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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed this one. However, if you are a dog owner, you should know .
The scene in the bar and how everyone reacts to the possibility of the drinks in the bar being poisoned was really well done.
Spoiler
the dog in the title does die, that happens off page. There is a scene with it being wounded, however. The actually attack on the dog is not shown but the dog being injured is. Maigret is nice to the dog.The scene in the bar and how everyone reacts to the possibility of the drinks in the bar being poisoned was really well done.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Inspector Maigret came from Paris to the small town of Concarneau to solve the mysterious killing of a local wine dealer. In between lots of drinks and pipe-smoking, Maigret examined his conversations with the locals, including a journalist, a doctor, and a waitress, who all seemed to have something to hide. A yellow dog also made regular appearances but didn't belong to anyone. Maigret needed quite a bit of time to make sense of it all, much to the chagrin of the local mayor.
Simenon captured the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small French town in the 1930s, where greed, revenge, snobbery, debauchery, and hysteria converged. But in the end, he rewarded readers with a touching tribute to love, forgiveness, and kindness, and the chance to start over.
Simenon captured the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small French town in the 1930s, where greed, revenge, snobbery, debauchery, and hysteria converged. But in the end, he rewarded readers with a touching tribute to love, forgiveness, and kindness, and the chance to start over.
mysterious
Inspector Maigret tackles a case involving poisoned wine and a yellow dog.
There's a reason this one is considered a classic Maigret.
The early books in this series have been a little bit hit and miss in terms of real quality vs Simenon's famed speedy production but The Yellow Dog was reissued as part of the Penguin Red Classics series and is deserving of the accolade.
Set in a sleepy seaside town Maigret is called in to solve the seemingly random shooting of a drunken major from a letterbox of a locked up abandoned building. There's a multitude of suspects and suspicions amongst the locals and many red herrings planted in his path but naturally Maigret has everything under control.
Simenon puts together a fine mystery with a high quality of human observation and a way of setting scene that is second to none. The way he evokes the cold and fog of small town life leaves you thinking you can smell the damp in the air, even when you're on an air conditioned train in Perth, and the games he plays with your sympathies for each character makes for a fun ride.
People have criticised the passivity of Maigret in this story and others from the near hundred in the collection but personally I enjoy them; knowing your hero is playing games with everyone from the beginning to establish proof of guilt brings a different level of pleasure from your mystery reading.
The early books in this series have been a little bit hit and miss in terms of real quality vs Simenon's famed speedy production but The Yellow Dog was reissued as part of the Penguin Red Classics series and is deserving of the accolade.
Set in a sleepy seaside town Maigret is called in to solve the seemingly random shooting of a drunken major from a letterbox of a locked up abandoned building. There's a multitude of suspects and suspicions amongst the locals and many red herrings planted in his path but naturally Maigret has everything under control.
Simenon puts together a fine mystery with a high quality of human observation and a way of setting scene that is second to none. The way he evokes the cold and fog of small town life leaves you thinking you can smell the damp in the air, even when you're on an air conditioned train in Perth, and the games he plays with your sympathies for each character makes for a fun ride.
People have criticised the passivity of Maigret in this story and others from the near hundred in the collection but personally I enjoy them; knowing your hero is playing games with everyone from the beginning to establish proof of guilt brings a different level of pleasure from your mystery reading.
When I compared the Belgium reads for the Storygraph reads the world challenge to Libby availability, it was very slim pickings. This series comprised the majority of the list, so I figured i'd try one. This was not for me.
I enjoyed this, both for plot and characterization. Now I wonder if Mosley's A Little Yellow Dog was an intentional reference to Maigret.
As usual with Maigret, it’s not about solving the crime, Maigret even state to his assistant, that he has no method and doesn’t do deductions, it’s about the (very French) atmosphere and the people.
In this “Count of Monte Christo” like story, Maigret is called to a small town where one of the regular guests at a cafe has been shot, apparently at random, after leaving the cafe, soon other events spread a feeling of confusion and terror in the small town, before Maigret set everything straight.
In this “Count of Monte Christo” like story, Maigret is called to a small town where one of the regular guests at a cafe has been shot, apparently at random, after leaving the cafe, soon other events spread a feeling of confusion and terror in the small town, before Maigret set everything straight.