How an author as prolific as Simenon could maintain such high standards is beyond me, this early entry in the Maigret series was book 5 of 11(!) published in the series in 1931 and they range from good to very good.

"I was born in the dark and in the rain but I got away. The crimes I write about are the crimes I would have committed if I had not got away." - Georges Simenon

This particular entry is notable for featuring a psychological showdown between the hero cop and the killer who is baiting him, a leap of faith based on Maigret's intuition as a condemned man is elaborately helped to escape in the opening chapter and the angry world view of a poor but intelligent man causing pain and misery to those around him.

As always there is a fair amount of detecting done whilst refilling a pipe and enjoying a local cafe but this is no cosy mystery, it's a dark tale of life and death, of blackmail and murder, of a game of cat and mouse between detective and genius. Instead of the usual approach towards crime solving, this time Maigret knows who the killer is already and instead must find proof to back up his intuition. A giant leap in terms of the detective novel in 1931 that today is quite common place that combines with several elements of what would come to be known as hard-boiled and noir fiction to form an exciting change in direction for the crime novel.