I love reading the Maigret stories, having watched Maigret on French TV channel in the early sixties. I bought every Simenon book I could find after I moved to the States in the late sixties, so I got the earlier translations in English.
It was still fun reading this story. Follow Maigret’s way of thinking, how he followed the different leads only somebody managed to get ahead of him to destroy the lead prior to his arrival. His travel brings him to Bremen (Germany), Leuven (Belgium), Paris and Reims (France). Simenon stories tend to be short. This one is about 150 pages. An easy read in 3 hours. That doesn’t stop him from having wonderful descriptions of characters and locations.

When I saw that a Georges Simenon book was available on Netgalley, I requested it. I hadn't read a Simenon book for over sixty years, but I remembered that I had enjoyed the few that I had read. But other than the fact that they featured Inspector Maigret, a French police officer, I remembered nothing about them.

THE HANGED MAN OF SAINT-PHOLIEN is a novella length story that starts with a man following another—from a train station waiting room, on a couple of trains, to a broken down hotel. When waiting at one station, the second man exchanges the first man's cheap suitcase for another that looks identical. Then, in the hotel room, the first man opens the fake suitcase, and after a frantic search for the original one, commits suicide. The second man was Detective Chief Inspector Maigret. Maigret was following the first man out of curiosity; there was no evidence that he had broken the law. In fact, Maigret broke the law by stealing the suitcase.

The rest of the novella describes Maigret's investigation into why the first man committed suicide—why Maigret's minor criminal act resulted in such a tragedy. It is a story of a long-ago crime and how the original perpetrators functioned after they managed to hide the crime. Some were able to carry on with their lives; others were burdened by guilt.

Simenon's style is very different from the English-American type of detective story. His approach is philosophical, devoted to understanding why people act as they do. Rather than pursuing "justice", he seeks insight.

I enjoyed this novella, despite the fact that it had some holes in the narrative. Plot was not one of Simenon's strong points. But the story moved quickly, the writing is smooth, and the psychological insights illuminating.

The story was originally published in the 1930s.

Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.

First of all, I am pleased to see that new translations of the Maigret novels are being published. This is a lovely edition and highly readable.

This was my first encounter with Georges Simeon's Inspector Maigret. Unfortunately, this novel did not live up to my expectations.

While in Brussels on police business, Maigret notices a man mailing a large packet of banknotes to an address in Paris. Intrigued, Maigret decides to follow him and eventually witnesses the man kill himself. Feeling responsible for the man's death, he decides to investigate further to determine who the man was and what drove him to take his own life. Maigret ends up uncovering numerous secrets including past crimes. The novel focuses more on the effect of grief on man than solving the actual crimes.

LIke many of Simeon's early novels it is a quick read and can, in fact, be read in one sitting. For someone looking to explore Simeon's famous inspector, they might be better off to start with a different novel.

Advance copy made available by Picador Books and NetGalley.

"Suddenly witness to a man's dreadful death, Inspector Maigret finds himself faced with a series of sordid events that drove the man to despair in this haunting tale of guilt and tragedy.

While stopped at a railway station on the northern edge of Holland, Inspector Maigret catches sight of a traveler acting oddly: the man glances around furtively, pulls out handfuls of coins to pay for purchases, and guards a small suitcase. Maigret decides to follow the man, thinking he'll help catch a crook - but then the inspector witnesses something terrible. The stranger leaves behind only a passport with a false name and an old, large, dirty gray suit. Struck by guilt, Maigret resolves to figure out who this man was and why events ended so tragically. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien is a moving and deep exploration into the burdens of conscience and the lengths one might go in pursuit of absolution."

A LOT of Maigret books being reissued, I wonder if it has anything to do with the new show?

This was the first Inspector Maigret that I have read – a what a powerful one to start with! In a passing moment in a railway station, Inspector Maigret notices a man acting oddly. He impulsively follows him and things end very badly. It was very intense to follow Maigret down every lead and dead-in, and have clues removed before Maigret can get there. The more Magret uncovers, the stranger and sadder it gets. This was a very powerful story and it kept involved until the very last word.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this DRC.
#TheHangedManofSaintPholienInspectorMaigret #NetGalley