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Larry Denninger's avatar

I love these mystery novels - I've listened to several on Audible.

Have you seen the miniseries on BritBox, starring Rowan Atkinson (yes, Mr Bean!)? Came out in 2016. His portrayal of Maigret is sublime and superb, and the production value is top notch. Sad that only 4 stories were filmed.

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adam hill's avatar

The Rowan one is good, I like the older one with the guy who played Dumbledore, his name escapes me at the moment. Thanks for reading!

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Tony Rabig's avatar

Believe that was Michael Gambon.

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Elizabeth Averill's avatar

Yes!!!! Those 4 series with Rowen Atkinson were brilliant!

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Tony Rabig's avatar

I've not hit more than one or two of the Maigrets yet (a bunch of them in the Amazing Colossal To-Be-Read Pile, though). But I'll second Tara Cheesman's comment re the romans durs. They are dark wonderful gems. TC recommended Strangers in the House and The President -- also not to be missed are The Innocents, The Blue Room, The Train, The Hand (also translated as The Man on the Bench in the Barn), and Monsieur Monde Vanishes. I've yet to read one of his books I didn't like.

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Andrew Rickard's avatar

If you read French, the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade has a lovely two-volume set of Simenon's novels:

https://www.la-pleiade.fr/Catalogue/GALLIMARD/Bibliotheque-de-la-Pleiade/Romans-I-II

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Tony Rabig's avatar

And if you read French and have a more forgiving budget than mine, you can score all of Simenon's work in paperback or Kindle. Search for 'tout Maigret' or 'tout Simenon.' The nice thing about these (again, if you read French) is their inclusion of novels that haven't been translated into English or if translated haven't been available for decades. Kinda makes me wish I'd learned French eons ago.

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Claudine Notacat's avatar

I try to read at least one novel in French every year just to keep it from getting too rusty. These look great!

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Tara Cheesman's avatar

I enjoy the Maigret stories, but I love Simenon’s “romans durs ”. Strangers In the House is a classic (I’m sad there aren’t more stories featuring Hector Loursat, the reclusive, alcoholic lawyer). And The President is just one of those books you want to live in.

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adam hill's avatar

I plan to branch out to those at some point. As you know, "So many books, so little time."

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Brian Miller's avatar

The Penguin editions, all of them, are currently remaindered. That means you can pick them up for $2-$4 each. When I was traveling, and not having Joel's scruples about booze, a gin and tonic (or two) and a Maigret novel got me from take off to touch down, dozens of times.

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Joel J Miller's avatar

:) That’s a steal!

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Russell Board's avatar

I've enjoyed several of the Maigret books, the cheap ones I can find on Kindle. Have you read any Ngaio Marsh? Her Inspector Alleyn novels are excellent. Interesting character studies in a wide variety of settings.

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Annette Young's avatar

I am about to start a Simenon/Maigret binge in order to better understand setting for my own novel. I don't think you can get a better insight into 1930s Paris than through Simenon.

We tend to stereotype the French as being obsessed with love. They are also obsessed with its flipside: murder.

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June Girvin's avatar

I adore Maigret. Beautifully plotted little vignettes of stories.

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Claude Atcho's avatar

Wonderful piece. Hadn't heard of Simenon. Eager to dive in!

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Robert A Mosher (he/him)'s avatar

I was hooked by Bruno Cremer’s Maigret and began reading the novels and looking for other tv and film versions. As much as I like Rowan Atkinson I wasn’t as taken by his Maigret as by Cremer, Gambon, and others - still wondering if it was because he didn’t look sufficiently well fed.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Simenon also wrote many books not involving Maigret, some of which have only recently had English translations available.

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Susan Brenneman's avatar

Thank you! I’v been searching for a new mystery series.

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John's avatar

What an excellent review and call to action! Thank you.

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Aristotle Evangelos's avatar

Being francophone, I grew up on Simenon. My mother was a big fan. Maigret was my original definition of noir. Only later did I discover what Americans call noir.

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Alan J. Porter's avatar

If you want an insight into Simenon’s almost disdain for his creation I highly recommend ‘The Worlds of Bond & Maigret’ which is the transcription of a conversation when Fleming visited Simenon. First published in Harper’s Bazaar in 1964, it’s a quick read and available as an ebook.

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Jul 24
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June Girvin's avatar

The Cremer version is sublime. Particularly the earlier series.

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