The first chapter in The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien is called ‘The Crime of Inspector Maigret’ and begins on the border between Germany and the Netherlands at Gare de Neuschanz. At this time in history it was a small station in a small village in Holland but every morning and evening it was relatively busy ‘carrying German workers attracted by the high wages paid in Dutch factories.’

Maigret is following a young man who had arrived on the Holland train with a ticket for Bremen. They are in the station cafe, drinking coffee and smoking while they wait for the connecting train. When the young man goes to the bathroom, Maigret switches his (identical) suitcase for the one the young man left by his table.

Maigret continues to follow him to a ‘seedy-looking’ establishment in a poorer neighbourhood of Bremen where he is able to obtain the room next to the young man. With his eye to the keyhole of the communicating door, Maigret is able to observe the young man when he finally opens the suitcase only to realise it is not his.

What happens next is shocking and rocks Inspector Maigret to his core.

Despite this tragic beginning, The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien was a very satisfying story. Simeon portrays Maigret as a rather pondererous, lumbering character in this particular book, which disguises his exceptional listening and watching skills and his stoic patience. The story begins with him following a gut instinct that something is not quite right, only to discover how a group of deeply unhappy men lost their way in life and lost their peace of mind.

A rather sad and tragic Maigret story that takes us on a sightseeing tour of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France in the 1930’s.

The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien is the third 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 classism.

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 Dr. Linda Coverdale is precise, nuanced, and more or less seamless. The book, whilst redolent of the European cities/countries 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). There's a strong sense of desolation, futility, and pervasive sadness. It's very well written, though.

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.

Police Detective Circa 1931

John Banville, a celebrated author known for his literary fiction, including the Booker Prize winner "The Sea," also writes crime novels under the pseudonym Benjamin Black (until recently). Banville credits the crime fiction of Georges Simenon as an epiphany, revealing to him a wealth of literary avenues. “One (reads Simenon for)... the atmosphere, vividness, and human insight.” Simenon was a prolific Belgian writer, publishing around 400 novels, including 75 novels featuring the police detective Jules Maigret. Over the next three years, the Maigret books will all be reprinted, with 30 standalone works to follow next year.

My introduction to Simenon was “The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien,” a 1931 work that struck me as distinctly of its era. Maigret feels he has inadvertently pushed a man toward shooting himself. The circumstances are unusual as there seems to be no reason for the man’s suicide. Superficially, he appeared a rather unremarkable fellow with access to a substantial amount of money. Further adding to the intrigue is the sudden appearance of various individuals taking a keen interest in Maigret’s investigation.

The Maigret novels are pretty short and efficiently paced. Banville has faulted them for being formulaic, preferring his “hard novels.” I may see the same thing over time, but I will just enjoy these treats until then.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Picador, and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheHangedManofSaintPholienInspectorMaigret #NetGalley

Admittedly got hooked on Simenon's books through NetGalley prior, this, like the other Inspector Maigret books I've read, was a quick but nevertheless fascinating mystery. I loved the premise, but in particular I was moved by the protagonist's persistent guilt throughout the book, which lent a novel emotional tone to the book that I don't often see in the mystery genre.

My first read of a Simenon book and it was an eye opener.

The story on the surface deals with a furtive man on a railway platform and ends with his self inflicted death. The detective Inspector Maigret brings another depth to the story. One of conscience, and whether inadvertently through the inspectors actions he caused the man to actually take his own life. Because the man was suspicious, the Inspector followed him, exchanged one shabby suitcase for another, and when this was discovered, the man shot himself in despair. Did the Inspector by substituting the suitcases do an illegal act? The other man was just furtive. Being furtive isn’t a crime?

The dead man shabby as he is has a history. He is also actively being followed by eminent people and Maigret is keen to know how and why. To the extent that Maigret becomes the pursued over what happened a decade ago.

Interesting take on detection, on guilt and how to solve a puzzle.

Off we go to early 1930s Europe in Georges Simenon’s early Maigret novel “The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien”. This was a rather short, sharp story that really focuses on Maigret’s patience, on how he pursues the truth by being able to outwait those that have secrets to hide.

Maigret is traveling in Holland when he notices a man behaving strangely. Alerted by his instincts, he follows the man and even ends up switching suitcases with him just to see what he was carrying and how he would react. Once the man realizes that his suitcase is gone, and as Maigret is watching, he quickly shoots and kills himself.

Wracked by the guilt of causing this man’s suicide, Maigret decided he must determine what drove him to such a desperate action, since the contents of the suitcase amounted to an old worn-out suit, a strange item whose loss would drive a man to such despair. Maigret soon finds out that the victim was traveling under a false passport, that he was a laborer with not much to spare, yet somehow his death sparks the interest of a successful businessman, a deputy bank director, a photoengraver and an artist. Maigret pursues and in turn is pursued by these characters, even to the point of attempts on his life, as he steadfastly and doggedly waits for the truth of what happened (almost) ten years ago.

