Cécile is Dead

This Maigret, the 22nd in the series of new translations published by Penguin, has some elements that add depth to the Paris detective. Firstly, he suffers from guilt when a woman who comes repeatedly to see him about suspected intruders in her apartment is murdered. Maigret didn't take her seriously enough, and that weighs on him. Second, an American criminologist appears about two-thirds into the book and gets a lesson in French food, drink and crime-fighting. There is also a scene in which the famous detective goes to the cinema and lets his mind roam aimlessly in an attempt to generate useful paths to a solution. All of this is capped off by an elegant solution and Maigret distributing justice, and help, in his own way.