Category Archives: Georges Simenon

PIETR THE LATVIAN (1931) by Georges Simenon

Posted on 21 August 2017 by Cavershamragu

This novel marked the official literary debut of Detective Chief Inspector Jules Amédée François Maigret of the Paris Police Judiciaire when it first appeared in serial form in the summer and autumn of 1930. It was however the fifth in … Continue reading →

Posted in France, Friday's Forgotten Book, Georges Simenon, Maigret, Normandy, Paris, Police procedural, Scene of the crime | 30 Comments

THREE BEDROOMS IN MANHATTAN (1946) by Georges Simenon

Posted on 17 May 2016 by Cavershamragu

Recently reprinted with an appreciative intro by Joyce Carol Oates, this is one of Simenon’s ‘Romans durs’ – that is to say, a mainstream stand-alone fiction that does not include Maigret (though some of his subalterns occasionally appear). Instead we … Continue reading →

Posted in Georges Simenon, Joyce Carol Oates, New York, Tuesday's Overlooked Film | 20 Comments

The new face of Maigret

Posted on 10 September 2015 by Cavershamragu

It was announced quite a while ago that Rowan Atkinson, best known for playing Mr Bean and Blackadder, was the surprise choice to portray Jules Maigret in a new series of British feature-length TV episodes for ITV. Filming has now … Continue reading →

Posted in Georges Simenon, Maigret, Paris | 40 Comments

2014 Book to Movie Challenge – completed

Posted on 29 December 2014 by Cavershamragu

Well, we all like a good sequel and when Katie over at her Doing Dewey blog asked me to co-host this challenge, I just couldn’t resist (hubris is a terrible thing)! I selected the Movie Auteur level (24 books to be reviewed and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Book to Movie Challenge, 87th Precinct, Agatha Christie, Audrey Erskine Lindop, Barry England, Bill Pronzini, Billy Wilder, Blake Edwards, Brian de Palma, Charles Williams, Charlotte Armstrong, Claude Chabrol, Columbo, Cornell Woolrich, Dashiell Hammett, David Callan, Desmond Cory, Ed McBain, Erle Stanley Gardner, Evelyn Anthony, Georges Simenon, Graham Greene, Isaac Asimov, James Hadley Chase, James M. Cain, James Mitchell, Maigret, Miss Marple, Nero Wolfe, Orson Welles, PD James, Perry Mason, Philip Marlowe, Philo Vance, Poirot, Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, Robert Siodmak, Roy Baker, Shirley Jackson, Somerset Maugham, SS Van Dine, Stanley Ellin, The Thin Man, William Goldman | 16 Comments

2014 Vintage Mystery Challenges – completed

Posted on 28 December 2014 by Cavershamragu

12 months and 72 book reviews later and the Vintage Mystery Challenge bingos, both Golden (pre-1960) and Silver (1960 to 1989) varieties, are complete! The indefatigable Bev of My Reader’s Block gives structure and meaning to the reading habits of us mystery … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge Bingo, 87th Precinct, Agatha Christie, Bill Pronzini, Carter Dickson, Charlotte Armstrong, Cornell Woolrich, Dashiell Hammett, David Callan, Dorothy Dunnett, Ed McBain, Edward D. Hoch, Erle Stanley Gardner, Evelyn Anthony, Georges Simenon, Gideon Fell, Gil Brewer, Gillian Freeman, Graham Greene, Harold Q. Masur, Helen Nielsen, James Hadley Chase, James M. Cain, James Mitchell, John Blackburn, John Dickson Carr, John Sladek, L. Ron Hubbard, Lange Lewis, Lawrence Sanders, Leslie Charteris, LP Davies, Maigret, Marcia Muller, Miss Marple, Nero Wolfe, Ngaio Marsh, Noir, Orson Welles, Parker, PD James, Perry Mason, Peter Corris, Philip Marlowe, Philo Vance, Poirot, Police procedural, Private Eye, Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, Richard Stark, Robert B. Parker, Robert Bloch, Roderick Alleyn, Science Fiction, Shirley Jackson, Somerset Maugham, SS Van Dine, Stanley Ellin, Stark House Press, The Shadow, Thomas M. Disch, Walter B Gibson, William Goldman | 24 Comments

The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949)

Posted on 2 December 2014 by Cavershamragu

Charles Laughton plays Inspector Maigret in this highly atypical Hollywood movie, shot in colour and on location in Paris. Despite a cast that includes Franchot Tone and Burgess Meredith (who also took over as director at the last-minute), this is … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Book to Movie Challenge, 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge Bingo, France, Georges Simenon, Maigret, Paris, Scene of the crime, Tuesday's Overlooked Film | Tagged Charles Laughton | 38 Comments

