The Carter of "La Providence" (Inspector Maigret BOOK 4) by Georges Simenon
Having read all Maigret’s books more than 30 years ago I decided to get all the electronic versions when they became available. This time I decided to read them in order that Simenon first published these books. In this book you get the feeling of what it was like pre-war II, making a living on the waterways. You get the barges pulled by horses walking along the side of the canals. You have the motorized barges and of course the occasional yacht. Each type has different priorities in been able to enter the locks where the boat captains are not in agreement. A juggling to position themselves in the best location to enter the locks because losing time is losing money.
Our inspector ends up showing compassion for the actual murderer, which does not become clear till the end.

Sir Walter Lampson, a retired English colonel who served in India, and his wife Mary have a very modern marriage, each openly with a lover. But, despite his supposed free-thinking ways, when Mary Lampson turns up dead in a stable, Sir Walter is the top suspect; he remains so when Willy Marco, Sir Walter’s general factotum and Mary’s lover, is found dead a day later.

While this second Maigret novel of Georges Simenon has also been published under the title of Lock 14, my favorite title under which it has been published in translation is Maigret Meets a Milord because that title highlights the subtle class satire evoked therein. I shall never forget the scene between the snobbish and pretentious chief magistrate who, dazzled by Sir Walter’s title and pedigree, makes an utter fool of himself. While Simenon was vehemently apolitical, he painted a comic picture of two aristocrats — one French and one English — coming to an understanding despite “the recent unpleasantness.”

Maigret novels aren’t for fans of non-stop suspense thrillers, nor for readers expecting intricate puzzles. Instead, the persistent Maigret uses psychology and an understanding that criminals are people like anyone else. Fans of Miss Jane Marple or Chief Inspector Morse might want to explore Simenon novels for their next favorite series.

It was very interesting to read this book, because I knew the story from the 2001 French television dramatization (titled Maigret et la Croqueuse de diamants) starring Bruno Crémer. Although the TV series was set in the 1950s for the sake of continuity and the book was published in 1931, I found myself imagining the settings and actors as I read the book.
This is one of Simenon’s earlier Maigret mysteries. Many of the elements that make his stories so compelling are already in evidence: the atmosphere of the place, the close-knit community (in this case, bargees and lock operators along a busy canal), and seemingly unrelated crimes and unusual events. A woman is found strangled in a cart horse stable along the canal, and it turns out that she was the wife of a yacht owner who had stopped off there for a couple of days. The dead woman’s husband is an Englishman, a retired colonel who now spends his days cruising around drinking rivers of whiskey and running his yacht like a rather languid sort of Love Boat where he and his wife and the two crewmen pick up women and have ‘parties.’ Maigret is appalled by the seeming lack of emotion in the Englishman on hearing of his wife’s demise.
Simenon pulls off an interesting sleight of hand—all the interesting action and suspicious characters seem to be on the yacht, though the barge La Providence is always in the background and we know that somehow its crew of three very ordinary working people must be involved somehow. Eventually Maigret arrives at the truth, but to do so he must make a marathon bike ride along miles of towpath to catch up with a key witness. And there’s not even time to stop for a beer!
My only criticism, such as it is, is that the transformation of a certain character over time seems so fundamental that I assumed it was going to end up being a case of mistaken identity or an impostor! This had to happen in order for the plot to work, and it is smoothed over by beautiful writing; but it still seemed implausible. But this is a small matter, and the book was thoroughly enjoyable.
David Coward’s translation is excellent. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book.

"A glamorous woman suddenly turns up dead in the middle of nowhere in a tragic, mysterious puzzle that only Georges Simenon's legendary detective can solve.

It's just another slow, rainy day on a French canal, until the discovery of a woman's body disrupts the placid scene. Inspector Maigret is baffled by the facts of the case: an expensively dressed woman, Mary Lampson, has been strangled in a nearby stable, with no road nearby wide enough for automobile traffic. Only by chance was her body found, without a noise, witness, or trace of mud to aid in explaining the scene. How did this glamorous, pearl-laden woman meet her end? It seems that those on board the barge La Providence - Mary's proud husband, Sir Walter; a friend named Willy Marco; and a Chilean parliament member's widow - might hold the key to the puzzle. In The Carter of "La Providence," once again, Georges Simenon orchestrates a harrowing plot of secrets and dramas that disturb, and reveal the underbelly of, the everyday."

Read before the new series!

Another novelette by Georges Simenon published in the early 1930s that has been reissued. This one opens with a description of a Lock on the river Marne in Paris, a description that is a bit difficult for North Americans to follow because Locks are rarely used on our rivers. Nonetheless, the story moves quickly when the body of a strangled woman is discovered by two carters. (Carters were men who transported goods on a cart driven by horses, and were also used to help move boats through locks.)

