| Plot Summary of Maigret's Christmas |
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"It's Christmas morning, and Maigret is visited by two women from across the street, Mrs. Doncoeur and Loraine Martin. Mrs. Martin's 7-year-old niece, Colette Martin had told Mrs. Doncoeur she'd had a visit the night before from Father Christmas, who'd been in her room with a flashlight, and been making a hole in the floor, presumably to bring presents to the young child below. He'd given Colette a lovely doll, and had had a white beard and red clothes. Martin's husband, Jean Martin is away on a business trip, and the girl's father, Paul Martin, has taken to drink since the death of his wife in a traffic accident when he was driving. Maigret's suspicion's are aroused by the fact that Mrs. Martin herself had had to be prodded into coming to see him, and that as soon as she returned home, she went out "shopping", though there was adequate food.
He pursues the investigation using Lucas, by telephone, and learns that Mrs. Martin had worked for a suspicious man, Mr. Lorilleux, who had disappeared one day. Someone had called Jean Martin's office to make sure he'd be away, and Maigret suspected it had been Lorilleux. Maigret confronts Loraine Martin with the taxi drivers and luggage store clerk who'd seen her while she'd been shopping for a suitcase to leave at the Gare du Nord, and when he tells her Lorilleux is in the neighborhood she admits to having had the money he'd stolen from a man he'd killed, and that she'd managed to keep him out of the country till then, pretending the police were on his trail.
"
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret's Christmas |
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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
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, Foreign
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- theft/fraud investigation
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?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
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?
- no torture/death
How many deaths?
- 0 (not a murder mystery)
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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