| Plot Summary of Maigret's Rival |
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"Maigret travels to the tiny town of Saint-Aubin-les-Marais, near Niort, in the Vendée, at the request of the Examining Magistrate Victor Bréjon. His brother-in-law, Étienne Naud had asked him for help, since after the death of a young man, Albert Retailleau, rumors had been flying that Naud was involved. Maigret is surprised to see Old Cadaver, Justin Cavre, who'd been on the force with Maigret for 20 years till forced to resign due to problems caused by his wife. But Cavre, who also goes to Saint Aubin, ignores him.
Maigret quickly learns that no one in town wants to help, except one young man, Louis Fillou, who'd been Albert's friend. Maigret learns that Albert had been the lover of Geneviève Naud, and had gone to see her the night he was killed. But that night he'd been angry, and told Louis it was all over. Maigret is surprised when Alban Groult-Cotelle, a friend and frequent house guest at the Naud's, appears at the Naud's house with a hotel receipt, showing his "alibi" for the night of the crime. Maigret begins to understand, watching Geneviève's face, and accompanies Alban home, where he finds Cavre. Naud calls his brother-in-law to have him call off Maigret, but before leaving Maigret summons all together at Naud's. Alban, in his 40s, had been having an affair with young Geneviève. When she became pregnant, he'd had her take up with Albert, to claim he was the father. Naud had seen him leave her room by the window the night he had argued with her, and killed him in a rage. Albert had learned of the deception. After that, with Cavre's help, they'd paid off everyone to forget about it. Maigret left it that way, and learned that two years later, after the Naud's had moved to Argentina, Alban had married Geneviève. "
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret's Rival |
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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 - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
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?
- 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:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- farmer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
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?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 1
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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