| Plot Summary of Maigret Has Scruples |
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"Xavier Marton, the head of the toy department at the Grands Magasins du Louvre, a model train specialist, visits Maigret to say that he thinks his wife wants to poison him, but leaves while Maigret is out of the room. Later in the day the man's wife, Gisèle Marton, also visits Maigret, to tell her side of the story, which is that her husband is having delusions. Marton comes the next day, and agrees to have another examination with a psychiatrist. But he warns Maigret that if she poisons him, he'll shoot her before he dies. Meanwhile, Maigret has had both of them investigated, and finds that Gisèle's sister, Jenny, is living with them, and that Marton is apparently enamored of her. Gisèle, on the other hand, is apparently the lover of her employer, Mr. Harris. Maigret has the house watched during the night, and by morning Marton is dead, accidentally poisoned by Jenny, when Gisèle switched her cup of tea with her husband's. He had poisoned his own, with enough to make him sick, but not to kill him. Jenny thought he hadn't the nerve, so she added the poison to kill her sister. "
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret Has Scruples |
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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?
- Very obvious
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- nearly 100%
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?
- none
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:
- business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
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?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Unusual forms of death
- poisoning
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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