A trio of classic festive adventures!

The opener, "A Maigret Christmas" is a truly delightful story. As if you can't tell by the title, it features Inspector Maigret on Christmas Day. Shockingly, this is actually my first Maigret experience. I remember there being a TV series when I was growing up but I never watched it, and if truth be told, it seemed slightly pedestrian and dull from the adverts for it. However, I am older now and appreciate the style far more. In fact, it made me positively gleeful! I enjoy my detective novels, but they can be pretty dark and heavy at times and can be fairly blunt and brutal. Maigret offered a more cultured affair. This short story is a true pleasure, delivering a wonderful blend of Christmas and crime to capture that slightly moody feel that is slipping from Christmas stories these days.

The eponymous hero only appears in that opening story, but the other two are both set in his Paris and hum with the same mood.

Which brings us to "Seven Small Crosses", the second short in this book and I believe the longest one. This is a very clever story, although I wasn't a fan of every aspect. The clever touch is the way the story is told, heavily focusing on one character's experiences of a fraught time. It's a deft piece of writing on the whole and an enjoyable trick. The only drawback for me? Phonecalls. And there are quite a few. The problem is we don't get the dialogue of the other side, instead, we get the protagonist having a slightly echoey conversation and repeating many things back to the person at the end of the line. I found it a little clunky at times, but it didn't detract enough to spoil the story. More intense than the first, and more suspenseful too, this still proved a superb Christmas tale.

And finally, we have "The Little Restaurant in Les Ternes (A Christmas Story for Grown-Ups)". I'm not sure the other two stories were for kids, but this one does have a more adult background for sure. This is the briefest of the trio, and also rather quirky. It offers a view of loneliness at Christmas, but in a way that feels warm and comfortable. Maybe it's less about loneliness and more about how easy it is to make connections. It's hard not to end this with a smile on your face, or perhaps a wry grin.

Overall, a marvellous collection of three shirt festive police stories. They are from another era, one which we can easily forget with the bright shiny nature of Christmas. A real delight to read, and well worth your time at Christmas.

I don't think I ever read any of the Maigret stories, but I am of an age that I watched seemingly hundreds of them on black and white TV. However, this reintroduction is useful as in book form I find the character of Maigret far more interesting and his gentle style more attractive. I shall now have to find some more Maigret stories to read!

My 84-year-old mother is a great crime fiction buff. When she saw I was reading A Maigret Christmas by Georges Simenon, she commented that it was a great pity “Mr Bean” had been given the part of the French detective in ITV's recent adaption, because “although he [Rowan Atkinson] is a very good actor, one keeps on expecting him to remove his trousers or do something equally silly in the middle of an important case.”

Mr Bean aside, the TV drama has merely brought renewed interest in Simenon's shrewd, trilby-hat wearing, pipe-smoking commissioner of the Paris 'Brigade Criminelle'. In 2013, Penguin Books started releasing new translations of his seventy-six Maigret novels, originally published between 1931 and 1972, and this collection of seasonal stories is the latest in their Classics' series.

Simenon (1903-1989) was a prolific author, his novels, novellas and autobiographical works numbering almost five hundred. He was Belgian born, the son of an accountant, starting out as a cub reporter for the Gazette de Liège, before moving to Paris in 1922 following the death of his father. However, it was during his time as a young journalist that he came to know the seedier side of his city – his familiarity with local prostitutes, criminals and notorious drinking dens prepared him well for his profession as a writer of detective fiction.

A Maigret Christmas is the title story from this newly translated book of short fiction, in which the burly detective receives an unexpected visit from two ladies on Christmas morning. Maigret and his stoical wife, Louise (referred to throughout as Madame Maigret) are a childless couple in their fifties, trying to appear festive for Noël, though actually feeling rather melancholy in their solemn apartment. He is thus quietly relieved to learn that his services are required by his neighbours following the appearance of a sinister intruder in their home. An intriguing case ensues.

The gruff but kindly Maigret was apparently based on Simenon's good friend, Chief Inspector Marcel Guillaume, a man said to be the greatest French detective of his day. Whether “Mr Bean” was quite what he had in mind for his serial protagonist, we shall never know, but his most famous fictional character would appear to be more popular than ever.

