Maigret at the Coroner's (Inspector Maigret)

By Georges Simenon

Book Overview

In the sweltering Arizona desert, Maigret can't help but investigate the death of a teenage girl--even if it means questioning the stories of five men in uniform.

Maigret is touring the United States, studying their methods, when he drops by a Tucson courtroom to watch a coroner's inquest. To his surprise, he is transfixed by the case. Seventeen-year-old Bessie Mitchell, out on a drunken night with five airmen, was run over by a train. None of the men's stories match--but who is lying, and why?

As the judge questions the witnesses, Maigret longs to leap up and ask the right questions. The story of this girl's death, he realizes, precisely illuminates why American values seem so out of kilter. A tense courtroom whodunit, Maigret at the Coroner's is also a merciless x-ray of the postwar United States, with all its submerged angst and hypocrisies.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250425794
• ISBN13: 9781250425799
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

A very good Maigret

I never went to the US and this very good novel gave me some keys in order to understand the american society and the differences with old Europ (and especially with France). And, I realise that, with global world market, the cultural differences between states are becoming smaller and smaller ! May be it's a shame ...

Maigret crosses the Atlantic!

Georges Simenon's erstwhile, clever, venerable Parisian detective Maigret is off on a different mission this time; or rather, off to a different location! It's to America he's off to, and, of course, in no time he becomes involved in a local murder. A young woman is found dead and the companions with whom she had been socializing are now testifying in the coroner's inquiry. But Maigret sees something is amiss! Unfortunately, the brilliant Frenchman is caught in a bind--for one, he hasno legal authority here in Arizona, and for two, the French method of interrogation and inquiry is not the same! But not to worry, Maigret has his day, eventually, as "truth will out," as it always does with Simenon and Maigret. Another good read by this prolific author. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)