When one of his best inspectors is shot, Maigret decides to book himself into Mademoiselle Clement's well-kept Paris boarding house nearby in order to find the culprit. 'What he thought he had discovered, in place of the joyful candour that she usually displayed, was an irony which was neither less cheerful nor less childish, but which troubled him ...He wondered now if his exultation wasn't down to the fact that she was playing a part, not just to deceive him, not just to hide something from him, but for the pleasure of acting a part' Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. '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 supreme writer ...unforgettable vividness' Independent
A visit from the tall, thin woman he arrested many years ago - now married to a hapless burglar - leads Maigret on a tortuous investigation in which he struggles with a formidable suspect. 'When he had set them to work, Maigret had had a merry, almost fierce glint in his eye. He had set them loose on the house like a pack of hounds on the trail of a scent, encouraging them not with his voice, but by his whole attitude ...would events have played out in the same manner, if the man from Rue de la Ferme hadn't been a heavyweight like him, both physically and psychologically?' Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in previous translations as Maigret and the Burglar's Wife. '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 supreme writer ...unforgettable vividness' Independent
Hacia 1930 llega a Batum, pequeña ciudad en el sur de la antigua URSS, el nuevo cónsul de Turquía, el joven Adil BeyHacia 1930 llega a Batum, pequeña ciudad en el sur de la antigua URSS, el nuevo cónsul de Turquia, el joven Adil Bey. En esa ciudad superpoblada, pobre y calurosa, la desidia, la desconfianza y la atonia de cualquier actividad van aislandolo cada vez mas y alimentando su temor a que le envenenen como probablemente hicieran con su antecesor. Frente a su casa viven los Kolin, en compañia de Sonia, una joven distante, de aspecto fragil, que es secretaria de Adil.Correcta y meticulosa en su trabajo, es la unica en participar en cierto modo del mundo claustrofobico en el que se ve confinado el consul, cautivo de una peligrosa soledad que, al parecer, va alterando lentamente su salud. Pese a la obsesiva vigilancia de los Kolin, el consul intenta atraerse a Sonia, cuya actitud le intriga y seduce a la vez. Atrapado en una maraña de sospechas, la situacion de Adil va haciendose insostenible hasta que Sonia y el se ven arrojados a un laberinto kafkiano de imprevisibles y temibles consecuencias.
En la Encrucijada de las Tres Viudas, junto a la carretera de Arpajon, en medio del estruendo de los camiones que transportan legumbres a París, tres casas solitarias parecen desafiarse : la casita