| Plot Summary of Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses |
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"While winding up the case of Grégoire Brau, the Canon, a burglar, a call comes in of a murder in the house of Lachaume's Biscuits, Quai de la Gare, Ivry, a brand which Maigret remembers from his childhood. The elder brother, Léonard Lachaume had been shot. The other members of the household claim to know nothing, have heard nothing. The Examining Magistrate, Angelot, one of the new breed, insists on staying for the interrogation, and taking charge of the case. The family is in dire straits, and Maigret learns that they are being supported by the money of the Armand Lachaume's wife, Paulette Lachaume, the daughter of the late, nearby Frédéric Zuberski, a wealthy leather merchant. It appears to have been a robbery, but the attempt at making it look so is clumsy and unconvincing. Someone on a barge docked nearby had seen someone breaking glass on a wall hours before the "break-in". A woman had seen a red sportscar parked nearby, waiting for Paulette.
Maigret visits the "black sheep" sister, Véronique Lachaume, and they learn, to her dismay, that her boyfriend, Jacques Sainval, was also Paulette's boyfriend, and in fact that they'd been considering marriage. At this point Angelot insists on taking over, and an interrogation of Paulette is held, Angelot using Maigret's notes. She'd been planning a divorce, and the panic-stricken family, having found out by intercepting a letter from her lawyer, has decided to do away with her. She suspects, and stays awake, killing her brother-in-law when he comes in to bludgeon her in bed, with the gun she'd gotten from Jacques. The family convinced her to go along with the cover-up. Armand, outside the magistrate's door has heard all, and kills himself with the same gun.
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Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses |
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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?
- Challenging
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?
- 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:
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- wealthy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 2
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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