I’ve always loved Margret, and this didn’t disappoint. This is a must read book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC of this book.

The title of this book is a bit misleading, it comprises three short stories set at Christmas, but Maigret only actually features in one of the stories. The Christmas settings are also fairly incidental, there is nothing cozy or festive about this book, it mostly dwells on how often people commit suicide on Christmas Eve.

I’ve never read a Maigret book before and on the basis of this book, I don’t think I’ll be reading any again. I found the stories strange and stilted. The first two stories which are sort of police procedurals mostly take place in one or two rooms with the main policeman mostly just using a telephone to solve the crime rather than getting into any action.

Lots of things didn’t make sense, just one example is that department stores are open at 11pm on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day morning. This is key to the plots of two of the stories. I find it really hard to believe that a Catholic country would have such lax opening hours rules in the 1950s. Despite it being Christmas everything seems to go on as usual, except Maigret solves the crime from home rather than the office.

The first story is the Maigret story. He wakes up on Christmas Day with Madame Maigret and is visited by two ladies because a man dressed as Father Christmas has broken into one of their houses overnight. This was a really interesting, exciting premise which devolved into a mixed up, weird, detached story which I can’t even begin to explain and which was incredibly unsatisfying. I also really didn’t like the way poor lonely, childless Madame Maigret doesn’t even warrant a first name.

The second story was my favourite. It features a likeable police switchboard operator solving a crime which involves his family. It was an interesting way to tell a police story and had a sweet ending.

The third story begins with a totally incidental suicide and then follows a prostitute as she tries to look out for a drunk young woman on Christmas Eve. It was strange and bitter and fairly pointless and not at all what I was expecting from the cover of this book.

I was hoping for a festive exciting read but found this book cold and baffling.

A lovely novella plunged in the universe of Maigret. Although i haven’t read any other stories, this worked well as a stand alone and I could really picture many of the scenes. A great read for Christmas!!

I read this in one fell swoop! I loved it, it was a mystery entwined with delicate peppering of love, companionship and community! I would highly recommend this to anyone!!

This book was a smasher - I'm such a sucker for a book with Christmas in the title in December and my Mum (an existing Maigret fan) was thrilled when I told her I was reading it! I wish it had been longer, but I reckon I'll read it again this year! I also quite want to read more books starring Inspector Maigret - bet Mum has some somewhere...

Only received the one main story, not the trio. Started well, and initially thought it would be a nice short festive mystery, but got bored and lost interest!

This is a novella and a quick read, being only five chapters long, but it is good to welcome back familiar characters, and particularly in this story that of Maigret’s wife.

It starts early morning on Christmas Day. Maigret and his wife are visited by two women who are their neighbours. What they have to say starts an immediate investigation and one that unusually is conducted from the famous detective’s Paris apartment.

This is a rather bleak insight into the home life of Maigret. The couple is childless and this has left an emptiness in their existence, particularly in Madame Maigret’s. For the detective, there is always his work and he is restless without it, so when a case falls into his lap over the Christmas holiday he is only too happy to plunge straight in. What follows is a complicated and unexpected crime in need of solving fast because he learns that a small child is in danger. As always Simenon keeps the reader in suspense and in this story there is a moving twist at the end.

Reading a Maigret is rather like putting on your favourite coat. It is a familiar world and this one does not disappoint, even if it does have a sentimental side to it which I found a little unsettling. However, it is a must for all Simenon fans - although readers new to him might find this detective a bit dated. It is very much the Paris of the Fifties.

Recommended.

Jane

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

There was only one story in the version I received. It was an enjoyable, compact story, ideal for a cold winter day.

My copy only had one story in it. Based on that it was a quick easy read. The descriptive writing and the pace of the book make it enjoyable. I would like to read more Maigret to see what they are like.

Unfortunately, this wasn't for me - I found the pace quite slow, the content quite dull and I expected a little more drama. It's a very gentle Christmas tale and I was probably wrong to expect anything more. I don't know whether Maigret stories are typically like this, so I'll wait until I read another before writing them off completely, but I just think I'm probably the wrong target audience for this particular book.

This is a short story and was my first book by this author. The plot was nothing remarkeable and it was a quick and easy read. I plan to read one of the full length novels featuring Inspector Maigret as it would be unfair to judge on a short story alone.

3 stars

Well, this is a classic little detective story, beautifully written. The actual story and denoument is fine - the thing that fascinated me was the detail. This is a France where the baker is open on Christmas morning so that Mme Maigret can buy croissants for her husband's breakfast. Does that still happen? Maybe it does, actually.

The atmosphere is really well created - the slightly claustrophobic appartment block, where all the action takes place. It's like a play, tightly kept to one location. Maigret himself was new to me (I know! I'm not really a detective fiction person), so it was interesting to see his complex personal life and his relationship with his wife ( blighted by sorrow).

it's a gorgeous little book. I'd buy it for my dad, who likes a bit of classic detective fiction. A perfect stocking filler.

Excellent and thoroughly gripping. Lots of twists and turns together with good characterization. I would definitely recommend it..

An easy read of very gentle stories none of which really leave a lasting impression

A good read for the Christmas holidays, this only took one sitting as it is somewhat shorter than most of the other books of a similar ilk. However, the story is well-crafted and has sufficient suspense to engage the reader. It is very evocative of the Paris that I know and love, and that makes it easy to imagine the kind of situation which Maigret is drawn into. Definitely worth the time spent on it.

I read this book before Christmas and loved it. It was a gentle read, perhaps more cosy than my usual reads but exactly what I needed when tucked up with a cold. It has made me want to read other Maigret books

A short and interesting story. It is not quite like the full length books but enjoyable just the same.

I was apprehensive in reading this book. I had heard of Maigret through TV programmes but never read one of George Simenon's books. I was pleasantly surprised with this short story. Ok it wasn't a rollercoaster of high drama and intrigue however it was a well written story which unravelled at a nice pace. I will certainly be reading more of the Maigret stories in the future.

This book was given to me to read in return for an honest review by Net Galley.

A good quick read in traditional Maigret style. Interesting setting in Maigrets neighbourhood at Christmastime. Would recommend this to both Maigret fans and detective fans alike.

This is an enjoyable little tale, though those looking for a murder mystery are likely to be disappointed. The story instead sheds lights on Commissaire Maigret’s home-life, and in particular the sad childlessness of his marriage.

Otherwise, the hallmarks of Simenon’s writing are present, including the evocative descriptions of Paris and the seasonal climate and the Commissaire’s relationships with his wife and subordinates. These are in any case the most interesting aspects of his work.

I did not have access to a copy of the source text for comparison, but the translation generally reads very well.

I received a sample copy of this through NetGalley. The sample with which I was provided only contained one of the three stories – A Maigret Christmas – recently retranslated and published by Penguin as A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories.