A crew's captain turns up dead, but it's the evil eye that haunts them—Inspector Maigret must navigate stone-faced sailors to solve the fishy sequence of events.A fishing boat docks at a port in Normandy—and hours later its captain is floating in the harbor, strangled to death. When Inspector Maigret arrives, at the behest of his old school friend, he finds the Océan's crew will say nary a word about what transpired; instead, they speak only of the evil eye, a curse on the vessel they believe began even before they sailed. Pierre Le Clinche, a young wireless operator on board the ship who had markedly strained relations with the captain, is arrested for foul play. And more complications: in the captain's possession, a photograph of a faceless buxom woman, scribbled all over in red ink; the captain's handwritten will, deposited at the police station letterbox well after his death; the acrimony and fear that permeate the entire affair. In The...

It's not because you're foreigners. It's because you aren't foreign enough ... or else that you are too foreignJust as the Krull house sits on the edge of a rural French town, the family occupies a marginal place in the life of the community around them. Snubbed by the locals despite having lived there for decades, they rely on trade with passing sailors to earn a living. When their relative arrives unannounced from Germany, with his unsettling, nonchalant ways, the family becomes the target of increasing suspicion and the scapegoat for a terrible crime. Written on the eve of the Second World War, The Krull House is a taut, strangely prophetic novel about how distrust and hostility towards outsiders descends into hate-filled violence.

The attempted suicide of Countess Paverini is reported to the Police Judicaire and a few hours later, multi-millionaire David Ward is found dead in his bath at the same hotel. Maigret investigates.

A masterful tale of murder and intrigue in a small French town, from the celebrated author of the Maigret seriesNot only had the rain in the dark streets, with a halo around each light and reflections on the ground, always given him a certain thrill, it also made it easier for him to move around.It has been raining for twenty days in La Rochelle - ever since the first murder. Since then, five more bodies have been found. In the cafes, over card games, a quiet terror of the killer in their midst spreads through the little town. But unknown to anyone, Kachoudas, a poor, timid tailor, has discovered, quite by accident, who the murderer is. As a twisted cat and mouse game begins, Simenon's chilling novel takes us into the darkness of the criminal mind. 'Dark, disturbing ... Simenon discovered something fundamental about the soul' Guardian

'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves'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. 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' Guardian

M is requested by the Director to handle the murder of an ex-Foreign Ministry official, Comte Armand de Saint-Hilaire, who had retired 12 years earlier, found shot in his study, by his housekeeper of 42 years, Jaquette Larrieu. His death coincides with the funeral of Prince Hubert de V--, of one of the great French familes. Prince Hubert's wife, Princess Isabelle de V--, had been a lifelong friend of Saint-Hilaire's — they'd intended to marry, but circumstances weren't apt, and she'd married Prince Hubert. They'd maintained a life-long correspondence, and everyone had known the romantic story that they intended to marry at the death of Prince Hubert. Saint-Hilaire had no enemies, and there was no sign of forced entry. All of the people connected were old and noteworthy. After reading Isabelle's letters to Saint-Hilaire, and interviewing everyone concerned, M is at a loss. Just to dot all the i's, M has Moers administer a paraffin test to Jaquette, and to everyone's shock, it is positive. She refuses to say anything until she confers with a priest. Saint-Hilaire had committed suicide, and when she'd found the body she'd been afraid he wouldn't be able to receive the last blessing of the Church, and so she'd made it look like a murder. M learned from his "nephew", actually Isabelle's grandson, that he believed he had a terminal disease, and so killed himself from fear of subjecting Isabelle a life of caring for him as an invalid. 

Inspector Maigret is followed home one evening by a man who reveals his intention to kill his wife and her lover. Maigret intervenes and speaks to the man daily but when the calls suddenly stop Maigret finds a murder on his hands.Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations.'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

When a tramp is recovered from the Seine, after being badly beaten, Maigret must delve into the man's personal circumstances to figure out just who wanted to kill him.Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in previous translations as Maigret and the Dosser and Maigret and the Bum. '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

The Inspector must enter the unsavory world of politics to help a conscientious politician.Maigret is secretly summoned by a distraught cabinet minister who needs help in recovering a document - the Calame report, an engineering study that warned that a government-funded children's sanitarium was of unstable design. The study was hushed up, the report stolen, and the disaster made reality - with 128 children killed in the building's collapse. Now Maigret must plumb the depths of government corruption to find the thief and the report - and let the compromised government fall where it may. (less) Paperback, 196 pages Published June 1st 1996 by Mariner Books (first published 1954)

