| Plot Summary of Maigret at the Coroner's |
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"Maigret is in Tucson, Arizona, on a study-tour of America, guided by his FBI friend Harry Cole, who leaves him one day to watch a coroner's inquest. Five young Air Force men, Sergeant Ward, Sergeant Dan Mullins, Corporal Jimmy Van Fleet, Sergeant Ted O'Neil, and Corporal Wo Lee had gone out drinking and driving one night with a young girl, Bessie Mitchell, whose body had been found the next morning on the tracks, run over by a train. Maigret becomes engrossed in the hearing for the next few days, and successfully predicts the guilty party. The men's stories are often conflicting, as are those of the deputy sheriffs who went to the scene.
The six had driven towards Mexico, but had stopped along the way, and Bessie had gotten out, but didn't return with them. Three of them, Van Fleet, O'Neil and Lee returned by taxi, presumably to search for her, but reported they hadn't found her. In fact, as Van Fleet finally admitted, two of them, Van Fleet and O'Neil had, but when Bessie had figured out O'Neil's plan to share her with Van Fleet she'd gotten angry and run onto the tracks where she'd fallen. O'Neil claimed he left her there in anger and returned with the others when Lee had gotten them a ride. Maigret leaves by plane for Los Angeles without discovering the final results.
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Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret at the Coroner's |
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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 difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
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?
- 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:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- infantry soldier
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
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
- run over
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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