The Misty Harbour by Georges Simenon

JetBlackDragonfly
Jan 6
2 min read

Updated: Apr 7

The Misty Harbour is the 15th Inspector Maigret mystery novel, published in 1932. Despite an intriguing and complex plot, this Maigret is not my favourite.

Inspector Maigret is used to people taking over his life for days or weeks. Today he is escorting by train a man found wandering in distress with new clothes but no identification or wallet. Five crisp new thousand-franc notes in his pocket. Unable to speak or make a sound, no languages understood. Amnesia?

The only clues were traces of Norwegian salted cod roe on his suit, and the recent, skillfully tended bullet wound on his bald head. After posting a newspaper photo, Julie Legrand claims him as her employer, Yves Joris, Harbourmaster at a small port near Cherbourg. He was well liked before disappearing 6 weeks ago. At Joris's home, by a canal almost as wide as the Seine, a letter informs Maigret that three hundred thousand francs were recently deposited in the Harbourmaster’s bank account.

Inspector Maigret learns more about the canal from the fraternity of men in the local tavern. The next morning, everyone is shocked that Joris is dead, poisoned by strychnine in a glass of water. He could not call out or even utter a sound.

Julie’s mumbling hulk of a brother has returned on The Saint-Michel - and was also there when Joris disappeared. Mayor Grandmaison obfuscates the investigation, which includes the under-the-table sale of The Saint-Michel to an unknown Norwegian, its missing dinghy, and the disappearance of the Mayor's upright wife. Most nights, the town is socked in with thick fog, turning to solid rain, making surveillance difficult for Maigret and assistant Lucas.

"Everyone around the dead man keeps silent, everyone lies, as if everyone had some reason to feel guilty, as if they were all accomplices in what happened.”

This is the most complex Maigret novel I have read so far, with layers of plot and a cargo hold full of red herrings. Simenon manages to imbue all the characters with life, and the atmosphere is thick and tense. It is also the most violent, with Louis slowly beating the Mayor throughout the night without resistance or complaint, and Maigret caught on The Saint-Michel, tied up and tossed overboard.

Within the deception, there was a determination of the characters to not explain anything at all. It was not for me to figure out. I had to wait patiently for Maigret to reveal the core of the case. Although he pulled it off, this was not my favourite.

Still recommended!

1932 / Tradeback / 192 pages