During a quiet spell in June Maigret is called to investigate the disappearance of a reputable businessman. When a body is discovered near the famous Père Lachaise cemetery Maigret struggles to find any clues to the perpetrator and loses his temper when his own reputation is threatened by the case. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret Loses His Temper. '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

nepalifiction, TPBOn the outskirts of Paris, a prostitute is found murdered in a vacant lot. In a seedy apartment house nearby lives pasty, fat Mr. Hire. Mr. Hire who earns his living through a petty postal scam, is a convicted pornographer, a peeping Tom, and, once a week, the unlikely star of a Parisian bowling club, where people think he works for the police. He is a faceless man of regular habits who keeps to himself and gives his neighbors the creeps. After the murder, Mr. Hire’s concierge points a finger at him: he was out late the night of the crime. The police have the suspect under twenty-four-hour surveillance. They are only waiting for him to make the inevitable mistake and give himself away. Except that creepy Mr. Hire is in fact an innocent man, whose only mistake is to have fallen head-over-heels in love with the wrong girl.One of the most chilling and compassionate of Simenon’s extraordinary psychological novels, The Engagement explores the mystery of a blameless heart in a compromised soul.QUOTESPublished when Europe was between the wars, the novel depicts the impoverished City of Light as a moral vortex where truth isn’t as highly valued as survival. As with all of the hard novels, The Engagement is considerably more complex than most existential thrillers. Gripping, too—you’d have to scan the rest of the Simenon shelf to find a more engrossing beach read.— Time Out New YorkThis is a quietly compelling story with no hero, no villain and no justice—just the inevitability of fate.— Publishers Weekly

'Sensuously detailed . . . edgy . . . riveting' Financial TimesTwo strangers meet on a bus along a dusty road in rural France. Tati is a tough, work-worn widow, who runs the farm her late husband left behind, while trying to keep out of the way of her predatory in-laws. Jean is an odd, quiet man, recently out of prison, with nowhere to go.These lost souls recognize something in each other, and Jean becomes Tati's lodger and farm worker. In the still and heat of the summer, they labour together and, inevitably, begin to sleep together. Soon, however, their strange affair will become something altogether darker.First published in 1942 at the same time as Albert Camus' The Outsider, this is Simenon's existentialist masterpiece, exploring the dangerous mystery of who we are and what we desire.'Published, like The Outsider, in 1942, and at least equal to Camus's work in portraying a doomed and alienated life' David Hare

"The Blue Room is a wondrous achievement, brief, inexorable, pared to, and agonizingly close to, the bone, and utterly compelling; in short, a true and luminous work of art." —John BanvilleHe felt no resentment toward Andrée for biting his lip. In the context of their lovemaking, it had its place.For Tony and Andrée, there are no rules when they meet in the blue room at the Hôtel des Voyageurs. Their adulterous affair is intoxicating, passionate—and dangerous. It soon turns into a nightmare from which there can be no escape. Heart-pounding and high-stakes, The Blue Room is a stylish and sensual psychological thriller that weaves a story of cruelty, reckless lust, and relentless guilt.

In this first installment in Georges Simenon's legendary Inspector Maigret series, M. Maigret hunts down an elusive and notorious confidence man, but finds that identifying him is a game of doubles, intrigue, and hidden crimes.When Detective Chief Inspector Maigret receives notice from Interpol that Pietr the Latvian, an infamous con man, is on his way to Paris, he rushes to intercept him at the train station. But when he arrives he is confounded to find two men who fit the description of the wanted man. One is alive, the other dead.So who is Pietr? A businessman or a bootlegger? Is he Latvian, American, or Russian? In order to find out, Maigret must use his keen understanding of human nature, his gift for observation, and his famous instincts to track down the true suspect in Pietr the Latvian, the first mystery in Georges Simenon's iconic series.

Prewar Paris - where buses still sported outside platforms and every neighborhood its own bistro, policemen took time for human problems, and car fumes hadn't yet smothered the smell of chesnut blossoms - serves as the setting for these seventeen stories, featuring Simenon's legendary Jules Maigret. Here the Chief Inspector goes about his business in a variety of settings and circumstances, revealing much about his life and his career not found elsewear; we are even given the chance to see Maigret on his retirement from the Quai des Orfevres and to see him indulge in some freelance sleuthing. This volume, along with Maigret's Christmas, completes the collection of Simenon's short detective fiction and adds many fascinating titles to the Maigret mosaic. Paperback, 336 pages Published October 14th 1994 by Mariner Books (first published January 1st 1945)