Maigret and the Calame Report by Georges Simenon (Review)

Maigret and the Calame Report by Georges Simenon

Blurb

In ‘Maigret and the Calame Report’ the detective is reluctantly drawn into the seedy world of political manoeuvring and corruption when 128 children are killed in a collapsing building.

Review

The first impression I had of this book is how does Maigret’s liver cope? I fully expected him to need a new liver at the end of this book. Everywhere he goes he has an alcoholic drink! It did make me giggle when Maigret admits he doesn’t get on with driving as he finds his mind wanders and he has only just managed to avoid an accident whilst driving in the past. I’m not sure about his mind wandering but I am sure the alcohol he is consuming is affecting his driving.

So this is my first Maigret book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Maigret deals firmly with facts and good old fashioned police work which often involves the use of his officers to gather all the facts he needs to build his case. Maigret lives a simple life of going to work and coming home to his wife who always has his slippers ready and tea on the table and who never complains if he is late or summoned out of the house at random hours. However, there is one thing that Maigret likes to avoid and that is politics but sadly with this case politicians need him to solve the case. Maigret must find the person who stole the all important Calame Report and he needs to do it fast.

The thing I loved about this book is that Maigret is unlike other detectives you read in other detective books. Sherlock Holmes for instance will deduce things and make assumptions on the evidence he has before him but Maigret does not do that. He carefully and painstakingly gathers every little fact and piece of evidence he can find and he starts to build the picture until he has a result. He never tries to predict or assume anything and won’t do anything unless he has all the facts. As the story unfolds Maigret builds the picture of what happened and the reader sees it all happen with Maigret. 

The book is only short and in reality it could be read in one day but due to tiredness it took me nearly a week but I really enjoyed the book and I can’t wait to read the next one and see what Maigret is up to next. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲🐲🐲

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About the author

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was a Belgian writer who published nearly 500 novels and many short stories. Simenon is best known as the creator of the Maigret stories.

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