This was the first Inspector Maigret book that I've read. I thought that the characters were well developed and the crimes were solved in an ingenious way. I liked Maigret's manner - reminding his new associate not to draw conclusions but to observe.
The story began when a well know wine merchant in the little seaside town of Concameau, France, stood in a doorway to light a cigar, and was shot in the stomach through the letterbox. A strange yellow dog was walking in the area, but the townsfolk did not know who owned the dog.
When a second crime occurred, where a man died from strychnine poisoning, after having drinks with his friends at a club, and and the mysterious dog again appeared, the residents became fearful The following day, a reporter disappears and his car is found not far from his home with a smashed window and bloodstains - well, the town was in panic. Add to this mix, the strange dog and a large man with muddy footprints, and people are looking for a culprit. However, level headed, practical Maigret, takes each case individually, not jumping to conclusions, but throoughly investigates all possible angles and suspects.. In spite of the red herrings and multiple redirections, Maigret solves the cases cleverly and the town goes back to being a peaceful seaside town.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and am leaving my opinions voluntarily. It was a quick 144 page read, and a good introduction to Inspector Maigret.

When Monsieur Mostaguen is shot trying to light a cigarette, French police Detective Inspector Maigret is dispatched to Concarneau to solve the crime. Maigret is enigmatic, keeping everything close to the vest. He’s a brilliant detective. Just a wee bit crusty. He’s got his work cut out for him in this case with multiple suspects and one mysterious yellow dog that no one seems to recognize. The Yellow Dog is just one of the seventy-five novels featuring Maigret written over a forty year span by Georges Simenon. First published in 1931, I think it stands the test of time. I thoroughly enjoyed it; the atmosphere, the characters, the mystery, but most of all Maigret himself. For fans of classic crime fiction. 5 stars

The Yellow Dog is the sixth Maigret mystery by prodigiously prolific golden age author Georges Simenon. Originally published in 1931, selected books in the series are being reformatted and re-released by Macmillan on their Picador imprint. It's 144 pages and is available in this edition in paperback and ebook formats. (Other editions are available in other formats). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This series, and indeed Simenon's oeuvre are classic and deeply readable. It's certainly redolent of its time period (1930s, the golden age of detective fiction) and there are some dated references here, for example the inflexibly rigid class and social structures of the time period, deeply rooted sexism, racism, and class.

That being said, the central mysteries still work and are subtly written and plotted, and the characterizations and settings are still as nuanced as when they were written. This is a classic series and it's nice to see it being reformatted in a new edition for collectors and a new audience.

The translation work by Linda Asher is precise, nuanced, and more or less seamless. The book, whilst redolent of the French coast and seaside of the time, nevertheless doesn't read like literature in translation and happily doesn't joggle the reader out of their suspension of disbelief.

The books in general are melancholy and sometimes tragic, and this one is no exception. The clues, denouement, and resolution are fair play and satisfying (although quite sad).

Four stars. Wears its age quite well. Recommended for public library acquisition, home library, or a long binge/buddy read or book club selection.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This 1931 novel has a new paperback released and I was surprised how contemporary the story felt. It easily could have taken place now. A quick read that had story moving forward quickly. Thanks to #NetGalley and #TheYellowDog for advanced digital copy.

This is a good example of Georges Simenon’s Maigret stories.
Maigret tends to sympathize with the underdog and shows how he feels about nobility and the upper crust of society.
Here we are dealing with three of the village’s most respected citizens. An unknown vagabond and a woman that works at the bar serving the drinks downstairs and taken advantage of by guest upstairs. And to who does the yellow dog belong to that keeps on showing up all over the place. A remarkable story that you must read till the end to have all the pieces fall into place.

I was hooked from the beginning!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

First published in 1931, this French mystery novel has been republished dozens of times and translated into many languages. The Inspector Maigret series is comprised of 75 novels, plus a book of Christmas short stories (which I will totally be looking for this holiday season). I wonder if this is one of the longest-running series, which began in 1930, and the last book was published in 1972. Georges Simenon, a Belgian writer, died in 1989. He is considered one of the most prolific writers of the 19th century with over 400 novels plus memoirs and short story collections.