A fascinating study into guilt, felt both by Maigret and those he calmly pursues.

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

Most of Georges Simenon's books were written in another time when technology was scarce and cases were solved with hard work and brain power. This quick read leaves readers with a respect for law enforcement officers of a different era. Inspector Maigret and his cast of characters are welcome to my library any day.

Inspector Maigret's action of switching suitcases with a suspicious man results in the suicide of the same man, which has him searching out reasons why the man would have done so. His investigation leads him to uncover a crime from many years past.

This was quite a different type of crime mystery to the one or two previous Simenon books I've read. I think the first thing is the switching of suitcases by Maigret. As I haven't widely read the series I don't know whether this sort of behavior is very typical of the character or not. But the consequences definitely take him down an unexpected path and into the past. The other thing is the ending which didn't satisfy in the way others have done. That's not to say it's not a good story though, just very different. In any case, it was definitely an interesting story, and I recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Picador for giving me the free advanced readers copy. My feedback is entirely voluntary.

Simple curiosity leads a detective to a long-buried crime

Inspector Maigret of the Police Judiciaire was in Brussels for a quick assignment which finished earlier than expected. He decided to pass the hours until his train returned him to Paris at a small café where he noticed an oddity...a man in shabby clothes who looked like he was down on his luck (and had been for some time). Yet this same man was counting out a large sum of money and placing it into a package to mail. Maigret decides that he will follow the man for a while, as he has nothing better to do, and will likely determine that the man is a criminal and turn him over to the Belgian police. Instead he sets into motion a chain of events that will leave the shabby man dead by suicide and Maigret feeling both remorse for having perhaps been what pushed the man over the edge and determination to find answers to this case that makes no sense. The passport on the dead man turns out to be a forgery, and an appeal in the papers attracts attention from unlikely places. What could a humble laborer whose drinking ruined his marriage and his job prospects have to do with a successful businessman, a deputy bank director, a photoengraver and an artist? Can Maigret determine what circumstances led the victim to his fate before those who wish the question to remain unanswered eliminate any evidence that might assist Maigret in his endeavor....including Maigret himself?
The 1920's and 1930's are regarded as the Golden Age of Crime Fiction and for good reason....authors like Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ellery Queen, Rex Stout and so many more published books that established the genre as a legitimate form of fiction and to this day are read by millions. Many of the great authors of this period were British and American (as well as one of my favorites, Ngaio Marsh from New Zealand0, but there is a Belgian in the group who has also stood the test of time....Georges Simenon. I have steadily worked my way through many of the authors of the period, but somehow Simenon has stayed beyond my reach until now. Maigret is a sturdy fellow, known for wearing a wool coat and a bowler hat and for smoking a pipe. He is not a hardboiled noir sort; he tends to want to know why a crime happened in order to figure out whodunnit rather than the other way around. The translation by Linda Coverdale flows freely, and as the story unfolds Maigret slowly and methodically follows the few clues he has been able to uncover to discover the true identity of the shabby man and about his life. He has been a policeman long enough to have developed a keen eye for people's behaviors, and it serves him in good stead as he delves into this emotionally complex and morally ambiguous investigation. This is the third (or fourth, depending upon the source) novel to feature Maigret, and if you have been remiss (as I have been) in not adding him to your shelves I highly recommend that you correct that situation. Readers of Golden Age crime writers as well as fans of Henning Mankell, Fred Vargas and Graham Greene should.give the series a try. Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Strauss and Giroux/Picador for allowing me access to a copy of The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien in exchange for my honest review....this was my first Maigret but assuredly will not be my last.

First time reading Inspector Maigret, and I am a fan!

Inspector Maigret follows a man who looks and acts like a suspect. But when Maigret takes something that seems of value to the French man, he commits suicide. Ridden with guilt, Maigret seeks to find out why a man would kill himself over a briefcase full of old, dirty, bloody men's clothes. As the story progresses ,Maigret finds out that the man's name is borrowed, that he has a family who hasn't seen him in years and a brother who isnt sure that he is his younger brother.

The Hanged Man of Saint- Pholien is about remorse, rage of despair, enduring friendships, covering up crimes, and what desperate men are willing to do in order to keep their families and their names intact.

Thank you, Netgalley and Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux/ Picador.

I’m glad to see that Maigret is being republished, I’ve watched many adaptation on TV over the years, but the books are best. Maigret follows a man all the way to Bremen, why? Because of the way he looked and acted. Maigret swaps the man’s suitcase, in a hotel room in Bremen the man discovers this and pulls out a gun and kills himself.
This is a puzzle for Maigret to solve and in his usual dogged manner he follows the clues.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc. A wonderful read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ebook ARC. I am so pleased to see fresh editions of the classic Inspector Maigret mysteries by Georges Simenon. This book, as are his others, is deftly plotted and engrossingly told as Maigret sifts through the evidence to find the solution. His books are good companions for the bus, the beach, or bedtime reading.

