THE LAST MAIGRET'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann CleevesHe needed to get out of his office, soak up the atmosphere and discover different worlds with each new investigation.
'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves'Leaning on the banisters, Madame Maigret watched her husband going heavily downstairs .
'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves'Florentin pulled one of those faces which had once amused his classmates so much and disarmed the teachers .
'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves'Maigret looked at him in some confusion, wondering if he waas dealing with a skilful actor or, on the contrary, with a sickly little man who found consolation in a subtle sense of humour.
Acute psychological insight and a distinctive, spare, atmospheric style Simenon ought to be spoken of in the same breath as Camus, Beckett and Kafka Independent on SundayThe seemingly open and shut case of the murdered gambler is anything but simple in this classic novel featuring the legendary Inspector Maigret Maigret had often been called on to deal with individuals of this sort, who were equally at home in London, New York and Rome, who took planes the way other people took the Metro A professional gambler, Felix Nahour, has been shot dead in his elegant Parisian home, and his enigmatic wife seems the most likely culprit.
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray For the first time in his career Inspector Maigret receives written summons to the Prefect's office where he learns that he has been accused of assaulting a young woman.
'His artistry is supreme' John Banville Eyes half-closed, head tilted against the back of his seat, he seemed not to be thinking, as the plane flew over a thick carpet of bright clouds.
'His artistry is supreme' John Banville Conflict rather than harmony probably reigned in eight out of ten of the still magnificent houses that surrounded the park.
'Read him at your peril, avoid him at your loss' Sunday TimesCaptain Lannec has finally managed to buy his own ship with the financial help of his in-laws, the Pitards - and they've never let him forget it.
He is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, hieroglyphics; exhibiting in his solutions of each a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension praeternatural.
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray In his mind's eye he would see that slim figure in the striking clothes, those wide eyes the colour of forget-me-not, the pert nose and especially the hat, that giddy, crimson bonnet perched on the top of her head with a bronze-green feather shaped like a blade stuck in it .
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray In everyone's eyes, even the old ladies hiding behind their quivering curtains, even the kids just now who had turned to stare after they had passed him, he was the intruder, the undesirable.
WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION'This ambitious account of a sudden coming of age reminded me strongly of To Kill a Mockingbird - and is every bit as moving and satisfying' Daily TelegraphIn the long hot summer of 1972, three events shattered the serenity of ten-year-old Marsha's life: her father ran away with her mother's sister; a young boy called Boyd Ellison was molested and murdered; and Watergate made the headlines.
One of the most popular and widely known characters in all of fiction, Sherlock Holmes has an enduring appeal based largely on his uncanny ability to make the most remarkable deductions from the most mundane facts.
One of the most popular and widely known characters in all of fiction, Sherlock Holmes has an enduring appeal based largely on his uncanny ability to make the most remarkable deductions from the most mundane facts.
'Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science' For more than a century the Holmes stories have held a strange, almost inexplicable grip on the popular imagination.
'Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science' For more than a century the Holmes stories have held a strange, almost inexplicable grip on the popular imagination.
The figure of the detective has long excited the imagination of the wider public, and the English police detective has been a special focus of attention in both print and visual media.
The figure of the detective has long excited the imagination of the wider public, and the English police detective has been a special focus of attention in both print and visual media.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the series of short stories that made the fortunes of the Strand magazine, in which they were first published, and won immense popularity for Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes are overshadowed by the event with which they close - the meeting of the great detective and Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes are overshadowed by the event with which they close - the meeting of the great detective and Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime.
A masterful tale of murder and intrigue in a small French town, from the celebrated author of the Maigret seriesNot only had the rain in the dark streets, with a halo around each light and reflections on the ground, always given him a certain thrill, it also made it easier for him to move around.
This new selection of stories featuring Inspector Maigret - three of which are published in English for the first time - takes the detective from a mysterious death in a Cannes hotel to a love triangle in the Loire countryside and a bitter rivalry within a Parisian family.
'One of Simenon's darkest novels' Le MondeOn a foggy winter's evening in Dieppe, after the arrival of the daily ferry from England, a railway signalman habitually scrutinizes the port from his tiny, isolated cabin.
