The Yellow Dog (Inspector Maigret Mysteries) Accessories
 Lock 14 (Inspector Maigret Mysteries)
A Man's Head (Inspector Maigret Mysteries)
The Bar on the Seine (Penguin Mysteries)
Friend of Madame Maigret (Inspector Maigret Mysteries)
The Hotel Majestic (Penguin Mysteries)
Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard (Inspector Maigret Mysteries)
Inspector Cadaver (Inspector Maigret Mysteries)
My Friend Maigret (Inspector Maigret Mysteries)
The Madman of Bergerac
Maigret and the Wine Merchant
The Yellow Dog (Inspector Maigret Mysteries) Reviews
This story was written in 1931 soon after the very first Jules Maigret stories started coming out. Someone is trying to kill town notables and the only clues are a stray yellow dog and some very large foot prints. It is an approach which separates him from the Anglo-American tradition of mystery writing. It is this odd perspective that is so appealing in the Maiget stories. Maigret evolves into a character who will appear in 75 novels of which more than 500 million editions will be sold. It is the individual genius that counts and not the investigative procedure. At one point Maigret notes, "I ran this investigation from the end backward-which doesn't mean I won't go the other way in the next one.
For those who love Inspector Maigret, these initial novels are an important indicator of what type hero he will become. It takes place in a small fishing village on the coast of Brittany. The fun of a Georges Simonon novel is the unique way in which Inspector Maigret approaches a crime. The fun of this novel is that the reader sees the character of Maigret while he still being formed by Simenon. It's a question of atmosphere, a question of faces.When I first got here, I came across one face that appealed to me, and I never let go of it." . Jules Maigret is the essential "bella figura" or man of genius. A perfect location and jumping off point for a Jules Maigret mystery.
It's always a pleasure to read how Simenon loved to 'stick it' to the Provinciales in between the wars France. In this story we get a new feel for Maigret who is a Superintendent in this one, and is once again at his very annoying best. The ending is almost 'Hercules Pirot' in style, with everyone of the candidates brought together in the Police Barracks at the end to hear Maigret deductions.
The story is pretty straight forward, but it's the way that Maigret goes about what he does that is so much fun. More than anything there is a decision by Maigret to protect two of the characters who are then left to go on with their lives, as McBain does in many of his stories. Smiling at everyone and puffing on his pipe he is the archetypical civil servant in no hurry to finish his work.
Meanwhile the Mayor is spending all his time trying to protect the good name of his Town. He loved to open the door on their pomposity and their groping for status.
While everyone is watching his every move, including a good portion of the Paris national press, he goes about as if he doesn't care. Those of you who are also readers of Ed McBain, will notice the similarity to his books.
Everything is satisfyingly resolved in the end, and Maigret appears to be a genius.
A skittish hotel waitress is obviously part of the mystery, as is a large yellow dog who suddenly appears on the scene.
In this particular story, the coastal town of Concarneau is thrown into a frenzy by a series of attacks on its prominenet citizens.
I found this mystery quite entertaining, even though it follows the well-worn path for such works as throwing out dead-end clues, and assembling a cast of peculiar characters together in a dreamy mysterious setting.
Penguin's neat new printings of these classic tales are easy on the eyes.
I'll be visiting Simenon again shortly.
This is a quick, neat read, full of atmosphere and literary sensibility.
This is my first Simenon title ever.
Yet Inspector Maigret is hardly foreign to my sensibilities, as his independence, brilliance, and taciturn pipe-smoking personality have disseminated throughout countless popular mysteries, films, and TV shows.
The rest of the story involves Maigret's attempt to unravel the chain of events and find the guilty party or guilty parties. At the same time a stray, rather mangy looking yellow dog is wandering around the town. Inspector Maigret is sent to clear up the mess. One of the town's leading citizens has been shot. This personality, this ahead of its time jaundiced eye, may explain the resurgence of interest in his books.
Georges Simenon was the author of over 100 Inspector Maigret mystery stories. What sets Simenon apart is the character of Maigret and the supporting cast. . He also seems to have a deep and clearly defined set of moral values that does not necessarily coincide with the values held by his higher ups or by those reporters or office holders that seem to second guess his every move. This is a `classic' detective story in the sense that Simenon does not stray for the general formula or boundaries found in classic stories by Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie.
The Yellow Dog, written in 1931, is set on a fishing town in Concarneau, France. L. They were immensely popular in the 1930s through the 1960s. The Yellow Dog is an enjoyable read. Inspector Maigret stories also appeared in film and TV version.
There are twists and turns in the plot, red herrings, and fake clues, but eventually justice (or some semblance of justice) is served. Simenon's Inspector Maigret Mystery, "The Yellow Dog" was a fun book to read and is as good a place to start for anyone wishing t discover (or re-read) Simenon. In so doing he must deal with panicked locals, an irate mayor demanding an end to the affair, and a cast of characters who each, in their way, have done something to make themselves suspicious. Simenon and Maigret seem to have fallen under the radar in recent decades but in recent years he seems to have been rediscovered by a new generation of mystery/detective story fans.
A series of murders or attempted murders soon follow. Fleisig. Penguin Books has begun to reissue some of those Maigret mysteries and the New York Review of Books Press has reissued some of his `hard stories', stories that did not feature Inspector Maigret. Maigret was, or seems, ahead of his times in his aversion to `higher authority'. Recommended.
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