The Two-Penny Bar by Georges Simenon (#28 Review)

The Two-Penny Bar by Georges Simenon

Blurb

‘We saw a door opening ahead of us. There was a car parked by the roadside. This guy came out pushing another guy in front of him. No, not pushing. Imagine you’re carrying a shop dummy and trying to make it look like it’s your friend walking next to you. He put him in the car and got into the driver’s seat . . . The guy drove all over the place. He seemed to be looking for something, but seemed to keep losing his way. In the end, we realised what he’d been looking for.’

A series of chance encounters sends Inspector Maigret down yet another winding path of murder and mystery. While visiting a criminal in his cell, the young convict tells Maigret of a man who’d been spotted dumping a body in a Parisian canal some years ago. On an unexpected trip to a popular inn, Maigret finds himself in the very place the suspected killer was last seen, and the Inspector is pulled deeper into the web of blackmail and deceit.

Review

I really enjoyed this Maigret book but yet again I felt very sorry for poor Mrs Maigret. All Mrs Maigret wants is her husband on holiday with her but as per usual Maigret chooses his work first. The poor woman deserves a medal in my opinion.

While visiting a criminal in his cell the criminal tells Maigret of a crime scene he witnessed years ago. The criminal witnessed a man dumping a body in the canal years ago and of course Maigret is intrigued.

Maigret ends up getting caught up with a group of friends who meet every weekend at a bar near the Seine. This group of friends happily drink, gamble and party the weekend away and enjoy swinging. This leaves Maigret drinking way too much and trying to work out what exactly these people are hiding.

Maigret has quite a task on his hands in this book as he really has no idea who could have done the crime and been responsible for the disposal of the body. After all he has no evidence just the man’s account of the crime. As he is trying to put the pieces together and deal with the people he also has Mrs Maigret sending him telegrams asking him when he will join her on holiday.

I really found this book quite different to the ones I had read before and I enjoyed the different feel about it. I also found this book quite funny in places. Overall, 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.