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furfff's review
2.0
A certain type of reader could rate this higher and not be wrong, but this isn't why I read Simenon. I read him for the overall mood, and for the tiny little moments. Reading his books (especially the non-Maigret roman durs) is like going to a very specific place that you immediately know is him, even though you (or at least I) wouldn't be able to exactly say why. There's some unknowable algorithm in the way the words and scenes flow together that just is a very fine kind of escape. Anyway, 13 Culprits is a collection of 13 pieces originally submitted to magazines in two parts, the first a 5 to 10 page description of some non-Maigret investigator talking through a case with the culprit, and then a separate piece (with days/time in between, I guess, for readers to pour over the text to find the discrepancy that the investigator is going to point out, and then the moment of glory for the non-Maigret. Each piece is a finely constructed little engine, but it's not connected to an interesting enough chassis for me to really get thrilled about watching it go. It just sits there as this thing to admire for its mechanics. So if you're into that, or a Simenon completist, than read it. Otherwise, next.
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