Maigret s'amuse (suite)

We had occasion yesterday evening to notice how often the script writers for the 'Lewis' series on ITV3 have recourse to either dodgy dons at Oxford or dodgy people of the church, categories which are not exclusive. And often people who are nominally Anglicans but who are rather too fond of smells and bells to be orthodox. Perhaps the chief script writer has had run-ins with people of both sorts over the years. Or perhaps it is a formula which works, does not upset too many people, and he does not have that many to go on.

So it was interesting to have a nearly new formula in this Maigret story.

We have already had Maigret as a beginner (in the Endeavour vein, a series which I do not, as it happens, care for at all), Maigret on holiday, Maigret in his home town and Maigret in retirement, all of which give him a different perspective on his profession.

In this story we have a variation on the holiday formula. A variation in that Maigret is taking his holiday in Paris and is doing all the sort of stuff that tourists might do, which he does not usually have time for. Wandering about with nothing particular to do. Wife getting a bit of time off cooking. Also visiting old haunts, the Maigrets having lived in Paris for a long time.

As it happens, there is a juicy murder - involving a society doctor and his naked wife, the latter being found dead, folded up in a cupboard - shortly after the start of his holiday. Rather than go back to work, Maigret decides to let one of his subordinates have a go for once, while he follows the story rather as a member of the public would, from the terraces, as it were, which gives him a whole new perspective on how things look from the outside. Rather as Morse points out, in one of his stories, after he has been banged up for a few hours on suspicion, how different things look when one is the suspect rather than the detective.

Quite a lot of attention has been given to the coverage of the story in the press, attention which reminds one that Simenon once used to be a journalist himself and knows the ropes.

So far, Maigret has only cheated a bit, leveraging his professional knowledge in only a modest way. We shall see whether he can keep to it.

PS: concerning Paris, which I do not know at all well, I find it adds to the read to have my copy of the Michelin 'Plan de Paris', a French version of our own London AZ, to hand. Nearly all the streets and places mentioned by Simenon are there, it only really falling down when the action moves to the outer suburbs. Some quaint little auberge or écluse on the banks of the Marne or something like that.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/maigret-samuse.html.