| Plot Summary of Maigret Sets a Trap |
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"A serial killer had been stalking Montmartre, with five women stabbed to death, one a month. So far there are no clues, and the district is in a state of siege. Maigret arranges an interview in his office that the journalists will take for the interrogation of a suspect, and by that means Maigret hopes to goad the killer into a new attack, as if to make him say "you've got the wrong man". In preparation Maigret has organized a massive and secret infiltration of Montmartre by police and women's auxiliary forces from all over Paris to catch the criminal when he attacked. Maigret's plan almost succeeds, for a young woman, Marthe Jusserand, one of his auxiliaries, was attacked, and knowing judo, almost captured the man. He escaped, but she'd seen him, and managed to grab one of his buttons and a piece of cloth from his jacket.
By luck, the cloth was unusual enough for Maigret to soon put his hands on the likely suspect, Marcel Moncin, an interior designer, who'd grown up in Montmartre. Jusserand identifies him, but he refuses to confess. And then, the day after his arrest, there is another murder. But this time Maigret understands. It was either Moncin's fiercely possessive mother, who still lives in Montmartre, or his wife, Yvonne Moncin. He brings the three to his office for a final confrontation, and though the mother confesses, to show her great devotion to Moncin, it was in fact Yvonne who'd murdered a girl to put the police off the track. Maigret says that while Moncin will no doubt spend his life in custody in some hospital, his wife will be regarded as a cold-blooded murderer of an innocent girl.
"
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret Sets a Trap |
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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 - 50%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
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?
- 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?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- artist
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- wild
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- insanity
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Dumb
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?
- 5-7
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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