I’m grateful to Netgalley for a partial a r c of this publication in return for an honest review. I’ve been a fan of Georges Simenon’s Maigret since I was at school, rather a long time ago, and have 17 of his books in the original green and white 1950s Penguin format, not bought new. I loved this new translation of a seasonal story. Pure Maigret. This is a long short story or a short novel depending on which way you look at it. With his usual intelligent thought processes he solves the crime that is occurring in an apartment across the road from his It’s Christmas Day and he does it all in the day without going into the office, but with the help of his trusted lieutenants. As usual there’s plenty of Parisian atmosphere. I tried but failed to find the original publication date, but would guess it to be pre war.. I can’t comment on the other stories in the book, but if you are a Maigret fan this is definitely for you. If you’ve never read any of these tales, give it a go. This story is a quick read and you could well be hooked too.

I've long been a fan of Simenon's Maigret, and jumped at the chance to review this book. I received an ARC of this Kindle edition from NetGalley and the publishers (my thanks!) - however there was only one short story included, so my review is based solely on that story.

I found this an enjoyable read, not too taxing on the little grey cells, and appropriately themed for this festive time of year.

I like Simenon's characterisations - particularly of M. and Mme. Maigret - and the style of his prose sets the scene perfectly.

All in all a good read, and I would like to read the other two short stories that feature in the book.

My e-proof only had one of the three stories in it, which was disappointing because I really enjoyed the story that it did have. I haven't read a lot of Maigret - but this makes me want to read more.

This is a short read that was originally written 70 years ago and it certainly get as a retro feel in the way a black and white movie has a wonderful warm nostalgic feel. The characters are intriguing and the book is fast paced. I read this in one day. Set on Christmas day howevery not too full of Christmas! !
Kept me hooked until the end, my only criticism is it felt a little rushed but perhaps because I'm used to reading longer books.

Georges Simenon, A Maigret Christmas, tr. David Coward, Penguin UK (2017)
Despite the title, this is not ‘A Maigret Christmas’, or mostly not. The first story is an investigation by Maigret, with an unusual moment of feeling between Monsieur and Madame. The second and third belong to other Inspectors. As ever, most of the characters we meet are relatively poor, wracked by drink and debt, and often unattractive. Not all, however. I sometimes wonder if Simenon had read O. Henry, and here, particularly, I think of ‘The Gifts of the Magi’. Christmas being Christmas, there is a degree of redemption which lifts some characters out of the morass of their everyday lives. I’d say that ‘A Little Restaurant near Place des Ternes is also redemptive, although it begins with a suicide. ‘Seven Small Crosses in a Notebook’ focuses on the night shift of telephonists who keep track of the Paris nicks, their vans, motorbikes, bicycles, and foot patrolmen. The man whose notebook contains the small crosses is one of those individuals with very low self-esteem. What Simenon was so good at was ordinary conversation and how it functions. Here his manipulation of the men manning the phones and in the nearby Quai des Orfevres officers moves from suspected murder to murderer to fear for a ten-year-old, and then a denouement I won’t spoil. If you wanted a short collection of stories for Christmas, this wouldn’t be a bad choice. It would be a good one.

Enjoyable light read. Good plot and storyline held your attention even though it was only a short story.

A Maigret Christmas, which was originally published in 1950, is a lovely read at this time of year. Having read so many modern police procedural books it was wonderful to read a short story written almost 70 years ago, not any excessive violence or obscene language, and a feel good factor at the end.
Also the language of the author was more complex than some of the lessor modern authors who seems to churn out a huge number of books every six months or so (no names mentioned of course!)
I cannot comment on the other two short stories as sadly, my copy, (which I received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review) only contained A Maigret Christmas.
Highly recommend for a great Christmas read and a change to the modern police procedural books.

Good, typical Simenon and Maigret. Not a jolly Christmas story (and not PC by modern standards) but if you can accept that and wind back to Maigret's time, still enjoyable. (If you are old enough, Rupert Davies as Maigret comes to mind.)

A bite size introduction to Maigret for the uninitiated that leaves you wanting more.

A quick read and a satisfactory one, thank you. I think i need to read some more novels about the French detective, as I enjoyed the style of this one and short stories often disappoint. This one didn't - except in the respect of it being too short, I need a proper one now!

<i>Full disclosure: I was given an ARC of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.</i>

(Yes I like the title too.)

Georges Simenon's pipe-smoking sleuth gets a cosey little mystery for Christmas - one he can solve almost without leaving the comfort of his own apartment.

For it is a time for friends and family, and this being Simenon there's a level of class and character that's above the norm for detective fiction. As well as a nice little mystery, we also get a sketch portrait of the home life of M and Mme Maigret; their obvious deep affection for each other, but also the largely unspoken sadness.

