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"One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." -The Guardian

A visit from a tall, thin woman he arrested many years ago-now married to a hapless burglar-leads Maigret on a tortuous investigation in which he struggles with a formidable suspect

A face from Maigret´s past reappears to tell him about the misadventures of her husband, a safecracker nicknamed "Sad Freddie" who discovered a dead body while committing a burglary and fled the scene in a panic. In a race against the clock, Maigret must use his full arsenal of investigative methods to solve the crime.

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Praise for Georges Simenon:

"One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." -The Guardian

"These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself." -The Washington Post

"Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals." -People

"I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov." -William Faulkner

"The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature." -André Gide

"A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness." -The Independent (London)

"Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales." -The Observer (London)

"Compelling, remorseless, brilliant." -John Gray

"A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable-lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates." -Muriel Spark

"A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it."lle -Peter Ackroyd

"Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century." -John Banville

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Simenon, Georges
Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1903. He is best know in Britain as the author of the Maigret novels and his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.

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