| Plot Summary of Maigret's Pickpocket |
|---|
"Riding to work on an open bus, Maigret has his pocket picked, his wallet, including his badge, stolen. He'd seen the young man, but he couldn't give chase. The next day he receives his wallet and all the contents in the mail, and a few minutes later a phone call from the thief, François Ricain, who arranges to meet Maigret near his home. Ricain, terribly agitated, takes Maigret to his apartment on the Rue Saint-Charles, and shows Maigret the body of his wife, Sophie Ricain, dead of a gunshot to the head. Ricain claims it happened while he was out trying to get money for the rent, and that he's been in a panic since, and thought Maigret might believe him. Maigret questions him, and goes to the Old Wine Press, a restaurant where Ricain and his friends related to the movie business gather.
Maigret questions Walter Carus, the producer, richest of the set, as well as his strange mistress Nora. Eventually, returning to Ricain's apartment, Maigret notices Jacques Huguet, the photographer of the group, in his window overlooking the courtyard, and on questioning him, learns that he had seen Ricain leave his apartment that night, and that shortly after Huguet and gone to call on Sophie but there had been no answer. The murder had been by Ricain, who had thought up the pickpocket ploy to throw Maigret off the track. Maigret and Huguet rush to Ricain's apartment, where they find him with his wrists cut, in the bath, but they arrive in time for him to be saved for arrest.
"
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
|
|
|
| Review Analysis of Maigret's Pickpocket |
|---|
|
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).
|
|
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 - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
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
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?
- a little
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:
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Smarter than most 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?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
|
|