I was introduced to Georges Simenon and his Inspector Maigret series two years ago when my book club selected the series for one of our meetings. Due to the age of the series it was difficult to find enough copies of any one book in our library system so we each chose to read a different novel in the series and discuss Simenon's body of work as a whole. I read Maigret Get Angry (book 26). When I saw that a reprint edition was coming out of one of the earlier books in the series, I knew I had to read it.

The Yellow Dog is book 6 in the series, but it can be read out of order.

All of the books in the series are on the short side, and this one is no exception. Yet, it doesn't feel like a novella. In many ways, it seems very simplistic - Maigret spends most of his time in the hotel's cafe or walking at night through the town. At the same time, there are wonderful descriptions that make you feel like you are there. The novel is very atmospheric.

I'm not sure this is exactly the kind of detective novel where you can solve it on your own. There isn't a lot of police work going on - it is mostly Maigret making observations, but at the same time, I did get a feeling that there was something off about one of the characters - so much so that I suspect that he at least knew more than he was letting on.

It is a fun, quick read. Interestingly, it doesn't really feel "old". Sure, there is no technology; fingerprinting is a new police method, but I didn't really notice the lack of technology (except perhaps for cell phones since the journalists had to use the hotel telephone to file their stories). Only in one interaction did I feel like there was outdated social norms and that was a scene between Maigret and the waitress Emma. But even that was mild compared to what I imagine how it could have truly been in the 1930s.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Friday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/06/the-yellow-dog-by-georges-simenon-review.html

The Yellow Dog by George Simenon is a quick, thrilling mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. This is my first time reading an Inspector Maigret book. It was really well translated. I like that this was more of a straightforward, adventurous whodunnit story without a lot of violence, and not too many crazy twist to follow. A big thank you FSG Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the digital copy of the book.

In a small, quiet seaside town a man is having drinks at the Admiral hotel bar, a long with a few of the regulars, late night. He’s had maybe one too many drinks by the time he decides to set off for home. He stops in a doorway to light a cigar, then all of a sudden he collapses - he’s been hit by a gunshot. It turns out that the victim is the town’s successful wine merchant. This incident leads to other odd things happening in this seaside town: poisonous drinks, a man goes missing, and a strange, dirty yellow dog is haunting the neighborhood, followed by large unfamiliar boot prints. That’s when Detective Chief Inspector Maigret, who is currently working nearby gets called in to investigate the shooting, and the other peculiar occurrences taking place in this town. But the inspector runs into a wall of silence, because the townsfolk are pretty tight-lipped, and unwilling to talk about the shooting or anything else that’s happening in their town. Can Detective Chief Inspector Maigret solve this mystery?

The Yellow Dog is a gripping, psychological tale filled with lots of suspicion and revenge. If you like reading quintessential, classic whodunnit detective mystery, then you should definitely read The Yellow Dog (Inspector Maigret) book.

This book is part of a series written by Georges Simenon. It is a quick chilling murder mystery. In a seaside town there is panic in the air. There is a killer on the loose. A local affluent wine merchant is shot in the dark streets of this seaside town. There is whispers of more targeted murders swirl through the town. As more unsettling events unfold—poisoned drinks, a missing man, strange footprints, and a ragged yellow dog stalking the night—the tension thickens. Fear grips the entire town, and no one knows who to trust. Enter Detective Chief Inspector Maigret. With his sharp eye and unshakable calm, Maigret must navigate a web of secrets, where the key to the mystery may rest with a weary waitress named Emma... and a dog that seems to know more than it lets on. The Yellow Dog is a chilling thriller from Georges Simenon that will keep you turning pages late into the night. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

A dog sniffs at a drunken man who is found laying in a gutter. A custom guard looks the man over and finds a hole in the drunk's overcoat that is oozing blood. The wounded man turns out to be Monsieur Mostaguen, a wine dealer in Concarneau. Then, there is the matter of the liquor possibly being poisoned. How are the two incidents connected? Maigret to the rescue.

I have always wanted to read a Maigret novel, and I get my chance with this mystery. Georges Simenon, a Belgium author who lived 1903-1989, is the author. With a translation, supplied by Linda Asher, I am able to enjoy this book. I like the concise way this story is told. I am reminded of the writing of Agatha Christie. The only place I wish had been a little more filled out is the ending, which I find a bit abrupt. Thank you, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of THE YELLOW DOG.