Detective Chief Inspector Maigret soon discovered that the murdered woman was the wife of Sir Walter Lampson, an Englishman, a retired Colonel who had served in the Indian Army. He, his wife, and three companions were travelling on a yacht through the French canal system when his wife disappeared, although he did not report her disappearance because, he said, she frequently went off and always returned. The group of five people (three men and two women) lived on the yacht travelling constantly between England and France (and sometimes Italy). Their life consisted of drunken parties, and they were constantly short of money given that they all lived on Sir Lampson's limited army pension. A strange life, arising from Lampson's inability to move on from the privileged position he held when living in an English colony.

Maigret investigates the murder by asking questions that appear to come out of the blue, but eventually make sense when the killer is discovered. But like all Simenon's stories, it is a moral tale. Who was truly guilty: The killer who had suffered so profoundly because he felt he had been betrayed? The one who had not kept a promise? And underlying this tale are the horrors of the French penal colony system. Because they are not described in detail, younger readers might not be aware of their brutality. It is what is not said in the story that make it so powerful.

Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.

First published in the early 1930’s, “The Carter of ‘La Providence’” is one of the earlier Inspector Maigret novels from Georges Simenon that takes us back to a simpler time, a slower pace of life, in rural France between the wars.

A body is discovered, purely by accident, under some hay in a stable alongside a lock on France’s intricate system of canals and waterways. The victim, a rich woman soon identified as Mary Lampson, was strangled and hidden, yet there was no noise, no mud (on a very rainy and muddy day), and no place for a car to have brought her. Inspector Maigret is brought in to solve this baffling mystery. He soon links her to a rich man’s sailboat, owned by the victim’s husband Sir Walter, a British “stiff upper lip” Lord who has been travelling with his sidekick Willy Marco and another mysterious woman, a Chilean parliament member’s widow, along with a Russian crewman.

But this murder is also tied to others plying the canals of France, the barges waiting patiently for their turns, the “carters” (who tend to the horses that tow the barges) and innkeepers and sailors who make up this tightknit blue-collar community and resent the rich with their playthings. When another death (and yet another near-death) takes place, Maigret realizes that the killer isn’t done yet, that the secrets of the past are still being protected in the present day.

This is a perfect example of the laid-back style of Maigret, of how he pursues answers to questions based on how he reads situations and people. This younger Maigret isn’t above getting on a bicycle and tearing about the French countryside, but it’s often to ask a simple question or two, or to see some activity or location for himself. The weather, soggy, damp, rainy and grey, adds another layer to the mood and is almost an additional character. A wonderful cerebral break from most of today’s action-packed, gruesome murders. I am glad that these treasures are being republished for a new generation of readers and giving us the opportunity to revisit some of these classic mysteries.

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

This is my first foray into the world of Inspector Maigret, and I had a lovely time! The mystery was fun and engaging, and I found the translation soothing to read even as the writing itself delved into some complicated territory. I couldn't always keep up with the minute details making up the investigation, but I enjoyed being a part of the ride. I will be seeking out more Simenon to read!

My thanks to FSG and Picador for an eARC of this upcoming (June 2025) reprint of an early Simenon Maigret novel. Penguin is better known for publishing this Belgian author. This is the 2014 translation by David Coward. It was also translated into English by Anthony Abbot as "The Crime at Lock 14" (1934) and in 1963 by Robert Baldick as "Maigret Meets a Milord" (reissued in 2003 as "Lock 14"). It was made into a big screen or TV movie 4 times ("Maigret and the Gold Diggers" - what does that have to do with the book??????)
It is listed as volume 2 or 4 in the series of 75 novels Simenon wrote with Maigret as the main character. Simenon began writing the series in 1928 or 1929, but only in 1930 was the first one published. This is one of about a dozen titles he published with Maigret in 1931! He was known to write 50-80 pages a day.
I have not read a Maigret title in decades, but a few years ago I read a few of the Simenon gritty, Social Realist non-Maigret books that he had written earlier.
This is set on the waterways and canals of France. Simenon in the late 1920's had a houseboat built, and he traveled these for about a half a year. With his wife, and the younger "assistant" who stayed with them for over 30 years, Boule.
The carters and canal boats make this is a very blue-collar kind of novel. It is short, and can almost be read in one sitting. All kinds of "red herrings" are thrown out from the very first page, with a surfeit of details. And it is only by a hint thrown out by one of the disliked rich people of the novel (even Maigret admits he had spent too much time trying to find one them guilty) that he begins to piece the case together. In the end the criminal is more sympathetic than the victims, but even their deaths are more sad than horrifying or tragic.
I hope to read more in this series, and I have one other eARC from Picador. But I do believe that either you like Simenon, or not - he is not cozy, and he is also not "tough", like a Hammett novel.
4 out of 5, looking forward to my next quick read of Simenon. Ii can imagine getting addicted to these.

