Maigret sets a trap

This reviewer first encountered Simenon's massive output of police procedurals on Inspector/Superintendent Maigret in college French class; the stories were attractive because they were modern murder mysteries rather than opaque classics, and the French was straightforward enough to be vaguely understandable. They were also short. There wasn't much action, and Maigret was middle-aged, conventional, and contemplative, but the novellas were interesting. This 1955 offering has aged very well; in translation and in the hands of a master narrator, it is hard to turn it off. Narrator Andrew Sachs speaks with precision and carefully delineates characters. His Maigret is both weary of and deeply interested in life and people. As for the plot: Maigret faces a serial killer, catches him through thorough police work, and then ferrets out the motive through thought and interview. This is a quality production all around and will circulate well wherever mysteries are popular. Don Wismer, Office of the Secretary of State, Augusta, Me.(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.