MY FRIEND MAIGRET (1949) by Georges Simenon

Posted on 8 August 2014 by Cavershamragu

There is evil in paradise in this Maigret story, which some critics (including Julian Symons) consider to be among the best of the series (no mean feat with over 100 to choose from). It was later adapted for French TV, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Book to Movie Challenge, 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge Bingo, Friday's Forgotten Book, Georges Simenon, Maigret | 58 Comments

SADIE WHEN SHE DIED (1972) by Ed McBain

Posted on 24 January 2014 by Cavershamragu

This is one of the most admired books in the 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter) and was included in the Crime Writer’s Association top 100 mysteries list that Rich has been looking at over at his … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge Bingo, 87th Precinct, Ed McBain, Five Star review, Friday's Forgotten Book, Georges Simenon, New York, Police procedural | 36 Comments

2013 Vintage Mystery Challenge – completed

Posted on 15 December 2013 by Cavershamragu

The indefatigable and always welcoming Bev of My Reader’s Block regularly corrals us mystery buffs with her Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge, which focuses on mystery fiction published pre-1960 to be eligible for inclusion. I’ve had a great time this year with … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Vintage Mystery Challenge, Albert Campion, Boileau-Narcejac, Edgar Wallace, Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, George Axelrod, Georges Simenon, James M. Cain, Maigret, Margaret Scherf, Margery Allingham, Michael Gilbert, Nero Wolfe, Philo Vance, Rex Stout, Richard Matheson, Sherwood King, SS Van Dine, Stanley Ellin, Wade Miller, Whit Masterson, World War II | 26 Comments

Blind Date (1959) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film

Posted on 19 November 2013 by Cavershamragu

This above average whodunit was directed with style and conviction by Joseph Losey, an American émigré in London who brought much of his own feelings of cultural and social displacement to bear. Hardy Kruger is the foreigner in London who gets framed for … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Film Noir, Georges Simenon, Joseph Losey, Leigh Howard, London, Scene of the crime, Tuesday's Overlooked Film | Tagged Blacklist | 24 Comments

MAIGRET SETS A TRAP (1955) by Georges Simenon

Posted on 31 May 2013 by Cavershamragu

A psychopath is stalking the women of a small district in Paris and Jules Maigret of the Police Judiciaire is under pressure to find the culprit. Pretty soon, after a failed attack, an arrest is made – but then another … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Book to Movie Challenge, 2013 Vintage Mystery Challenge, France, Friday's Forgotten Book, Georges Simenon, Maigret, Paris, Police procedural, Scene of the crime | 44 Comments

BRAINWASH (1979) by John Wainwright

Posted on 22 February 2013 by Cavershamragu

This claustrophobic psychological whodunit was one of over 80 books by John William Wainwright (1921-1995), a crime writer from Leeds who despite his prolific output seems in danger of being forgotten – at present in fact none of his books … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Book to Movie Challenge, 87th Precinct, Ed McBain, Friday's Forgotten Book, Georges Simenon, John Wainwright, Police procedural | 32 Comments

THE YELLOW DOG (1931) by Georges Simenon

Posted on 9 November 2012 by Cavershamragu

This is one the first Maigret novels. Georges Simenon chronicled some 100 of his cases over a period of 40 years but initially churned them out in a blaze of activity – indeed this was the first of seven Maigret … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012 Alphabet of Crime, Crime Fiction Alphabet, France, Friday's Forgotten Book, Georges Simenon, Maigret, Police procedural, Scene of the crime | 51 Comments

MAIGRET STONEWALLED (1931) by Georges Simenon

Posted on 20 July 2012 by Cavershamragu

If one thinks of the great detective story writers from the Golden Age that have received serious and continued critical attention over the decades, the names that immediately spring to mind are Poe, Doyle, Christie, Hammett and Chandler. The only … Continue reading →

Posted in France, Friday's Forgotten Book, Georges Simenon, Maigret, Paris, Police procedural, Scene of the crime | 18 Comments

THE JUDGE AND HIS HANGMAN (1950) by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Posted on 19 November 2011 by Cavershamragu

Originally published in German in 1950 as ‘Der Richter und sein Henker’ by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, this was the first of two books featuring Kommissar Hans Bärlach of the Berne police (they have since been collected in an omnibus volume as … Continue reading →