The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien (also published as Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets) begins with Detective Chief Inspector Jules Maigret following a French suspect in Germany, one who commits suicide within the first few pages. Maigret immediately realizes that, without meaning to, he has caused a certain Louis Genet to shoot himself in the mouth.

This terrible turn of event leads Maigret to try to discover more about this Louis Genet — who turns out to be traveling under an assumed name. As Maigret tries to find out this man’s real identity, he stumbles onto a bigger — and older — crime. To say more would be to ruin the mystery, but let me say that, of the four Georges Simenon novels I’ve read, this is the most unusual and the best. The novel really shows Maigret as the unique officer of the law that he is. Highly recommended.

I love reading the Maigret stories, having watched Maigret on French TV channel in the early sixties. I bought every Simenon book I could find after I moved to the States in the late sixties, so I got the earlier translations in English.
It was still fun reading this story. Follow Maigret’s way of thinking, how he followed the different leads only somebody managed to get ahead of him to destroy the lead prior to his arrival. His travel brings him to Bremen (Germany), Leuven (Belgium), Paris and Reims (France). Simenon stories tend to be short. This one is about 150 pages. An easy read in 3 hours. That doesn’t stop him from having wonderful descriptions of characters and locations.

When I saw that a Georges Simenon book was available on Netgalley, I requested it. I hadn't read a Simenon book for over sixty years, but I remembered that I had enjoyed the few that I had read. But other than the fact that they featured Inspector Maigret, a French police officer, I remembered nothing about them.

THE HANGED MAN OF SAINT-PHOLIEN is a novella length story that starts with a man following another—from a train station waiting room, on a couple of trains, to a broken down hotel. When waiting at one station, the second man exchanges the first man's cheap suitcase for another that looks identical. Then, in the hotel room, the first man opens the fake suitcase, and after a frantic search for the original one, commits suicide. The second man was Detective Chief Inspector Maigret. Maigret was following the first man out of curiosity; there was no evidence that he had broken the law. In fact, Maigret broke the law by stealing the suitcase.

The rest of the novella describes Maigret's investigation into why the first man committed suicide—why Maigret's minor criminal act resulted in such a tragedy. It is a story of a long-ago crime and how the original perpetrators functioned after they managed to hide the crime. Some were able to carry on with their lives; others were burdened by guilt.

Simenon's style is very different from the English-American type of detective story. His approach is philosophical, devoted to understanding why people act as they do. Rather than pursuing "justice", he seeks insight.

I enjoyed this novella, despite the fact that it had some holes in the narrative. Plot was not one of Simenon's strong points. But the story moved quickly, the writing is smooth, and the psychological insights illuminating.

The story was originally published in the 1930s.

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 of all, I am pleased to see that new translations of the Maigret novels are being published. This is a lovely edition and highly readable.

This was my first encounter with Georges Simeon's Inspector Maigret. Unfortunately, this novel did not live up to my expectations.

While in Brussels on police business, Maigret notices a man mailing a large packet of banknotes to an address in Paris. Intrigued, Maigret decides to follow him and eventually witnesses the man kill himself. Feeling responsible for the man's death, he decides to investigate further to determine who the man was and what drove him to take his own life. Maigret ends up uncovering numerous secrets including past crimes. The novel focuses more on the effect of grief on man than solving the actual crimes.

LIke many of Simeon's early novels it is a quick read and can, in fact, be read in one sitting. For someone looking to explore Simeon's famous inspector, they might be better off to start with a different novel.

Advance copy made available by Picador Books and NetGalley.

"Suddenly witness to a man's dreadful death, Inspector Maigret finds himself faced with a series of sordid events that drove the man to despair in this haunting tale of guilt and tragedy.

While stopped at a railway station on the northern edge of Holland, Inspector Maigret catches sight of a traveler acting oddly: the man glances around furtively, pulls out handfuls of coins to pay for purchases, and guards a small suitcase. Maigret decides to follow the man, thinking he'll help catch a crook - but then the inspector witnesses something terrible. The stranger leaves behind only a passport with a false name and an old, large, dirty gray suit. Struck by guilt, Maigret resolves to figure out who this man was and why events ended so tragically. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien is a moving and deep exploration into the burdens of conscience and the lengths one might go in pursuit of absolution."

A LOT of Maigret books being reissued, I wonder if it has anything to do with the new show?

This was the first Inspector Maigret that I have read – a what a powerful one to start with! In a passing moment in a railway station, Inspector Maigret notices a man acting oddly. He impulsively follows him and things end very badly. It was very intense to follow Maigret down every lead and dead-in, and have clues removed before Maigret can get there. The more Magret uncovers, the stranger and sadder it gets. This was a very powerful story and it kept involved until the very last word.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this DRC.
#TheHangedManofSaintPholienInspectorMaigret #NetGalley