Inspector Maigret is one of my long-time favorite characters. A few years before the movie starring Rowan Atkinson, which I find very match and interesting, I began reading the books completely out of order. Recently, I've decided to read more each year, and I hope to track the series from the beginning this time.

The Carter of 'La Providence' marked as the second and fourth book. I am pretty sure this does not change the story; however, he is younger and constantly biking up and down the small path in the near lake village this time.

This book, which I am very afraid to admit, is my least favorite so far. WHY afraid: because of a single sentence in the last chapter: "No one noticed, except Maigret." I have a feeling there were misdirections and unanswered questions that I didn't understand but Maigret did.

In any case, still was a good mystery on a rainy, tragic day in France, when Inspector Maigret got into the new case of the discovery of the body of an expensively dressed woman found in a nearby stable, with no road nearby, no witness, and no mud in her... He started solving and I kept guessing with no luck till the end.

Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux via NetGalley for the DRC, I have given my honest review and love the new covers!

When a woman's body is found in the stable alongside Lock 14, which marks the junction of the river Marne and the canal, it is up to Detective Chief Inspector Maigret of the Flying Squad to figure out who killed her. No easy task when he does not even know who she is, or how she - in her clean, dry clothes - got to the stable, given that the towpath is too narrow for a car and on the night in question anyone on foot would have had to wade knee deep through puddles and mud...

The Carter of "La Providence" is the fourth book to feature Maigret but can definitely be read as a standalone, and I really liked the way it focuses solely on the case at hand rather than bringing in character or story arcs from previous books. We're dropped into the middle of the mystery from the opening line, and the story ends as soon as the case is solved. No words are wasted in this slim book, which can easily be read in one sitting, and I loved the pared-back style of writing which kept the pages turning and the facts clear but which I also wanted to savour. I particularly wanted to spend as long as possible in the company of Maigret, a strikingly original character in a genre crowded with detectives. I loved the way he is described from the start as baffled by the facts of the case, and I noticed that Georges Simenon repeatedly allows other characters to make key discoveries instead of his protagonist, and yet somehow Maigret always felt like such a reassuring presence, with his calm demeanour, restless mind, and quick wit. I also liked the way Maigret goes about solving this mystery, which feels different from other crime fiction books partly because of his unique character and partly because of the baffling details of this case.

The mystery itself keeps the reader guessing without resorting to implausible or overly-complicated storylines, thanks to a cast of colourful characters and the intricacies of the canal system. The setting was one of my favourite aspects of The Carter of "La Providence", both because of the limited number of suspects it provides us with and because of the way the muddy towpaths and constant rain are so wonderfully evoked by the writing. This one wasn't quite a five-star read for me, partly because I didn't always love the way this book presented its female characters, but I enjoyed it very much and will definitely be reading more in the series.

Georges Simenon’s *The Carter of La Providence* is a masterclass in atmosphere, a quality I’d forgotten until revisiting his work after years away. Introduced to Inspector Maigret through a college course on detective fiction, I hadn’t picked up a Simenon novel since, though I’d devoured every film and TV adaptation—Bruno Cremer’s portrayal always standing out as the definitive Maigret, his image lingering in my mind throughout this read. That mental picture only enhanced Simenon’s vivid prose, reminding me why he remains unmatched in crafting mood. Reading this book, I felt perpetually damp, as if the misty French canals had seeped into my bones.

The story unfolds on a slow, rainy day along a canal, a tranquil setting shattered by the discovery of a woman’s body. Mary Lampson—elegantly dressed, adorned with pearls—is found strangled in a stable, far from any road suitable for a car. The scene is perplexing: no noise, no witnesses, no mud to hint at her arrival. It’s a puzzle that baffles even the unflappable Inspector Maigret, who must unravel how this glamorous figure met such a grim fate. The clues seem to lie with the eclectic crew aboard the barge “La Providence:” Mary’s haughty husband, Sir Walter; the enigmatic Willy Marco; and a Chilean parliament member’s widow. Together, they form a web of secrets and quiet dramas that Simenon unravels with surgical precision.

What makes The Carter of La Providence so compelling is Simenon’s ability to peel back the veneer of the everyday, exposing its dark underbelly. The plot is taut and harrowing, but it’s the atmosphere—sodden, heavy, and alive—that lingers. Simenon doesn’t just tell a mystery; he immerses you in it. For fans of detective fiction or anyone who appreciates a story that seeps into your senses, this is a reminder of why he’s a titan of the genre. I won’t let another decade pass before picking up his next work.


Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this book.