Georges Simenon (1903-1989) is the author of a great series featuring Paris Police Inspector, Maigret. The Inspector is a pipe smoking (as Simenon was), brandy beer and wine drinking, married man who solves crimes of passion in 20th Century France with a mostly dispassionate and dogged search for the facts.

In this novel, Maigret is an irascible, somewhat cynical, and demanding boss of a team of police who take on the case of Josephine, a woman "kept" by four men of means. Maigret's boyhood friend Florentin is a ne'er-do-well leaching off of Josephine while the four men give her money. He seems to be the most likely suspect in the murder of the nice, comfortable female companion.

Maigret shows a softer side of his personality in his dealing with Florentin during the investigation. But, something has to give in the case, and one of the five men is certainly the murderer. All the evidence seems to point to Florentine: motive, opportunity, and money.

The novel is translated from the French in a very readable style by Eileen Ellenbogen. ( )

Classic Maigret: after thirty-five years, an old classmate from the Lycée turns up in Maigret's office. He's the chief suspect in a murder case, but Maigret can't bring himself to believe that the former class clown could kill someone.
I love the opening of this one: Maigret sitting in his office at the end of the afternoon and fascinated by a fly that keeps landing in the same spot on the report he's supposed to be reading. You can just imagine Simenon puffing away at his pipe and typing at random, wondering who's going to come into the room to interrupt the reverie... ( )