care and disappears for over an hour, returning to take the child and vanishing without explanation. When Maigret’s investigation is blown wide open, it seems the two incidents might be related in ways no one could have predicted.

''His artistry is supreme'' John Banville Certain details of the case were etched more sharply than others in Maigret''s memory. Even years later he could recall the particular taste and smell of the rain shower in Rue Caulaincourt as keenly as a childhood memory. At a dinner party, Maigret recounts an old case in which Adrien Josset is found guilty and executed for the murder of his wife, Christine. As the case develops under the controlling hand of the magistrate, all clues point to Josset''s guilt yet Maigret is left unconvinced following his one interview with him. Years after the case, Maigret still doubts the true identity of the murderer. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret Has Doubts. ''One of the greatest writers of the twentieth 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 writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré In the final novel featuring Inspector Maigret, the famous detective reaches a pivotal moment in his career Maigret is a few years short of his retirement and has just refused promotion to the post of Head of the Police Judiciare, preferring the human contact he enjoys as Head of the Criminal Division. His wish is granted when Madam Nathalie Sabin-Levesque, an elegant but highly nervous lwoman, insists that he personally investigates the disappearance of her husband Gėrard, a highly successful and wealthy Parisian lawyer. In Maigret and Monsieur Charles, the conclusive installment of the the Inspector Maigret mystery series, our famous detective finds himself contemplating his past and future as he delves into the Paris underworld one last time.

“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré When a mysterious letter writer warns Inspector Maigret that a murder is imminent, Maigret must trace the messages back to their source before it is too late When a series of letters, penned on expensive stationery, arrives at Maigret''s desk claiming that a murder will take place but that the writer is unsure as to who will die, who will do the killing, and when the killing will occur, Maigret''s interest is piqued. He quickly traces the stationery back to the house of Emile Parendon, an eminent lawyer. But once there, the inspector finds that pinning down clues to a crime not yet committed isn''t easy. When a murder does take place, the identity of the victim surprises even Maigret. A twisty and engrossing mystery, Maigret Hesitates puts the great detective''s powers to the test.

“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré Inspector Maigret takes a case from a lively old widow whose maid has been poisoned The inexplicable murder of the wealthy Valentine Besson’s maid leads the older woman to believe that she herself was the intended target. Inspector Maigret undertakes the investigation, meeting Mrs. Besson’s dysfunctional family and a cavalcade of suspects. As he delves into the case, Maigret must unravel a tangled web of family politics—and confront Valentine’s stepsons, who may be harboring dark secrets of their own.

Set against a high-profile hunt for the latest criminal gang to hit Paris, Maigret is determined to track down the murderer of a quiet crook of the old school, for whom he cannot help feeling affection and respect. In Maigret''s careful recreation of the life of this gentle and eccentric burglar, Simenon beautifully depicts Maigret''s insight, compassion, and melancholic nostalgia.

After the death of Oscar Donadieu, a wealthy shipbuilder and tyrannical patriarch, his family begins to disintegrate, a process enchanced by the arrival of ambitious, angry Phillipe Dargens.

After Inspector Maigret''s assistant Detective Lognon, loses a body, three shady Americans arrive in Paris, and Pozzo, the restaurateur from St. Louis, discovers that he is dealing with professional criminals