| Plot Summary of Death Threats |
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"Émile Grosbois, a wealthy rag and scrap merchant of Rue du Chemin-Vert, received a death threat, in the form of a message from words and letters cut out from a newspaper, that he will die before 6:00 on Sunday, and the Chief has asked Maigret to go out to his villa in Coudray on Saturday to keep watch. As soon as he leaves the office his brother, Oscar Grosbois calls, and Maigret goes to see in him the Rue du Chemin-Vert, where he tells Maigret his brother is just paranoid, and the death threat must be a joke. Maigret finds neither of the twin brothers attractive, but goes to Coudray, where he meets their elder sister, Françoise Paget, her 18-year-old daughter, Éliane Paget, 20-year-son, Henri Paget, and their maid, Babette. The nephew, Henri, Maigret recognizes as a cocaine addict. The daughter Éliane, very attractive, flaunts her disregard for the family, and the sister, Françoise, is always on the verge of tears. Babette, around 40, is Oscar's lover. Émile himself, the elder of the two brothers, is a cowardly tyrant. Maigret wishes he'd never come.
By Sunday afternoon, Émile has decreed that no one will leave the garden until after 6:00, and the waiting begins. But Henri, deprived of his drug, can take it no longer and flees, hurling insults. Éliane sleeps and sunbathes, while the others bicker. Around 5:30, Émile takes his customary capsule, and suddenly slumps in his chair. Maigret revives him, getting him to throw up the poison. As Maigret reports to the Chief later, he'd known from the start that Oscar had sent the note, but didn't expect him to carry it out. He merely wanted his brother out of the way. But Henri, on hearing of the threat, had put cocaine in his uncle's capsule. No charges were filed, and the Chief tells Maigret to file his report under "investigations at the request of the families."
"
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Death Threats |
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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 - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
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?
- a little
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:
- wealthy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate 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
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
How many deaths?
- 0 (not a murder mystery)
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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