| Plot Summary of Maigret and the Minister |
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"Auguste Point, the Minister of Public Works, calls Maigret at home, to ask that he come visit him personally — unofficially — on an extremely sensitive manner. Maigret learns that he had recently received a copy of the Calame report, the contents of which, if revealed, would no doubt cause a major scandal and shakeup of the government. But within a day of receiving it, it is stolen. The press soon learns, somehow, that he has received it, so if it doesn't appear, he will seem to be guilty of hiding it to protect himself or members of his government. Shortly afterwards, Jules Piquemal, who gave him the report, disappears, last seen with a mysterious unknown man, who eventually seems to be the same man who burgled Point's apartment for the report.
It appears that Joseph Mascoulin, a powerful and power-hungry muckraking deputy, is aware not only of Point's having received it, but of its disappearance. He had apparently met the missing Piquemal before Point saw him. Various false leads finally suggest that Eugène Benoît, an ex-CID man turned private detective, probably in Mascoulin's employ, was the man who stole the document and spirited Piquemal away. Maigret traces him to his fishing lodge, where he discovers Piquemal, and the connection with Point's parliamentary secretary, Jacques Fleury. The document is gone, but Mascoulin no doubt has a photostat copy. Point's innocence is proven, but his reputation is broken. The only provable crime seems to be Benoît's burglary, and there the case ends.
"
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret and the Minister |
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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?
- 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?
- 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:
- politician/elected ruler
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
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?
- no torture/death
How many deaths?
- 0 (not a murder mystery)
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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