*3-3.5 stars

This is a short but clever mystery, a reprint of a 1931 Georges Simenon classic featuring Inspector Maigret and translated from the French by Linda Asher.

Maigret is called to the small coastal town of Concarneau when a resident is shot on his way home after night out with friends. It soon becomes apparent that his group of friends, all local bigwigs, are in danger and Maigret is under pressure from the mayor to arrest someone, ANYONE, for the crimes.

Young Inspector Leroy is assisting Maigret. This is his first case, being fresh out of college, and he admits he is struggling to understand Maigret's methods, to which Maigret remarks, 'My method has actually been not to have one...I'll give you some good advice: if you're interested in getting ahead, don't take me for a model, or invent any theories from what you see me doing.'

An entertaining read--it would be fun to revisit more of these old chestnuts. Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this new edition via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Golden Age Crime in Translation. I think the best thing about this is the new minimalist cover from Picador. I don’t know if my issue is with the translation or the story itself, but I found the text choppy and the “solve” convenient. The ending epilogue was unexpected and a little weird for a mystery novel. Also, I am still pissed about the dog, I found the detail unnecessary and unforgivable and I’ve been mad for more than half the book. This is my first Maigret and will likely be my only.

What is the pattern to the crimes?

In order for Inspector Maigret to determine who is behind the unsettling events in the town of Concarneau he must first discover why they are happening at all. It began with a wine merchant leaving the Admiral Hotel on a windy November night after having drinks with his friends; a bit tipsy, he stopped in the doorway of a nearby empty house to light his cigar. He is shot through the letter slot of the door and falls to the ground gravely wounded. A large yellow dog, unrecognized by any of the townspeople, is wandering nearby. Monsieur Mostaguen is not known to have any enemies, so a motive for the shooting is hard to ascertain. as Maigret will discover when he arrives with Inspector Leroy, an eager young man who immediately sets to searching for fingerprints, footprints, and other up-to-the-minute evidence. Mostaguen is sent to the hospital where he is expected to make a full recovery, but others amongst the group of friends with whom he was drinking will not be so lucky: M. Le Pommeret, a man of independent means from a prominent family known to be a womanizer; Dr. Michoux, who studied but doesn't practice medicine, instead selling plots of land in the area to make money (though he regularly has trouble paying his bills); and Jean Servières aka Jean Goyard, a semi-retired journalist who worked for many years in Paris before his arrival in Concarneau. As the local mayor tries to bring pressure to bear against Maigret to arrest someone and the townspeople become increasingly panicked at what must surely be a madman on the loose in their town, Maigret settles in to observe those involved in order to understand the pattern of what is afoot...while doing his best to prevent further mayhem.
Originally published in 1931 during the Golden Age of Mysteries, The Yellow Dog is a classic Maigret tale. The Inspector does not look about for forensic evidence...though he allows his assistant on this case to spin his wheels trying to make plaster casts of footprints and sending bottles out for fingerprints...he searches instead for what is going on in the minds and hearts of the people involved, making his mysteries more whydunnits than whodunnits. As such, the characters and the settings in which they are found are the primary focus in each novel. Maigret himself is gruff but also empathetic, and the resolution to his cases often takes into account the circumstances surrounding the events. Author Georges Simenon creates a vivid sense of place in each little gem of a novel, resulting in a quick but satisfying read. Fans of Golden Age mysteries in general should be sure to include this series in their repertoire, as should fans of more contemporary authors like Louise Penny, Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri. My thanks to NetGalley and Farrar Strauss and Giroux/Picador for allowing me access to this latest edition within the classic series in exchange for my honest review.

The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon is a delightfully quirky police procedural. Set in the coastal town of Concarneau, the novel introduces readers to the methodical and unflappable Inspector Maigret, whose unique approach to solving crimes is both intriguing and refreshing.

Simenon's storytelling is atmospheric, capturing the dreary seaside ambiance and the tense undercurrents among the townsfolk. The narrative is paced deliberately, allowing readers to savor the subtle clues and character interactions that drive the mystery forward. The translation by Linda Asher maintains the novel's original charm and succinct prose, making it accessible and engaging for English-speaking audiences.

