Although My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon is the 31st book in the Inspector Maigret series and originally published in 1949, it is the first book of the series that I have read. I chose it because it is listed in H.R.F. Keating’s 100 Best Crime & Mystery Books. I listened to an audio version as read by Gareth Armstrong and enjoyed it enough that I have decided to look for more books from this series.

Maigret is playing host to Inspector Pyke of Scotland Yard who has come to France to observe his methods. When Maigret receives word of a murder on the island of Porquerolles, he decides that a trip to the sunny Mediterranean is in order. The victim, Marcellin was boasting of his friendship with Maigret the evening before the murder. In actual fact Maigret remembers that he had more to do with Marcellin’s girlfriend, Ginette, a prostitute that he helped to place in a sanitarium due to her tuberculosis, years ago. Maigret and Pyke travel to the island where Maigret does some preliminary checking of witnesses and possible suspects. From a phone call that Marcellin made, he cleverly puts together what happened and why the murder occurred. Although the mystery is fairly straight forward, the inhabitants of the island are varied and interesting. Throughout the book Maigret was concerned that Pyke would get a bad impression of his “methods” and the interplay between the two men was a source of humor. Maigret appears to be somewhat grumpy and arrogant so I look forward to reading some of the earlier cases to see if he was always that way or if his fame has made him feel superior. ( )

Something I attempted to read in French, and mostly succeeded. M Simenon sets the lazy, sunny Mediterranean scene well. Of course Commissaire Maigret triumphs in the end, he always does. This time accompanied by an overseas observere from Scotland Yard, Detective Pike. M Simenon passes up the opportunity to contrast French and British policing methods and contents himseld with using Detective Pyke as a caricature Englishmand who always has bacon and eggs for breakfast. An enjoyable read, surprising racey in parts for a popular detective novel from 1949. ( )

I liked the interplay between Maigret and Pyke in this one. Lots of comparisons between the French and English. ( )

Maigret receives a phone call from the sun-drenched Mediterranean island of Porquerolles, at the tip of the south of France, and learns that a man going by the name of Marcellin has been killed. Maigret is being informed because Marcellin spoke of him as a friend. But were they really friends? Even if that isn't the case, Maigret will still go down and investigate. At the very least, it will be a change of scenery from the gloomy rainy sidewalks of Paris.

I read this in the original French, which is my second language. I probably missed some jokes, allusions, or clever turns of phrase, but I was able to follow the story for the most part. The atmosphere of Porquerolles shone through and the whole book felt suffused in sunlight. (I only just looked up pictures of the island now -- it is a gorgeous place.) Another interesting touch was having Maigret play host to an English detective from Scotland Yard. Maigret was constantly second-guessing himself and overanalyzing everything the Englishman said, which was amusing, at least for me for some reason. I'm not sure whether it would have been possible to guess who done it -- the solution as explained by Maigret sounded convoluted, but that could have been because I wasn't picking up everything. Nevertheless, I liked the book and would like to read it again sometime. ( )

Slightly pedestrian Maigret from 1949, but the Mediterranean setting makes a nice change. Maigret and the Scotland Yard officer who is studying his methods are summoned to solve a murder on the island of Porquerolles. The victim claimed to be an old friend of the Commissaire's. ( )