I rarely find Simenon's writing as compulsive in the moment ofreading as I might, say, Arthur Conan Doyle's or even Victor L Whitechurch's, but his imagery and his characters return to me far more often afterwards. It's a deeply problematic way of phrasing it and deeply unfair to so many other genre writers, but it's hard to escape the feeling that Simenon is a 'proper' writer. Your intellect gets something back from reading him.

A rich and sophisticated Christmas liqeur.

It was a short little mystery set on Christmas day when two strangers come to visit Maigret with an unusual story about a visit from Santa. Due to the length there is not a huge amount of detail in it and felt a bit rushed but the story itself was quite good.

I like Maigret and will definitely be looking for more books in the series. An ideal short read for Christmas.

Only one story (A Maigret Christmas) was issued for review and this was set during Christmas Day in Paris. An enjoyable story and, as with all Georges Simenon Maigret stories, it is clearly told with an ease of reading that is this master story teller's trademark.

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read that contained 'A Maigret Christmas', the Inspector receives two unexpected visitors to his apartment on Christmas Day, this leads him on the trail of a mysterious intruder dressed in red and white. It was a very quick enjoyable read. He solved the case in a day from his armchair, it was a shade contrived but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment. If you like traditional 1950’s mysteries then you’ll enjoy this throw back to a simpler time

The review copy of A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories by Georges Simenon I received contains just one of the three stories in this collection, A Maigret Christmas which was first published in 1950 as Un Noël de Maigret.

It’s set in Paris on Christmas Day. Inspector Maigret has the day off and Madame Maigret, hoping to bring him croissants for his breakfast in bed, as she usually does on Sundays and public holidays, is disappointed to find that he had got up before she returned from the corner shop. Both Maigret and his wife are feeling not exactly depressed but rather melancholy, with no family to visit at Christmas.

Their plan to spend a quiet morning cocooned in their apartment is disrupted by the arrival of two ladies, Madame Martin and Mademoiselle Doncoeur, who live in the apartment opposite in the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir. Colette, a little girl staying with her aunt and uncle, Madame Martin and her husband, had woken in the night and seen Father Christmas in her room, making a hole in the floor. He gave her a present, a big doll and then held up his finger to his lips as he left. But who was he and why was he trying to take up the floorboards?

Maigret, concerned about Colette, decides to help and, phoning his colleagues at the Quai des Orfevres for information, he spends the rest of the day solving the mystery. As the mystery is unravelled it turns out to be anything but simple. I enjoyed this story for the mystery itself, but I also liked the light it throws on Maigret and his wife, their relationship and the sadness they feel at being childless, particularly so at Christmas.

I find classic detective fiction rather soothing. It's simple, by comparison to today's works, but when it's good it's still a terrific read. Maigret is exactly that. This is actually quite a complex, and at times sordid little tale, but told with authority, a lack of fuss and an elegance that makes it a tonic to read. Maigret is such a quiet, dark man, full of secrets and sadness, and with a melancholy that makes him very appealing. In amidst the grimness of the mystery there is are the charming details of a Parisian Christmas and a touching series of scenes with his wife that make this almost tender. It's excellent.

It has been many years since I last read an Inspector Maigret story and it was as delightful as I remember. Very sharp and to the point with an unexpected provincial ambience.

I received this from NetGalley and, Woe, the ‘other stories’ weren’t included. I was quite unreasonably disappointed by this because I’d enjoyed A Maigret Christmas so much. The events take place on one Christmas day and Maigret solves the whole case from his apartment, getting his research done by phone and nipping over the road to the opposite apartment block where a crime may possibly have been committed. I’ve never been a huge Simenon fan but I do love all the detail about French domestic life and manners, which a French readership would presumably take for granted.

I’m fascinated by Madame Maigret, the perfect wife who keeps a spotless flat and is forever shopping and cooking. Maigret even goes home for lunch when he can; very French or, perhaps, very French in the past. The odd (to us) formality of French bourgeois life is very evident. It’s interesting to find that the good Madame goes out early on Christmas morning to buy croissants for her husband’s breakfast and that local shops will be open even on a public holiday. It's this kind of detail which I found sadly lacking from the recent TV series starring Rowan Atkinson. But then, even though I only ever saw one episode at a friend’s house, Rupert Davies is my Maigret and Maigret is definitely black and white.