Inspector Maigret is the chief protagonist in the Inspector Maigret series of novels by prolific Belgian, Georges Simenone. The first appearance of Inspector Maigret was in the 1931 published mystery thriller, Pietr the Latvian.
Order of Inspector Maigret Series
Order of Inspector Maigret Short Story Collections
| # | Read | Title | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maigret's Pipe | 1945 | |
| 2 | Maigret's Christmas | 1976 |
Jude Amedee Francois Maigret otherwise known as Jules Maigret or simply Maigret to close friends and colleagues is a fictional commissaire and detective of the Paris Brigade Criminelle. Loosely based on the character of Chief Inspector Marcel Guillaume, a longtime friend of Simenone and regarded as one of the best detectives of his time, Commissaire Maigret is a huge man with broad shoulders, fair, and patient though a little gruff.
The first novel in the series, Pietr the Latvian introduces the chief protagonist of the novels, who is on a quest to locate a mysterious character that goes by the name Pietr the Latvian. After police notify the Commisssaire that a leader of an infamous Baltic gang and an international fraudster, Peter the Lett was on his way to Paris, the detective sets out to investigate the man. With only a description to go on, he successfully locates a man matching the description at the Gare du Nord, only to be called away to a train carriage where there is a body matching the description of Pietr.
Following the first man to a hotel, he soon identifies himself as an American executive Oswald Oppenheim who is in town to meet Mortimer Levington his wife. Everything goes haywire when a series of men matching the description ranging from an itinerant Russian, to a Norwegian sea captain come into Maigret’s radar. Just who is this Pietr the Latvian?
INSPECTOR MAIGRET BOOKS INTO TV/MOVIES
The very popular series of novels has been made into several movies and TV series over the years. The series of novels was made into a TV series in 1960 named Maigret. Running for 52 episodes between 1960 and 1963, the BBC produced series starred Rupert Davies in the lead role of Commissaire Maigret. The novels were also adapted into a TV miniseries of 12 episodes by ITV in 1992. Unlike the 1960 series, the ITV version uses material from 12 novels out of the 28 short stories and 75 novels in the Inspector Maigret series. The series has two movie adaptations to its name: Maigret’s Dead Man, and Maigret Sets a Trap. Both novels came out in 2016 and starred Rowan Atkinson in the lead role of Inspector Maigret.
BEST INSPECTOR MAIGRET BOOKS
Maigret Sets A Trap: The 1955 published novel Maigret Sets a Trap, is one of the most highly regarded novels in the series. In fact, it was so popular that it made into a movie by the same name in 2016. The series follows Inspector Maigret, who is devising a plan to arrest a serial killer by trapping him with his perverse vanity. A lucky break leads him to three suspects, which provides an unexpected twist. The unraveling of the dark web of possessiveness and guilt is so dark that it nearly exhausts the veteran detective.
The Cellars of the Majectic: The 21st novel in the Inspector Maigret series of novels, The Cellars of the Majestic is another highly regarded novel. After his exile from Paris, Maigret is now living in a small seemingly tranquil town on the French Coast. From his hotel room the inspector sees a sprightly man emerge from a doorway look around cautiously before disappearing back into his room. He appears moments later bent over and dragging a long mass that could have been a dead body. Though it is none of his business, the inspector just cannot help himself and follows the stranger.
The Madman of Bergerac: The sixteenth novel in the series is one of the most exciting of novels in the series. Maigret is going on vacation to Dorgone, when he has the ill luck of sitting next to an agitated traveling companion who spends most of the time sobbing and sighing. But when the strange man jumps off the train on a dark night, it is up to the inspector to find him before he harms himself or the citizens of Bergerac.
OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE
Many Inspector Maigret fans also love the “Solomon vs. Lord” series of novels by Paul Levine. These books are detective crime thrillers featuring two law partners Victoria Lord and Steve Solomon, who work x rated passion cases in South Florida. Inspector Maigret fans also liked the “Inspector Morse” series of novels by Colin Dexter. These books are mystery thrillers featuring Detective Chief Inspector Morse of the Thames Valley Police in Oxford England, who is an irascible detective with a penchant for cask ale, English literature, and cryptic crossword puzzles.