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Maigret and the Old Lady

Inspector Maigret, Book 33

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Maigret and the Old Lady

By: Georges Simenon
Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
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About this listen

Maigret uncovers some troubling family politics in this new translation, book 33 of the Maigret series.

When a charming elderly widow appeals to him for help, Inspector Maigret travels to a seaside village in Normandy - uncovering a lost fortune and some poisonous family politics.

©2016 Georges Simenon (P)2017 Audible, Ltd Classics Crime Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Funny

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Critic reviews

''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)
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As I've said, in many different ways about Simenon and Maigret, in multiple reviews, l don't believe there to be a more rounded and human fictional character in all of literature. Simenon's writing is a thing of beauty (congratulations to the wonderful translations) and Maigret is a towering achievement. The common man touch of Maigret in a France long dead of its monarchy and upper classes, confronted by characters who believe that aristocracy should be observed and honoured, displays the tensions in a democratic society still fighting to end such snobbery, yet he remains respectful of all while fighting the crimes of all, equally. Brilliant novels.

Maigret's humanity and decency.

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The Maigret stories are so good and the narrator brings every nuance into sharp focus. The combination is so satisfying.

A joy!

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Simenon does it again with this compelling, melancholy, yet also humane story of lies and deceit in a small French holiday town. The characters are beautifully drawn; as ever, Maigret identifies most with those on the edges of society, while also pursuing the truth of the crime committed with a dogged pursuit of justice. One thing that stands out for me about this story, compared to the other Maigrets, is how often his own flaws and weaknesses as a person are brought to the fore; how interesting that the local detective, so inadequate in his shadow, often has to ask him gently if he’s had too much to drink, for example. Simenon writes this kind of rural setting - in this case a small seaside resort - so evocatively, to the extent that you can almost taste the sea air. This is brilliant work.

A Captivating Study in Flawed Humanity

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Not quite as good as some of the other Maigret stories but very enjoyable nonetheless.

Fun, but seemed a little rushed

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Maigret seeps under the listener's skin just as the case gets under his own skin. I enjoy the fact that he is such a credible character. During this investigation, the local detective actually begins to suspect that Maigret's reputation has been greatly exaggerated, although he has been approached in person to handle the case. I loved Maigret's reaction to a stay on the coast, reminding him of childhood excursions and holidays with his wife. The end-of-season feel to the small coastal town is well done and the bars gave a feeling of community to the place which would continue after the tourists had departed until the next year.

The case itself is intriguing, especially since the list of people with a possible motive only increases, while the opportunity to commit the murder remains problematic. The characters, especially the old lady, are sufficiently well drawn to come alive, making it seem as if the whole scenario is playing out before your eyes. As for the denouement, it's extremely well crafted and involves a heart-stopping moment.

Intriguing case, clever denouement

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Typical Maigret but that was what I wanted. An interesting story, well narrated. It kept me interested to the end.

A good story, well-told

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Valentine Besson is the old lady of the title, a still charming widow who lives in a small seaside town in Normandy. She comes to Paris to ask Maigret to investigate the death of her maid, Rose Trochu. Lest we should think this is because she cares about the girl’s death, Mme Besson makes it very clear that her real concern is that she believes the poison that killed Rose was meant for herself. Coincidentally, Mme Besson’s stepson has also approached Maigret’s boss to request that Maigret should help in the investigation, since he believes it’s beyond the abilities of the local force. So Maigret finds himself off to spend a few days at the seaside, trying to unravel the complicated family dynamics that seem to underlie the murder…

Valentine’s husband had been a rich man for a while, having developed a popular skincare lotion. But he had lost most of his money on wild speculations before he died, leaving Valentine comfortably provided for, but not wealthy. He also left two sons from his first marriage and a daughter from his second marriage to Valentine. Had Valentine been rich, suspicion would naturally have fallen on these three, but they would gain little financially from her death so Maigret must look for another motive, and that proves elusive.

The setting of the small seaside town is done well, with Maigret reminiscing over holidays he has spent in similar places with his wife. The plot is also interesting, with the search for a motive being the major part of the mystery – once it is solved, the rest falls into place. Simenon shows the rather careless attitude of the Besson family to Rose, with the casual assumption that she was so unimportant that no one could have deliberately intended to kill her. It’s a strange kind of snobbery that suggests one must be a certain class to even be worthy of murder, or at least to have that murder be worthy of investigation by someone of the stature of Maigret. Even Maigret spends a good deal of time with the Bessons before he bothers to visit Rose’s family, which I must say didn’t endear him to me. The Trochus are conscious and resentful of this kind of dismissal of Rose’s death as merely being a fortuitous accident that got in the way of the more important intended murder of Valentine. Simenon shows this kind of class distinction quite subtly and the only characters who really come over sympathetically are Rose’s bereaved family.

However, even more than usual Maigret spends his time going from bar to bar drinking, or sitting with the old lady drinking. Everywhere he goes the thing that seems most on his mind is whether he’ll be offered a drink or not. At one point he actually falls asleep while talking to Valentine, not altogether surprising given that he’d already put away enough alcohol that day to sink the entire French fleet. This wouldn’t have been quite so annoying had it seemed as if he was getting anywhere with the investigation, or even trying. But he really just chats to people in an aimless way and allows events to unfold until the solution becomes unavoidably obvious. He does spot one or two things the local force had missed, but he doesn’t do anything with them – I’m being vague to avoid spoilers. I felt that when the local police detective questioned whether the great man was worthy of his reputation, he had a point! I certainly wouldn’t put this case down as a success, but Maigret seemed quite satisfied with his own performance.

So I have rather mixed feelings about this one. There’s enough in it to make it interesting, but I felt Simenon was to some extent simply going through the motions, keeping Maigret wandering around drinking and doing not much else till Simenon felt he could reasonably reveal the solution and bring the book to an end.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Gareth Armstrong who as usual did a fine job.

Beside the seaside…

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out of a long list of great stories, this one is one of the best I've listened to, and that's saying something

best one yet

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Every now and again you listen to a weak ending from Simenon, even though the mani body of the story was excellent. However, here we have a whole story which is weak and rather absurd, as if (as another reviewer said) Simenon was just churning out another for some sort of contractual obligation. As the book neared its ridiculous denouement, I became irritated by the nonsense. For me, it was three and a half hours wasted.

A meandering, vacuous, tedious story - unusual for Simenon

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