The Night at the Crossroads (Inspector Maigret)

By Georges Simenon

Book Overview

Another riveting tale from Georges Simenon, in which two siblings, living in isolation, are suspects in a tale of deception, theft, and murder.

It's been seventeen hours of interrogation, yet Carl Andersen's air of elegance remains unruffled. Inspector Maigret is bewildered by the behavior exhibited by the only probable suspect of the case at Three Widows Crossroads, the location of Carl's isolated mansion where he lives with his sister Else.

The Saturday evening prior, Carl and Else go to sleep, after Carl has locked her away in her bedroom as usual--a curious habit, notes Maigret, but stranger things soon arise. Carl's faraway neighbor Monsieur Michonnet discovers that his flashy new automobile has swapped places with Carl's run-down vehicle; what's more, in the front seat of Michonnet's car sits a dead man, a Belgian diamond merchant no one purports to know, shot point-blank in the chest. Hours later, Carl and Else are caught trying to embark on a train to Paris. It's bizarre business, but Maigret is determined to shake off the unease and find out what the residents of Three Widows Crossroads are covering up in The Night at the Crossroads, an exciting, unnerving story from the inimitable Georges Simenon.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250391040
• ISBN13: 9781250391049
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: Picador
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Strange doings

A dealer in stolen jewels is found dead in a car parked in a residential garage - a total surprise to the people who live there. Oddly, the car belongs to a neighbor across the way. Their cars have been switched. Maigret arrives to inspect the scene of the crime: an isolated crossroads with just three buildings. There's the home of the local insurance agent, the auto repair shop and a sinister old farmhouse with aristocratic tenants from Denmark. The corpse was found in the farmhouse garage. Rarely has Maigret encountered an odder bunch of people. The elegant Dane wears a monocle to cover his grotesque glass eye, and his "sister" is suspiciously sultry. The insurance agent is an insufferable bore who expects the police to buy him a new car. The garage proprietor is an excessively jovial ex-boxer. Bullets fly as the plot unfolds. This is one of those rare times when Maigret shows himself to be a man of action, not just reflection, able to break up fights and clobber criminals as needed. It may not be the best Maigret, but it's charming and fun.

Another fine showing for Inspector Maigret

One of the things that makes these books so interesting after all these years is that they don't depend on any 'slight of hand' tricks to make the mysteries. Each story evolves from a situational point of view and then is followed (sometimes doggedly) by the Inspector and his cohort to the logical ending. What does make them especially intriguing is the background discussions of the people and places involved in the story. It's great insight into France in between the World Wars. This story is based on a small crossroads (carrefour) on the outskirts of Paris. The area is just being discovered because it is finally reachable by 'motorcar'. The changing sociology caused by the the use of long-haul trucking to bring produce and food into Paris is marvelously described in detail by Simenon. The pride in the owning of an 'motorcar', that sets one apart as both modern and mobile is also intriguing. A fine story.