The Yellow Dog (Inspector Maigret) by Georges Simenon

4 Stars

144 Pages
Publisher: Farrar Straus and Giroux, Picador
Release Date: June 3, 2025

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Police Procedural, French, 1930s

Four men are enjoying a drink at the end of the night. Mr. Mostaguen, a wine dealer, leaves and stumbles into a darkened doorway. He is shot through the letterbox in the door. The following night, there is an attempted poisoning with a bottle of Pernod. Luckily, Dr. Michoux notices the white powder swirling around the bottle. However, the doctor was unable to stop the poisoning of Mr. Le Pommeret, the vice-consul for Denmark. All the while, there is a yellow dog showing up around the town. No one recognizes the dog and while searching they notice gigantic footprints and believe the dog.

The story is fast paced, the characters are well developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. The writing is like that of Agatha Christie’s Poirot character. I have watched several Maigret television shows which made me want to read one of his stories. If you like who dun it stories, you will enjoy this book.

I like Inspector Maigret, but the writing is a little slow for me. Interesting plot, quirky characters, a few plot twists to keep it interesting.

The Yellow Dog is #6 in Simenon's Maigret series - not there's any reason to make a point of reading these novels in order of publication. Everything about it works. The fresh, contemporary cover art. The complexity of the solution to the mystery. Maigret in all of his thoughtful, cranky, mentoring-resisting brilliance. The cast of characters in the community in which we're immersed. None of them shallow "types". All of them potential murderers. I recommend The Yellow Dog to anyone in the mood for Simenon's masterful mysteries.

Perhaps a little bit clunky and missing something après translation, but the mystery moves along nicely for, in the end, a fun read.

I worked hard to keep reading but it was worth it at the very end of the story. I kept saying have patience, the man is working, I think he is. And he was working. It reminded me of reading older mysteries like The Mystery of the Dunes than carried the suspense on and on and on, rather than building it in stages and keeping the reader feeling like they were a very close audience to the action.

This new edition of The Yellow Dog, a novel by Georges Simenon, is part of his well-known Maigret detective series. In this story, Inspector Maigret is called to investigate a strange murder linked to the appearance of a yellow dog.

I was not familiar with the character of Inspector Maigret, but while reading, anyone can easily understand what kind of character he is: definitely eccentric and striving for “true” justice above anything else.

Simenon’s writing style is accessible and offers some psychological insight, though perhaps less than I was expecting. I found the pacing of the story quite rapid. Sadly, I did not like the choice to keep the inspector’s deductive process hidden from the reader. Throughout the book, he limits himself to observing without actively conducting an investigation. The plot, while interesting, lacks the urgency and excitement I prefer in a mystery and ultimately fell flat for me.

Personally, it’s a two-star read, especially when compared to another work by the same author, The Cat, which I appreciated much more for its faster pace and stronger character development.

Still, it is objectively a well-crafted novel worth reading for those who enjoy slow-burn crime stories, particularly fans of Inspector Maigret or Simenon’s writing. For this reason, I assigned 3 stars to the novel.

(Thank you for providing me with a copy of this book!)

I enjoyed The Yellow Dog (Inspector Maigret). Old fashioned mystery as it should be as it was originally published in the thirties. It's a nice mix of characters.

The unnamed protagonist, who sees himself as an emerging author in a writing rut, is suddenly lucky. As his lover puts it, “You recognise a noted recluse, whom no-one has heard boo from in fifty years. You ambush her at her place of residence, and she invites you in for tea and bickies, decides to spill the full, unabridged beans. The great mystery of Australian letters falls right into your lap.” Except, it’s under false pretences.

He's writing something that’s not a straight-out biography but includes himself as the writer. He admits “what I was concocting was not literature, but the story of a parasite and his perfect host.” He’d confessed his desire to be the next great Australian writer, but will strike many as lazy, lacking integrity, with occasional feelings of guilt that are quickly dismissed for the sake of getting his name on the cover. Watching him desperately trying to cover his lies is entertaining, but by the time he’s doing a deep self-analysis, it’s hard to muster any sympathy for him.

Some great characters, many of whom might not be quite who they claim, a clever plot with some delicious twists, and dialogue laced with plenty of black humour. An impressive debut.

This is my first Maigret and it didn’t disappoint. I can see echoes of Fred Vargas’ Adamsberg in his demeanor and methods. He is passive. Doesn’t jump to conclusions and he doesn’t believe in deductions, not even when they’re elementary. This is a very short novel, full of quirky characters and with a strong plot. It is just atmospheric enough to make the Breton village come to life without slowing down the pace. This is clearly a classic, so it’s pointless for a lowly reader like me to review it. This story has survived the test of time and, if we’re getting a new edition it must be good. And it is. It was written in a different time and, even if it doesn’t seem outdated, <spoiler>the treatment of the titular dog is not kind,</spoiler> so that was not my favorite part. The rest is just great.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Farrar, Straus and Giroux | Picador.

With the title of The Yellow Dog, I thought a yellow dog would be have a more central role in the story. To get to the point it doesn't.

As this is my first George's Simenon novel, maybe that's just how his titles vs the actual novels go with a very loosely linked title. He did do a lovely job of making it easily to envision the setting of a quiet seaside town that can easily be shaken by the smallest of disturbances to their daily routines.

Throwing together the discovering of many characters in the first chapter was a bit jarring as I had trouble keeping up with who was who. There didn't seem much forward character development nor much background on characters to better assess any motives.
This may be to my lack of reading mysteries but over all the plot twists were there and then nearly all summarized neatly by chapter 10.
I definitely didn't guess the eventual ending culprit or the reason for their actions so I failed miserably at my sleuthing abilities. However, if you are intrigued by fast paced novel with a multitude of characters in a small town that seems to know about each other's business this novel may be for you.

