Félicie (Inspector Maigret)

By Georges Simenon

Book Overview

"Simenon was fascinated by peculiarities of human personality, which he described in elegant, simple prose . . . as pure as running water." --Roger Ebert

It's the height of spring, and Maigret is grappling with doubly unfamiliar circumstances. He's in the surreal new village of Jeanneville, outside Paris, where an elderly bachelor has been shot dead in his home. Тhe prime witness, his twenty-four-year-old housekeeper, F licie, may well be among Maigret's most unnerving adversaries. Infuriatingly clever, singularly self-possessed, and overtly antagonistic, she is surely hiding something--but what?

As their battle of wits pinballs the investigation between toy land-like Jeanneville and Paris's seedy Place Pigalle, Maigret wonders what preoccupies him more: catching the perpetrator of a brutal murder, or solving the psychological puzzle box of F licie? A diamond-sharp gem of crime fiction, F licie is Georges Simenon at his mischievous best.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 125042013X
• ISBN13: 9781250420138
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.9" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

A flighty young woman torments Maigret

Jules Lepie (Peg Leg) is a bookkeeper who loathes adventure, to the point of never marrying. But adventure pursues him. One day he embarks on a long sea voyage purely by mistake - and loses a leg in a brawl! Peg Leg then retires to a placid development of cute little pink brick houses with tiny gardens. But once again peace eludes him. For no apparent reason, he's shot dead in his perfect dollhouse. To the astonishment of relatives, his heir turns out to be his servant girl Félicie. This skinny young woman with her nanny-goat forehead, la-di-da airs and flamboyant clothes leads Maigret quite a dance. What's the meaning of her odd behavior? She won't answer the simplest question without telling a lie. Trapping the slippery Félicie seems impossible. So naturally Maigret becomes obsessed with her. He can't tear himself away from this outlandish girl and her fairy-tale town. Simenon creates one of his oddest and most amusing characters in Félicie. And in this delightful book, Maigret's style of working the case is at its most erratic and eccentric.