Maigret is my favourite detective because he’s depicted as an ordinary man but is extraordinarily good at what he does. He has the respect of his colleagues and is quite content to eat sandwiches and drink beer when pursuing a case into the night.

In this case, the shooting of a fellow inspector and the disappearance of the key witness lead Maigret to uncover the secrets of a famous art collector. That is it. Most of the Story takes place in police stations, bars, and dwellings on the Avenue Junot.

There’s plenty of dialogue and it’s not always clear who is speaking, but that detracts little from the story. That’s the key ingredient – it’s a good story with characters who all have a clearly defined role in the story. Georges Simenon was a wonderful writer.