As with Agatha Christie's A Murder is Announced, Maigret Hesitates begins with the eponymous inspector receiving a message about a murder which hasn't yet taken place. A quick read, with some lovely glimpses of a springtime Paris on the cusp of the social changes of the '60s and an engrossing tone, but the psychology of the why/whodunnit didn't quite convince. ( )

Ce Maigret commence bien printanièrement, avec un commissaire qui goûte à un mois de mars ensoleillé.

Et le commissaire divisionnaire a bien l’intention d’en profiter.

Mais voilà qu’une lettre anonyme le prévient qu’un meurtre aura lieu, sorte de chronique d’une mort annoncée. Mais où, qui et quand ?

Un opus qui plonge dans une famille bien aisée, pour un questionnement autour d’un fameux article 64 du code pénal français abrogé en mars 1994 ( )

Maigret and Article 64
Review of the Penguin Classics paperback (May 2, 2019) of a new translation* by Howard Curtis of the French language original "Maigret Hésite" (1968)

There is no crime or offence if the accused was in a state of insanity at the time of the act, or if he was compelled by a force he was unable to resist. - Article 64 of the French Penal Code as translated in "Maigret Hesitates."

I started 2022 with a few dozen Georges Simenon novels including about 20 of the Inspector Maigrets and about 10 of the romans durs (French: hard novels). I had hardly ever read Simenon previously, so this was another of my binge reads or re-reads which had become a habit during the COVID pandemic. I thought that I would end 2022 with yet one more Maigret.

Maigret Hesitates finds the Parisian Chief Inspector having to investigate in advance of a crime, after being sent an anonymous letter which predicts that a murder is soon to take place. The expensive note paper used is so unique that its source is quickly identified as being from the personalized paper provided exclusively for Emile Parendon, a rich maritime lawyer. Maigret proceeds to interview the household including Madame Parendon, a secretary, a daughter and son, the employees and the servants. Both Monsieur and Madame Parendon appear neurotic in their own way. Parendon is obsessed with Article 64 of the Penal Code, as if foreseeing that it would be needed as a criminal defense. Madame is wound very tight and appears to obsessively monitor the household and to be contemptuous of her husband.

Although it might have been obvious in retrospect, Maigret hesitates to identify or actually arrest anyone since no crime has yet been committed. He does place a police watch on the household by assigning his men to sit with the building concierge. Eventually the murder does occur though and Maigret finally makes the arrest. The identity of the letter writer is also revealed.

See cover image at https://www.trussel.com/maig/covers/hesite-68c.jpg
The cover of the original French language edition of "Maigret Hesitates" as published by Presses de la Cité, France 1968. Image sourced from Maigret of the Month.

Maigret Hesitates was perhaps not entirely satisfactory as the lead-up used so many references to Article 64 that its use in an eventual trial would have been a more intriguing prospect. We never get to see that trial however, so we are only left to imagine it. The fruitless attempts to prevent the crime through the anonymous letter warnings and Maigret's interviews let the book end on a down note.

This is Maigret #67 in the recent Penguin Classics series of new translations (2013-2020) of the Inspector Maigret novels but it is #68 in the previous standard Maigret Series as listed on Goodreads.

Trivia and Links
* The earlier English translation by Lyn Moir also gave the title as Maigret Hesitates (Harcourt Brace, 1969 & later reprints).

There is extensive background and a detailed plot description (spoilers obviously) about Maigret Hesitates at Maigret of the Month.

Maigret Hesitates has been adapted for French television twice.
The first adaptation was in a 1975 French language television episode of the long-running series Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret (The Investigations of Inspector Maigret) (1967-1990) starring Jean Richard as Inspector Maigret.
The second adaptation, retitled as Maigret chez les riches (Maigret Among the Rich) was in a 2000 French language television episode of the reboot series Maigret (1991-2005) starring Bruno Cremer as Inspector Maigret.

There is an article about the Penguin Classics re-translations of the Inspector Maigret novels at Maigret, the Enduring Appeal of the Parisian Sleuth by Paddy Kehoe, RTE, August 17, 2019. ( )

Una carta anónima advierte a Maigret de que está a punto de cometerse un asesinato. Tras una eficaz investigación, su equipo de la Policía Judicial descubre que la misiva proviene del domicilio de Émile Parendon, un reputado abogado que autoriza al comisario a registrar su lujoso apartamento de los Campos Elíseos.

L'insofferenza per l'alta borghesia e una certa misoginia di fondo: tipicità di Simenon in un giallo con delitto annunciato che è soprattutto uno studio di caratteri. ( )