A dog sniffs at a drunk man who is found laying in a gutter. A custom guard looks the man over and finds a hole in the drunk's overcoat that is oozing blood. The wounded man turns out to be Monsieur Mostaguen, a wine dealer in Concarneau. Then, there is the matter of the liquor possibly being poisoned. How are the two incidents connected? Maigret to the rescue.

I have always wanted to read a Maigret novel, and I get my chance with this mystery. Georges Simenon, a Belgium author who lived 1903-1989, is the author. With a translation, supplied by Linda Asher, I am able to enjoy this book. I like the concise way this story is told. I am reminded of the writing of Agatha Christie. The only place I wish had been a little more filled out is the ending, which I find a bit abrupt. Thank you, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of THE YELLOW DOG.

In The Yellow Dog, Inspector Manifest is faced with a number of crimes to solve: the shooting of a wine merchant, an attempted poisoning, A mysterious vagrant, and a stray yellow dog that seems to appear out of nowhere at each crime scene. The prose is brisk and the novel can easily be read in one sitting. My major complaint is that major information is withheld from the reader making it impossible for the reader to solve the crime. Overall, it's an enjoyable book and I am glad to see these mysteries reprinted.

Originally written and published in 1931, this interesting tale makes it clear that the more things change the more they stay the same. Detective Inspector Maigret is the main constant other that the need to solve mysteries and the gossipy nature of some bystanders. He is always at the center of the story, just as he is a major influence on all the fictional detectives that have come since. A very interesting read.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital copy from Farrar, Straus and Giroux | Picador via NetGalley. Pub Date Jun 03, 2025
#TheYellowDog by Georges Simenon and translated from the original French by Linda Asher @picador @fsgbooks #detectionclassic #Brittany #whodunit #smalltown #poison #shooting #gossip #detectivefiction #mystery #maigret #simenon

My spouse was as professor of French back in the day. So, to keep up her language skills, she still reads a lot of things written in French. Some of them are regular popular fiction, like murder mysteries, albeit ones written in French. The most famous of such French mysteries are the books by Georges Simenon telling of the adventures of Insp. Maigret. My spouse also gets her regular dose of Agatha Christie by reading French translations of her stories. My French isn't so hot, so I read Christie in the original English.

I've tried finding translations of Simenon in the local library, but haven't been particularly successful. So, I was thrilled to find this pre-publication edition of a Simenon available to me. Perhaps now I'll be better able to understand my spouse. "Oh yeah," she said, when I told her I'd snagged the book, "<cite>Le Chien Jaune</cite>."

Anyway, we're in a small sea-side village, Concarneau, where four local luminaries gather regularly at the Admiral Café to drink and chat. One of them reels out one evening, and stops briefly in the shelter of a doorway to light up a cigarette. But he is shot in the stomach by a bullet fired through the mail flap. There seems to be no one around, other than the local watchman and a yellow dog.

Others of the group appear to be threatened, although one of them faked his own attack and disappearance. Generally, when something happens, the yellow seems to be hanging around. No one knows who owns the yellow dog, nor where it goes after the events, until one day, the yellow dog itself is found to have been murdered.

Anyway, the job is more than the local gendarmerie can handle, so they get Insp. Maigret from Paris, along with his new side kick, Leroy. Leroy spends lots of time looking into things, interviewing people, and so forth. Maigret appears to spend most of his time sitting around, smoking his pipe. But, he has amazing powers of observation, even when others think little is going on. Then too, he develops amazing insights from his deep contemplation of events and people. Whatever, Maigret gets is all figured out in the end.

This was a fun read, and I have a better appreciation of my spouse's reading tastes. My guess is that even if Raymond Chandler were translated into French, my spouse wouldn't read it. So, perhaps I'll have to go back to Agatha Christie one of these days.

#TheYellowDog #NetGalley

The Yellow Dog is an Inspector Maigret mystery. Such a treat to read! An old fashioned whodunit written with wonderful prose - so descriptive.
A man is shot in a doorway after leaving the local cafe. Inspector Maigret is called. His friends from the bar are wary - one disappears and the other is poisoned. It is quite the puzzle.
Georges Simenon is a master storyteller.

This book was not what I was expecting and I did not finish it. It seemed flat to me and I didn’t find the characters to be that likable or well developed.

I'm a Christie and Sayers fan, but hadn't tried the Simenon novels yet, so was very excited when I saw this one appear. Unfortunately, I struggled with it and can't say I really enjoyed it on the whole. It was fine - just lacked the sparkle that I find in so many other Golden Age mystery writers. There was no witty banter or sly social commentary snuck in among the descriptions of village life. The characters were not terribly three-dimensional for me, and the pacing felt slow and plodding, with the revelations plopped down rather than teased out. This one wasn't for me.

Reading this book was like visiting a bygone era. It was originally published in 1931, so the war that is referenced in the book may be WWI. This book takes place in Concarneau, a small seaside town in the province of Brittany in France.

Inspector Maigret was sent to Concarneau after a prominent man was shot and killed on his way home. Shortly after that, three men at the Admiral Hotel discovered that their wine had been dosed with poison. The death and the attempted poisoning put the whole town in an uproar.

A yellow dog - the dog in the title - was also seen walking on the streets but no one knew where he'd come from or who he belonged to. He was shot by a local but survived and was cared for by Emma, who worked at the Admiral Hotel. At the heart of this book is a love story and a story of redemption.

I received an e-arc from the publisher Farrar, Straus and Garoux, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

I have never read any Inspector Maigret novels. It was okay. It was a bit different and somewhat slow and dull at times. I am not sure I want to read any others.

A good story for those who are fans of Agatha Christie. The story perhaps doesn’t develop as fast as Christie’s , but still satisfying in the end.