| Plot Summary of Maigret and the Millionaires |
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"Maigret is called to the Hôtel George-V, where the English multimillionaire, Colonel David Ward, had been found drowned in his bathtub, the marks on his shoulders indicating a murder. The night before, the Countess Louise Paverini, a few doors down, had attempted suicide, and been taken to the American Hospital in Neuilly. The two had spent the evening together, and planned to get married once his divorce was finalized. His friend and associate, John Arnold insists that the utmost discretion must be given to the case, for he was an extremely important man. Meanwhile, the Countess has left the hospital, after calling Monte Carlo, the Hôtel de Paris, where her ex-husband, the millionaire Joseph Van Meulens was staying.
Maigret goes to Orly and discovers she'd taken a plane to Nice, whereupon he flies to Nice and goes to the hotel of Van Meulens, who insists that the Countess is innocent. My flies to Lausanne the next day to meet her, 39 years old and addicted to drink. She tells Maigret of her reluctance to forget the Count Marco Paverini, her ex-husband, who it turns out was in Paris with a Dutchwoman, Anna de Groot, staying at the Hôtel George-V. Maigret returns to Paris, where he immerses himself in the Hôtel George-V at 3:00 am, the time of the crime, and collects a cast of characters to confront John Arnold with at the Quai des Orfèvres. Arnold, seeing the various people he must have passed on his way back from the hotel at 3:00 am, confesses, though in fact many of them hadn't seen him. He'd been planning with Ward's current wife, who in three days would lose her claim on the inheritance."
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret and the Millionaires |
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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 - 50%
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
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
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:
- wealthy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
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
- drowned
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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