Cecile Is Dead by Georges Simenon

Cecile is the twentieth book in Georges Simenon's impressive series. Each mystery is captivating and rich in character.

Detective Chief Inspector Maigret adopted his curmudgeonly expression upon seeing Cecile at the Police Judiciaire. An old maid at 28, she was unprepossessing and slightly cross-eyed. Once again, she was sitting on one of the waiting room chairs upholstered in green velour, motionless for hours with her hands on her lap. It was a running joke that she would only tell Maigret her vague complaints. Even though she spotted him, he put her off again with the same response: "I don't have time at the moment."

For months now, she claimed items were being moved while she slept at the apartment she shared with her bedridden aunt. The doors remained locked, but simple traps were sprung. Today, she finally disappeared, leaving a note: "Something terrible happened last night."

Maigret is called to a fifth-floor apartment and finds a plump old woman strangled—Cecile's aunt. With a vigilant concierge and prying neighbors, it would be hard to make a move without everyone knowing. Her downstairs neighbor, Dandurand, could hear everything in her apartment through his thin ceiling. An ex-attorney, he managed her affairs and knew she was a silent investor in several bawdy houses. Dealing in cash, she kept her entire fortune of over 800,000 francs secretly stashed in the apartment, but no safe is found. Relatives arrive to inherit what was promised, but the will has disappeared.

And what of Cecile? This worried girl, continually put off as a nuisance, deserved better than being led away from the waiting room by someone she trusted, bludgeoned, and left in a hallway closet of the Police Judiciaire. She deserves justice.

Cecile is a mystery brimming with characters. Dandurand was disbarred and served time for indecency to minors, a man who likes unripe fruit. The concierge is nicknamed Madame-With-All-Due-Respect, because although she is no gossip, 'with all due respect' these neighbors lie as easily as breathing. Both know more than they are telling about the old lady's apartment.

Once again, Simenon presents an intriguing and unique mystery—and Maigret, who had retired from the force, then came back for a personal case—is very much back in Paris on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir with Madame Maigret, without explanation.

Simenon is always recommended!

Cecile Is Dead was filmed in France in 1944 starring Albert Prejean.

1942 / Tradeback / 192 pages