Maigret and The Old Lady by Georges Simenon

Someone has tried to poison Madame Valentine Besson, and she asks Detective Chief Inspector Maigret to find out who. The widow lives alone with her maid, and that night she felt her sleeping drops were too strong and did not drink them; the maid did, and was found dead in the morning. A tragedy, but there is still someone trying to kill Valentine.

Maigret arrives in the town of Etretat, pretty as 'a watercolor painting by a talented student', where Inspector Castaing is investigating. The night of the death was the birthday celebration dinner of Valentine, where all her children were present: her daughter Arlette from her first marriage, her stepson Charles, now a local politician, and her ne'er-do-well younger stepson Theo. Her second husband was the creator of Juva Cream beauty products, but there was nothing left when he died. Killing Valentine would not bring anyone riches. Maigret finds Valentine a sparkling and animated lady, without enemies. The rest of the family, however, reveals discord with Theo, who no longer speaks with his mother, and Arlette continues having extra-marital affairs from the first month of her marriage to a Parisian dentist, who is the only one who doesn't know. Theo was sweet on Rose, ready to propose, and is now on the side of her brother Henri. In a small group of suspects, where everyone seems to, if not love Valentine, at least not wish her dead, Maigret must find out and piece together the family history.

Still looking like a picture postcard, as September rolls in, the holiday town is ready to close up for the season. This is not the most intricate or dynamic Maigret mystery, but like the others, it has a quiet charm. It was adapted as a London stage play in 1965, and filmed several times: in French in 1977 and 1995, in English starring Rupert Davies in 1960, in Japanese in 1978, and in Russian in 1974.

1950 / Tradeback / 192 pages