What stands out in The Yellow Dog is its eccentric cast and the almost surreal presence of the titular yellow dog, which adds an unusual twist to the investigation. While the plot is straightforward, the novel’s charm lies in its character-driven intrigue and the nuanced depiction of small-town dynamics.

Another early Maigret book, “The Yellow Dog” from 1931 has Maigret in the coastal town of Concarneau investigating the shooting of a local wine merchant while the town is being haunted by a mysterious yellow dog who seems to portend trouble.

Four friends meet at the Admiral Hotel nightly in Concarneau for some drinking and game playing. As one of them leaves one evening, and stops in a random doorway to light a cigar, he is shot in the stomach. In comes Maigret to help the local inspector with the investigation.

Is this just a case of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time? It seems that way, but when poison is found in the bar drinks, and another of the four is attacked while another disappears, it seems as if someone is out to get all four friends. Of the four only the doctor remains at the hotel, hiding and fearing for his life. And while these incidents are terrifying the town, a mysterious yellow dog has appeared, always present when something new is discovered. Maigret patiently wades his way through the suspicion and mistrust as he tries to solve the mystery and find the culprit. Why was the wine merchant shot? Who owns the yellow dog? Why is the doctor fearing for his life? What is the role of the silent hotel waitress? And how can Maigret stop the injustice before there’s another death?

Another example of the laid-back style of Maigret, of how he pursues answers to questions based on how he reads situations and people. If there is one world to describe him, it would have to be patient, as he waits for events to unfold and watches quietly from the side to see what will happen. Even when the mayor presses him for an arrest, Maigret instead throws the doctor into jail for his own protection. A fascinating study into fear, the insular nature of small towns, and what the poor must do to find happiness. All in all, a typical Maigret outing.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Farrar, Straus and Giroux - Picador via NetGalley. Thank you!

This was a surprise to me. When I got this, I didn’t realize it was 5 of 75 books lol. Or that it was written so many years ago. But I quite enjoyed it! It put me back in time and was an enjoyable short read with mystery a plenty. I look forward to reading more in this series

Having never previously read a book by Georges Simenon, I went into this with no expectations. It was a short detective story that I easily read in one day (which seems to be the intention). With simple language and a well-built setting, I enjoyed my time reading.

I found the character of Maigret to be unique. He is a sharp man who would prefer to sit in the background as events unfold rather than doing extensive investigations. From my perspective, however, this meant that Maigret's final deduction was given without many hints being given beforehand. Nevertheless, I found this to be an accessible place to start the works of Georges Simenon.

I have always enjoyed Maigret, mainly from television adaptations over the years, but also from reading some of the books. I am so glad that they are being rereleased.
The setting is Concarneau in Brittany, Maigret is called upon by the Mayor after a shooting, when he arrives he is involved in a near miss, when poison is suspected in the Pernod. Maigret works his way through the clues and misdirection.
A classic by Georges Simenon and my thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon

People are: shot, poisoned, missing, and arrested. A yellow dog is always present until he gets shot too! All these are mysteries Chief Inspector Maigret is asked to solve.

This little story will delight the reader up until the end. It’s clever and fun. Somehow, Maigret manages to get all the mysteries solved so the people of Concarneau, France can go back into the streets to live their lives without fear.

A solid four stars from me and looking forward to more stories about Maigret and his sidekick Leroy!

I am a fan of Georges Simenon through a few Masterpiece Theater productions. What always enthralled me in those, I am realizing after reading The Yellow Dog, was the evocative settings. This mystery is set outside of Paris in the rugged coastline of Brittany in Northwestern France. The story features all the hallmarks of a novel by Simenon, with a cast of characters whose motivations are complicated and also ripe for social commentary. The question of who is terrorizing this rural community, still so backward the roads are reduced to impassable mud during extended rain, and even more enigmatically, who does this yellow dog belong to, are almost secondary to the character analysis and social dynamics. The pace is steady and the plotting satisfying. But be forewarned, this is not a pulse pounding thriller with multiple twists. It is a methodical investigation with a satisfying reveal characteristic of the golden age of mystery.