Crime in Holland | 
pickMaigret is called to Delfzijl, a Dutch port town, to assist a French citizen entangled in a murder, his investigation hampered by his inability to speak Dutch, while only some of the suspects speak French.
The townsfolk are stuffily provincial & would rather the crime go unsolved than an embarrassing scandal be exposed, so Maigret's relentless prodding at the truth is most unwelcome.
Most of the characters are unsympathetic in a claustrophobic ⬇️
"When Detective Chief Inspector Maigret arrived in Delfzijl, one afternoon in May, he had only the sketchiest notions about the case taking him to this small town located in the northernmost corner of Holland."
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
pickInspector Maigret is in the Netherlands helping to investigate a murder that implicates a fellow French citizen, and there are plenty of suspects with good motives.
I've been reading this series in French from the beginning. This 8th book is the first that feels like a Agatha Christie style of mystery. Maigret even gathers all the suspects together at the end to reveal the murderer.
The real-life residents of 1930s Delfzijl were so offended by Simenon's portrayal of their community that they threatened to sue him, ironically confirming the accuracy of his impressions of the town, which he had stayed in a few years earlier. 5⭐ 3mo