| Plot Summary of The Crime at Lock 14 |
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"Maigret enters the world of canals and barges when a woman is found strangled in the stable at Lock 14 at Dizy. Who she was and how she could have gotten there are a total mystery until the arrival of Sir Walter Lampson's yacht, the Southern Cross, and her identity is revealed as Mary Lampson, his wife. But her real name is unknown. Traces of tar and horse hair are found on her body, and suspicion falls on the barge Providence, which had been at Dizy the night before she was found, and the carter, Jean Liberge, an old man more at home with horses than people. Then Walter Lampson's companion, Willy Marco is found strangled in the canal, with Lampson's yacht club pin near the scene.
Maigret tracks the Providence down the canal, and finds that a bicycle from the lock-keeper at Pogny had been used the night of Willy Marco's murder, and that the Providence hadn't been far away. When Maigret confronts Jean Liberge with the evidence of the pedal marks on his boots, the old man jumps into the canal and is crushed against the lock. Barely alive, he is taken to a hospital, where he is hardly expected to live out the night, but in fact he jumps from the window and returns to the barge. His fingerprints are sent to Paris, where it is learned that he was Jean Évariste Darchambaux, a doctor who'd been sent to the penal colony in Guiana for poisoning his aunt. His wife, Céline Mornet, who'd promised to follow him faithfully, in fact turned to a life of luxury on the Riviera, and eventually became Mrs. Lampson. Jean had recognized her and brought her back to his barge, killing her when she refused to stay. When he went back to lay a false trail, he'd been seen and confronted by Willy Marco, whom he'd strangled as well. He died on his barge, under the eyes of Maigret and Lampson.
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Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Crime at Lock 14 |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Moderately Challenging
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- nearly 100%
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, Foreign
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Genius (really!)
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- deluded
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
Motive of antagonist
- jealousy
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
How many deaths?
- 2
Unusual forms of death
- hanging
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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