| Plot Summary of Maigret and the Headless Corpse |
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"The dismembered body of a man is found in the Saint-Martin Canal. Maigret stops at a small café in the neighborhood, near Quai de Valmy, and is intrigued by the proprietress, Aline Calas, who is unusually taciturn. He slowly begins to wonder if the body might be her husband, Omer Calas, supposedly away on a trip. Eventually that proves to be the case, when she turns out to be an heiress who hated her father, and ran away with a married man 25 years earlier. A lawyer, Mr. Canonge's search for heirs brought him to her café, and though she wanted no part of it, Omer discovered the facts of the inheritance, and Aline's lover, Dieudonne Pape, killed him when he came in while Omer was beating her into writing to accept the inheritance. "
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret and the Headless Corpse |
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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 - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
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
- Genius (really!)
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
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
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
- decapitated
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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