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fern17's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cleheny's review
3.0
This is the fourth Maigret mystery I've read, and Simenon follows a definite pattern. Maigret is confronted with a death but very little definite evidence. Suspects are identified but information is often inconclusive; at certain points, we get to hear Maigret's internal thoughts, but they frequently reflect how little can be concluded from the facts that can be confirmed. I like Simenon's writing, and he continues to impress with stories that focus on the marginalized or desperate. Maigret's murderers all have poignant or tragic stories. But it's a little frustrating as a reader to have so little to go on.
This mystery is particularly challenging to visualize because it takes place at a lock along France's canal system. If you are unfamiliar with how the canal system worked, as I was (particularly how the system worked in 1931, when horses were used to drag barges along canals), it can be difficult to follow some of the action and make sense of the available clues. Maigret is also unfamiliar with the system and the culture, but Simenon doesn't use his protagonist as an information dump. Maigret doesn't ask a lot of questions about how the system works, so much as he absorbs the milieu and customs. Information dumps are annoying, but I would have liked a better window into a world that I know little about and have trouble visualizing.
This mystery is particularly challenging to visualize because it takes place at a lock along France's canal system. If you are unfamiliar with how the canal system worked, as I was (particularly how the system worked in 1931, when horses were used to drag barges along canals), it can be difficult to follow some of the action and make sense of the available clues. Maigret is also unfamiliar with the system and the culture, but Simenon doesn't use his protagonist as an information dump. Maigret doesn't ask a lot of questions about how the system works, so much as he absorbs the milieu and customs. Information dumps are annoying, but I would have liked a better window into a world that I know little about and have trouble visualizing.
highlander2006's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
crnavedrana's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
santorini's review
4.0
There is a certain type of book that I enjoy but I can't explain why. Georges Simenon, John Le Carre, Eric Ambler and perhaps Anita Brookner can be included. The first three are crime, spy and thriller respectively and the fourth is very much not. The thing they have in common is that they are bleak and grey and quite pessimistic about the human condition.
I like to think that I am if not optimistic then hopeful about people and so perhaps the reason I come back to these writers is because they are truthful and that in order to be better we need at first to be honest about our weaknesses.
Or it might just be that they are really well written.
I like to think that I am if not optimistic then hopeful about people and so perhaps the reason I come back to these writers is because they are truthful and that in order to be better we need at first to be honest about our weaknesses.
Or it might just be that they are really well written.
mikek694's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
nichola's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Well look at that. It did improve. Dramatically.
I think what Simenon does is capture a singular moment in a specific world through the eyes of Maigret. That is a fair more complex and skillful piece of work than most other authors I have read achieve.
I am learning to like Maigret more but I do feel like these books need to come with a trigger warning around tragedy and death.
This series is like the antithesis of a cosy mystery where the motives and actions are hardly complex but highly tragic and very human. Let's see if I enjoy book 3 as much.
I think what Simenon does is capture a singular moment in a specific world through the eyes of Maigret. That is a fair more complex and skillful piece of work than most other authors I have read achieve.
I am learning to like Maigret more but I do feel like these books need to come with a trigger warning around tragedy and death.
This series is like the antithesis of a cosy mystery where the motives and actions are hardly complex but highly tragic and very human. Let's see if I enjoy book 3 as much.
peterlewenstein's review
5.0
Another of my favourites among the first ten Maigret stories. (See comments for The Night at the Crossroads). As you read this book, you are there, tradging along in the damp, dark mist by the side of a canal in northern France.
omnibozo22's review
3.0
Fun mystery set in the French countryside along one of the many canals crossing the country. Maigret marches through the murky clues to uncover, once again, a story deeper than initially supposed.
vayeate's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This story seemed grim, but quite straight forward.
If comparing to Hercule Poire than Maigre seems to be a bit more realistic. I enjoyed this story, but it keeps me wondering when the duality will end in these books. In the first one there were almost identical two people, in this one there was a person who started a new life after several events.
If comparing to Hercule Poire than Maigre seems to be a bit more realistic. I enjoyed this story, but it keeps me wondering when the duality will end in these books. In the first one there were almost identical two people, in this one there was a person who started a new life after several events.