| Plot Summary of Maigret's Dead Man |
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"A man calls and asks for Maigret, from a café and says he's being followed by someone trying to kill him. He says that Maigret knows his wife, Nine. Before he can finish he hangs up, calls back from another. He tries again from various cafés, till finally the calls stop. That night, his body is found in the Place de la Concorde, his face badly beaten, stabbed to death. Someone had seen it pushed out of a car. Although his picture is published, there is no clue to who the man is until a woman who'd seen a yellow Citröen comes forward, and the man's own café, Au Petit Albert is discovered, as well as his name, Albert Rochain.
With the absence of clues, Maigret decides to reopen Albert's café, using an inspector, Émile Chevrier and his wife. The ruse works, and a suspicious man is spotted and followed, but before he can lead them to his lair, he is shot down, apparently by one of his own. He is identified as a Czech laborer, Victor Poliensky. A raid is planned and executed in the Rue du Roi-de-Sicile district, and at the Hôtel du Lion d'Or, a Czech woman, Maria, is found in labor. From the testimony of the proprieter, it becomes clear that she is one of the band of Czechs who had brutally committed murder and robbery on farms in the north, the Picardy killers.
Colombani of the Sûreté Nationale joins the hunt, as the two cases are combined. A stakeout of the hospital where Maria is kept results in two more gang members, one shot by another, and own captured, leaving only one, plus the unknown leader. Investigation at the race track at Vincennes leads to the identification of a young actress, Francine Latour, frequently seen with a heavy-betting Czech, Jean Bronsky. Latour is a dancer at the Folies-Bergère, and a capture is finally made in front of her apartment. Maigret goes to visit Nine Rochain, hiding out in Corbeil, and while there the last member of the gang, Serge Madok, is arrested.
"
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret's Dead Man |
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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 - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
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:
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
The antagonists are:
- gangs
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
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?
- 3-4
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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