Maigret at the Gai-Moulin

Georges Simenon sends his intrepid Parisian detective Maigret to Liege, Belgium in this nifty little crime novel of murder, larceny and international intrigue. A Greek national of mysterious background is murdered after spending an evening in a seedy Liege nightclub. Two adolescent boys become involved when their own attempts to raid the boite's cash register go awry. Inspector Maigret has meanwhile entered the scene, identified as an unknown, "broad-shouldered" stranger by everyone that the Belgian police pull in to question about the Greek's murder. As always, Maigret suspects that the basest of human motives is at the bottom of the seemingly complicated murder, and ultimately solves the first crime while uncovering a second, larger one. "Maigret at the Gai-Moulin" is a neat little package of a story that visits some of Simenon's favorite themes: human foibles, abuses of wealth and power, and the social and economic gaps between the monied and working classes. This is a fine read in the Harcourt series of Georges Simenon reprints that go all the way back to the 1930s. These books are usually witty, evocative of the place and period and right-on successors to the writings of Emile Zola and others that preceded Simenon. Recommended.

Two boys (Chabot 16, Delfosse 18) are out drinking at the Gai-Moulin nightclub. They are chummy with Adèle, a hostess paid to dance with customers, which makes them feel like men about town. But they can't really afford to be as dissipated as they wish, even though Delfosse is a rich kid, so they decide to hide out after closing and steal the money in the till. Their plans are upset when they see a corpse in the dark. Now the almost-thieves have to worry about being implicated in murder. The plot is unusual in that we don't see Maigret for well into the book, which is set in Liege. Instead we observe the Belgian police at work. There are crimes upon crimes to occupy Maigret when he finally shows his hand. The Belgian inspector, of course, hardly knows what to make of his phlegmatic French compatriot!

Atmosphere is stranger than in others Maigret's novels. But it's also very good novel. If you have read "Pedigree" (Simenon's childhood autobiography) you can make interesting parallels between one of the two young boys and Simenon himself. It seems to say to us that the line between criminals and the other humans isn't very large ...

You can compare my review to the other one on this book. OUr views are not the same.I found this book, which I read in French while living in California, to be a delight. It takes place in Liege, in the country of Simenon's birth, long before most of the novels. And part of the suspense (for it is a suspense murder mystery) is waiting for Maigret to appear.Eventually the large figure in his dark winter overcoat enters the story, well supplied with his pipe(s) and tobacco, his mind racing over possibilities. And we are not disappointed, even after reading countless later stories. Not only does Simenon give us a satisfactory ending, but we have a splendid picture of an almost "old world" Liege and the kind of people who lived and worked in it.No, definitely not just a "holiday book", this. Rather, a book for all seasons. Give it a try and you will agree.