In Georges Simenon's 1942 novel,
The Hotel Majestic, Chief Inspector Jules Maigret must solve the murder of an American tycoon's wife whose strangled body is found unceremoniously stuffed into an employee's locker in the basement of a Paris hotel. The tycoon, however, has an alibi (he's been dallying with the governess instead of his French-born wife), and if the tycoon's six year old son, with fiery red hair, happens to bear a striking resemblance to the accused murderer, a hotel employee named Prosper Donge, then it can only be because Simenon is up to his old tricks plotting a delightful yarn which needs serious unravelling.
If the year of the tale is a bit fuzzy -- there is no hint of a war in Europe -- there is no lack of clarity in Maigret's vision: the Inspector acts as if he's pieced the puzzle together long before the rest of us. Donge lives with a plump mid-30s woman, more roommates than lovers though they share a bed, and they both have some history with the murdered woman -- and another set of minor characters in Cannes which Maigret visits by train. But Donge has been unlucky in love, it seems, and his somewhat simple mental capabilities lead multiple characters to impose upon and take advantage of him. Ah, but he did have motive for the murder, as facts begin to come to light, and opportunity ... until a second strangled body turns up, in the same locker ....
Simenon's gently eccentric characters, including Maigret who does some rather shocking things by current police standards, are delightful to spend time with. It's hard to dislike the bad guys, and the flaws of the good guys make them that much more charming. The wonderful thing about these stories is not the puzzle (although it can be torturous), nor the psychology (which is thoughtful and always humane), nor the language (which is evocative but never self-consciously clever) ... it is truly that the stories are
comfortable and can be read over and over and still produce delight.
Available in
Kobo and
Kindle from Penguin for around $8 to $9.