Category Archives: Georges Simenon

SADIE WHEN SHE DIED (1972) by Ed McBain

Posted on 24 January 2014 by

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 | 32 Comments

2013 Vintage Mystery Challenge – completed

Posted on 15 December 2013 by

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

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

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

MAIGRET SETS A TRAP (1955) by Georges Simenon

Posted on 31 May 2013 by

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 | 43 Comments

BRAINWASH (1979) by John Wainwright

Posted on 22 February 2013 by

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 | 30 Comments

THE YELLOW DOG (1931) by Georges Simenon

Posted on 9 November 2012 by

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 | 42 Comments

MAIGRET STONEWALLED (1931) by Georges Simenon

Posted on 20 July 2012 by

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

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 →

Posted in Colin Dexter, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Georges Simenon, Inspector Morse, Maigret, Police procedural, Switzerland, Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge 2011 | 7 Comments